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All Things Exploring: 12 Days of Looting

Published on: December 17th, 2019 | Last updated: December 16, 2019 | Written by:
Mind Control

Minneapolis loves there Abandoned Burger Kings
Minneapolis is currently fighting to keep two abandoned Burger King’s closed. Apparently the stores closed over a year ago, and when BK finally found a new franchise operator, the city changed the rules against the opening of any “new” drive thru locations. Uptight Conservative Alternate-Universe Joe says: “WOW how totally UN-american! These pinko communists are trying to take away our freedom fries now! I’m gunna drive my monster truck on down the city hall and throw all my plastic straws on the lawn while shooting it up with my AR-15!! America baby!

Zexor, RIP
NYC graffiti artist Zexor past this last week. At just 25, his time came too soon. I never met Zexor, but I always dug his work. Four years ago, when I found an abandoned gas station that he painted the entire entrance of, I named the post on the website about that spot for him. It’s crazy to think about how much work this dude did on NYC streets in such a short amount of time.

NetFlix and Haunt
Netflix is apparently working on a show about abandoned haunted houses and seriously why?

The lost Montana tunnel cemetery.
The NY Times has a great story about the construction of the old Milwaukee Road rail tunnel in Montana, and how an entire town, and the graves of those who died during it’s construction, was later wiped out. This town was amazing – filled with booze and brothels, including a prostitute whose parrot was trained to proposition clients.

Mental Hospital Luxury
Did you know that at least three former mental hospitals have been transformed into luxury living spaces?

Iraqi Women’s Revolutionary Graffiti
Iraq is currently facing some serious issues with unemployment, corruption, and garbage leadership. In the face of these trying times, a growing protest movement is coming of age, complete with revolutionary murals painted by female artists. For a region where women are often suppressed, the art ain’t bad. This is a first for Iraq, and hopefully a good sign of things to come.

Tinley Park Health Rabble
Remember that abandoned mental health facility just outside Chicago? Well, the town is really pushing hard for it to be cleaned up and fenced in. Y’all have finished looting the place now right? From the sounds of it, this place won’t be joining those fancy pants refurbished former mental hospitals anytime soon.

The Red X
Albany, NY has a fair number of abandoned buildings. Many of them are labeled with a Red X. But what does that mean? This article gives a good primer on the meaning behind the symbology. Many other cities use Red Xs to mark abandoned locations. In NYC, these X’s are just spray painted on by whatever fire crew did the inspection, often with a small label “L117” or “E262” to represent which firehouse gave it a look. Obviously, these signs and markings are great for us explorers. I mean shit may as well put a sign up that says “Break into this Bish!”

The Real D is Still Gritty AF
Detroit might have a mini-hipster downtown now, but it’s also full of some of the poorest people in the country, who hold out no hope of working. Most struggle to find ways to eat…

One Less Housing Development
Troy, New York is set to demolish an abandoned public housing apartment building to make way for a new trendy low rise neighborhood. I’ve always found this nuclear option a bit disturbing: old buildings can be rewired, plumbing can be replaced and renewed, and loads of waste from construction materials kept out of landfills. If crime is an issue, surely there has to be better ways to address that than imploding buildings. Renters could be given a path to ownership, instilling more pride in the buildings. Am I wrong? What do you think?

Survivalist Bunkers
If you’re not familiar with how doomsday preppers have bought up abandoned military bunkers to prep for nuclear annihilation, this article is a good overview of the industry.

West Virginia Blight
Some communities are always looking for ways to report and demolish abandoned properties. Towns in West Virginia is trying to enact new codes around it. God dang government. Next thing they’ll be telling Bubba he’s got to scrap that pickup bed on the lawn used for planting trash seeds.

NYC’s Other Jail might Close
Most New Yorkers don’t realize we have a jail here that is specifically used for the most seriously mentally ill, criminal minded people to get caught. Now the state is planning to close Kirby Psychiatric — located on Wards island. They plan to move the prisoners to less secure locations, because that makes sense, said everyone ever. It’s worth noting that Kirby is simply an older building that probably could use some rehab. It is of similar design to Kings Park’s notorious Building 93. While closing jails is all the rage these days, we’re not talking about people who hopped the subway or couldn’t make bail here… we’re talking about actual murderers, rapists, and people too psychotic to walk our streets.

Explore yourself a Florida Sheriff’s office
The county of Flagler, Florida apparently has a disused sheriffs office that rotting away in the swamp-ass Florida heat. Apparently contaminated with mold, it seems unlikely the building will be cleaned up anytime soon. No word on how many possums and raccoons might be living in there, though I’ll happily go count next time I’m in that hood…

Squatters gunna Squat
Residents in Moiliili (Hawai’i) are a bit frustrated that homeless people have moved into some abandoned buildings that are apparently slated to become part of a school someday. Sounds like maybe they should turn it into a homeless shelter instead.

Bridgeport Body
A Bridgeport, CT man was found dead inside a ‘bando on the former Remington property last week. At one time, this old factory was a hotbed for exploring… times have changed to say the least.

Bando BBQ!
An amazing old 1850-built brewery in Cincinnati burned out of control Saturday night. A sad end for a very good looking ‘bando.

Meanwhile, a North Charleston building quite literally burned to the ground before fire personnel arrived to put it out.

International Update
Apparently fires in abandoned buildings isn’t a US-only plague. St. Lucia is moving against allowing ‘bandos to linger, due to recent fires.

In Damascus Syria, Islamist built secret tunnels into the old city and used them as a launch point to attack the government.

Birmingham, UK is asking residents to report abandoned houses and buildings, so the city might try and board them all up. Apparently they’ve had a serious fires-in-abandoned-buildings outbreak recently and their fire department has run dangerously low on Marshmallows.

Pakistan apparently has millions of dollars worth of abandoned buildings and they’re looking to sell. Stake your claim now 🙂

Sydney, Australia is buying up some homes to build a new highway tunnel. As you might imagine, some of the homeowners are really not pleased about this.

Meanwhile, on the West Coast of Oz, a tourist railway plans to reopen a station at a long abandoned town site.

AND THAT’S A WRAP.
Tis the season to give your loved ones LOOT. Fuck all this consumerist, capitalist bullshit. If you’re not giving away a few bits of loot treasure from random abandoned places, you’re just doing it wrong. The Jesus didn’t go shopping, so why should you?

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Comments

NOTE: It sometimes takes a short while for comments to be approved - unfortunately there's a lot of spam comments that come in. I absolutely love when y'all share personal stories of friends relatives etc who worked in these places. It really helps capture what these places were like before they closed up shop.

If you're feeling salty, argumentative comments completely devoid of facts (supply links to support your argument) will not be published. Got a case to state? come with the details.

2 responses to “All Things Exploring: 12 Days of Looting”

  1. Christopher Pollack says:

    Merry Christmas LTV FAM!

  2. Bad Guy Joe says:

    Wooo! Happy Goon-a-days 😛

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  • About The Author

    Bad Guy Joe

    Bad Guy Joe
    Bad Guy Joe knows more about the NYC underground than anyone else on or below the surface of this planet. He has spent nearly 30 years sneaking into NYC's more forbidden locations. When not underground, he's probably bitching about politicians or building something digital. 
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    LTVSquad.com is the blog of NYC's most notorious team of explorers. We bring you a unique roasted blend of content culled from the fringes and dark underbelly of this fine city. Consider us an Autodidact's guide to urban exploration, adventure and fringe art. Mixed with 2 part photography and video, 1 parts social commentary and (ill)legal mentality.

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