Ghostly Ruins: America's Forgotten Architecture

224 Pages·2006·20.28 MB·English

by  Harry Skrdla

Ghostly Ruins
1

I
met a traveler from an antique land
Who said: ‘Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. Near them, on the sand,
Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed.
And on the pedestal these words appear—
“My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!”
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.’

Ozymandias
Percy Bysshe Shelley

Ghostly Ruins

America’s Forgotten Architecture
Harry Skrdla
Princeton Architectural Press, New York
6
To Marilyn and Elizabeth, who followed me down into the Niagara Gorge
without knowing what they were getting into.
Published by
Princeton Architectural Press
37 East Seventh Street
New York, New York 10003
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© 2006 Princeton Architectural Press
All rights reserved
Printed and bound in the United States
09 08 07 06 4 3 2 1 First edition
No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner without
written permission from the publisher, except in the context of reviews.
Every reasonable attempt has been made to identify owners of copyright.
Errors or omissions will be corrected in subsequent editions.
Acquisitions Editor: Clare Jacobson
Editor: Scott Tennent
Designer: Jan Haux
Special thanks to: Nettie Aljian, Dorothy Ball, Nicola Bednarek, Janet Behning, Becca Casbon,
Penny (Yuen Pik) Chu, Russell Fernandez, Sara Hart, Mark Lamster,
Nancy Eklund Later, Linda Lee, Katharine Myers, Lauren Nelson, Jennifer Thompson,
Paul Wagner, Joseph Weston, and Deb Wood of Princeton Architectural Press
—Kevin C. Lippert, publisher
Skrdla, Harry.
Ghostly ruins : America’s forgotten architecture / Harry Skrdla.
p. cm.
ISBN-13: 978-1-56898-615-9 (alk. paper)
ISBN-10: 1-56898-615-7 (alk. paper)
1. Photography, Artistic. 2. Abandonment of property—United States—Pictorial works.
I. Title.
TR655.S58 2006
779.092—dc22
2006010357
Contents
Introduction ..................................... 12
Disclaimer .......................................24
Author’s Note ................................... 26
Chapter 1
Transportation
The Ship Graveyard .............................32
The Michigan Central Depot ...................38
The City Hall IRT Station .......................44
Spanning the Void ...............................48
Chapter 2
Industry
The Schoellkopf Power Station ................ 56
The Packard Plant ...............................62
The Bethlehem Steel Mill .......................68
The Colonel Ward Pumping Station ........... 74
Chapter 3
Commerce
Bannerman’s Castle ............................ 82
The Book-Cadillac Hotel ...................... 90
Chin Tiki ........................................ 96
Chapter 4
Public Works
The Danvers State Hospital ...................102
Centralia, Pennsylvania ....................... 108
Eastern State Penitentiary .....................114
Bodie, California .............................. 122
Chapter 5
Home

Wyndcliffe ...................................... 130
Brush Park ...................................... 138
Windsor .........................................146
Chapter 6
Amusement
The United Artists Theatre .................... 152
Chippewa Lake Park ........................... 158
The New York State Pavilion .................. 166