In 1966 there was a movie starring Natalie Wood and Robert Redford based on a story by Tennessee Williams called This Property Is Condemed, about life in the south during the depression and the physical and emotional effects of abandonment, abuse and neglect... the story and movie as you may guess is not an uplifting one and (spoiler alert) there not a happy ending... but with it began my fascination with abandoned places.... and in particular places that used to be grand and opulent.
Because I like to imagine the lives that were once lived there... the holidays and parties, celebrations and also the sorrow and tragedy... The question I always ask is... was it abandoned because of neglect or abuse or a disaster natural or otherwise... because no one just walks away from places like this and moves on because they are not in the right place?... or do they? I've always said it's very psychologically damaging to live in a hated home... I've said here before no one runs away from or can break up a happy home... but this seems a bit extreme.
Part of the beauty I've found in my travels around the world is there are houses and churches and temples that have stood the test of time of war and peace and everything that comes in between and they are still inhabited and functioning... and there are also the ruins of ancient civilizations that are respected and revered for what they represented in the past and what they contribute to the present and hopefully the future.
But what about the other places like a shopping mall...
You can imagine the crowds busy shopping for the holidays and girls going to buy a dress to go to the prom... and the buzz of everyday life in almost any suburban town.
Does a mall become abandoned because the economy of the town can no longer support it?... was a bigger and better mall built? ... was it built on a radioactive land fill?... Because the people who live near this mall in Akron Ohio still shop for gifts and they still go to dances and such... in this case it closed due to declining consumer traffic and Amazon is planning to build a large 700,000 square foot facility that will replace the Rolling Acres Mall.
In the case of Grossinger's resort in New York...it was a matter of changing times and tastes and a world with more mobility and choices. Grossinger's earned a place in history as the first ski resort to use artificial snow. In my opinion because it was part of the "Borscht Belt" of resorts that catered primarily to jewish clientele from New York City... as time went by many did not want to be pigeon holed by what it seemed to represent and preferred to go to Aspen or Vail instead. It was Grossinger's that was used as the inspiration for the movie Dirty Dancing...
The end of the demolition was completed in 2018!
This gymnasium near Pittsburgh... I can almost hear the sounds of games won and lost and the cheers and sighs from the crowds of fans... I have no details on this or of the following two images but I want to be optimistic that they paved the way for something better than an Amazon facility...
The abandoned homes are of the most interest to me... because twice in my life I've lived in them... once in Italy I was staying in a villa owned by the family of a friend and they wanted someone on the premises to thwart vandals or vagrants who might choose to move in until it was sold.
The other time was a beautiful house in St. Thomas that was changing ownership and they wanted me there for the same reason to keep everything running and in order until the sale was complete.
I'm happy to say that this property still exists and is currently a Bed & Breakfast... what both of these experiences had in common was that I was living in large home mostly devoid of any furniture... or much of anything for that matter... I had a wonderful kitchen in both and laundry facilities and in St. Thomas had my own private swimming pool. It was rather eerie in both especially on certain dark and stormy nights... but I often walked around and pictured in my mind what they had been like in their original glory!
All of these forgotten places have a story, some are more steeped in history and passion than others... if you have time take a few minutes to learn more about the haunted Hotel Del Salto in Bogota Columbia.
Of all the places I've been or even the places I want to go to... you know you are where you are supposed to be when you wake up in a place and everything feels right... your thoughts are positive and your vision for the future is clear... you are at peace with where you have been and where you are headed... finding that place is not always easy but it's easy to know when you are not there and it's time to move on... One of the most important aspects of being an adult is taking care of yourself and your surroundings so that you and it does not fall into disrepair...I think that is probably the biggest reason why places and people are abandoned... to start it's important to self-heal and any relationship that needs mending that you want to take with you on the journey.
On a side note... since New Year's Day Marlon Brando has been on my mind for some reason... there was a point in time I would have tangoed in Paris or almost anything, anytime anywhere with him... My early infatuation of him grew into a deep respect that I have had for no other celebrity (although it took me a couple of days to get there) after he refused to accept his award from The Academy Of Motion Picture Arts And Sciences in 1973... If you don't know the story look it up. It was really my first real experience of understanding the difference between vain and shallow pursuits and doing the right thing...
I think it it probably the best speech ever given in the history of The Academy Awards... here is the entire speech Mr. Brando wrote
For 200 years we have said to the Indian people who are fighting for their land, their life, their families and their right to be free: "Lay down your arms, my friends, and then we will remain together. Only if you lay down your arms, my friends, can we then talk of peace and come to an agreement which will be good for you." When they laid down their arms, we murdered them. We lied to them. We cheated them out of their lands. We starved them into signing fraudulent agreements that we called treaties which we never kept. We turned them into beggars on a continent that gave life for as long as life can remember. And by any interpretation of history, however twisted, we did not do right. We were not lawful nor were we just in what we did. For them, we do not have to restore these people, we do not have to live up to some agreements, because it is given to us by virtue of our power to attack the rights of others, to take their property, to take their lives when they are trying to defend their land and liberty, and to make their virtues a crime and our own vices virtues. But there is one thing which is beyond the reach of this perversity and that is the tremendous verdict of history. And history will surely judge us. But do we care? What kind of moral schizophrenia is it that allows us to shout at the top of our national voice for all the world to hear that we live up to our commitment when every page of history and when all the thirsty, starving, humiliating days and nights of the last 100 years in the lives of the American Indian contradict that voice? It would seem that the respect for principle and the love of one's neighbor have became dysfunctional in this country of ours, and that all we have done, all that we have succeeded in accomplishing with our power is simply annihilating the hopes of the newborn countries of this world, as well as friends and enemies alike, that we're not humane, and that we do not live up to our agreements. Perhaps at this moment you are saying to yourself what the hell has all this got to do with the Academy Awards? Why is this woman standing up here, ruining our evening, invading our lives with things that don't concern us, and that we don't care about? Wasting our time and money and intruding in our homes. I think the answer to those unspoken questions is that the motion picture community has been as responsible as any for degrading the Indian and making a mockery of his character, describing him as savage, hostile and evil. It's hard enough for children to grow up in this world. When Indian children watch television, and they watch films, and when they see their race depicted as they are in films, their minds become injured in ways we can never know. Recently there have been a few faltering steps to correct this situation, but too faltering and too few, so I, as a member of this profession, do not feel that I can as a citizen of the United States accept an award here tonight. I think awards in this country at this time are inappropriate to be received or given until the condition of the American Indian is drastically altered. If we are not our brother's keeper, at least let us not be his executioner. I would have been here tonight to speak to you directly, but I felt that perhaps I could be of better use if I went to Wounded Knee to help forestall in whatever way I can the establishment of a peace which would be dishonorable as long as the rivers shall run and the grass shall grow. I would hope that those who are listening would not look upon this as a rude intrusion, but as an earnest effort to focus attention on an issue that might very well determine whether or not this country has the right to say from this point forward we believe in the inalienable rights of all people to remain free and independent on lands that have supported their life beyond living memory. Thank you for your kindness and your courtesy to Miss Littlefeather. Thank you and good night.
He was nominated for Last Tango In Paris in 1972 and should have won because it was the best performance of his life... if not of all time in Hollywood... but he made choices that he knew would have ramifications in the future... and he held tight to his principles. I'm not saying there were no elements of neglect or abuse and abandonment... but it appears at least on the surface... he quite simply walked away on his own terms and took the responsibility to live with the consequences...but like almost everything I'm sure there is so much more to his story than what we can see between the shadow and the act and what others have shared.
One of my all time favorite photos... my homage to Mr Brando is that my mantra this year is going to be... " Don't bring me down with your bourgeois hangups!"
I hope everyone had a fantastic holiday and I wish you all the best and want thank you in advance for joining me in my journey in 2020!
