I explored an abandoned workplace.

[csquared]

I resist the idea that it's too far gone to save because there are several buildings all over Asheville that were in worse shape and are now restored and gleaming and open for business again.

"Too far gone" tends to be relative. Sometimes it is not an issue with how solid the building is. Updating the plumbing and electrical can cause more damage. Sometime it is a matter of finding the correct new use, where the upgrades won't damage the building.

Thanks for sharing the photos. Those were interesting.

[draggar]

Nice pics - you should contact the people who do the show "Life After People", especially if it's been abandoned 10-20 years.

[Midorikawa]

Wow. Neat photos. I've always been a fan of abandoned buildings. Not long ago, got to go through an old elementary school just north of where I live. Land owner was really nice, and gave us unrestricted and unsupervised access to the building.

I'm glad to hear of towns that would rather restore than destroy, as that seems a fair bit of the mentality here in this area. If it's not family history, most simply aren't interested.

[protege]

Pittsburgh once had many industrial buildings like that. Many have been fixed up and turned into apartments, or retail, or office space. But, quite a few were also torn down during the 1980-1990s period when the city was reinventing itself. Some of those buildings were in pretty bad shape--they'd been neglected, or were heavily vandalized eyesores that weren't worth dealing with. It was cheaper to simply knock them down.

[AccountingDrone]

"Too far gone" tends to be relative. Sometimes it is not an issue with how solid the building is. Updating the plumbing and electrical can cause more damage. Sometime it is a matter of finding the correct new use, where the upgrades won't damage the building.

Thanks for sharing the photos. Those were interesting.

Very true, the pictures are very nice.

Although in retrospect, you do realize the fluffy whitish crap scattered on the floor is asbestos lagging, and the black powdery crap embedded in the walls is black mold? That since it was an industrial laundry, chlorinated hydrocarbons were dumped onsite [probably in those squarish sumps in the basement in that one picture] as well as any industrial chemicals spilled around can still be subliming after all these decades, and those pretty stamped tiles above the dropped ceiling are asbestos?

Please PLEASE next time you go building crawling you wear respiration protection, eye protection, long sleeves, long pants, solid shoes and good socks, and gloves? Covering your head and back of the neck is a good idea as well...

/ending channeling the hazmat tech I used to be ...

tyvec coveralls, disposable
tyvec booties, disposable
MSA half mask, reusable or full mask
organic filters
nitril gloves

Honest, I don't want anybody to have continuing health issues from exposure to industrial wastes ... I have enough issues from my time working hazmat.