vanshnookenraggen blog » Urban Exploration

Inside the Hell Gate Bridge

vanshnookenraggen — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 07:02:35 +0000

The Hell Gate Bridge is one of the more impressive bridges in New York City. Completed in 1916 to allow through service by trains from New Jersey to New England, the 4 track arch bridge was the longest of its kind in the world when it opened. Supposedly, it was over engineered so that it looked trustworthy enough for people to believe it would stand. Because of this it is thought that this bridge, after humans are gone from the earth, would be the last New York City bridge to fall, lasting almost a thousand years.

Having spent much of my time in Astoria near the bridge I’ve always wondered what it would take to explore it. Unlike the High Line or other right-of-ways I’ve explored in the past this was very much active and very dangerous. We had to keep lights off as not to be spotted and had to keep a keen eye out for any on-coming trains. After a long mile and a half walk in the middle of the night we made our way up the tracks.

It is quite a beautiful sight to see the city from that height, about 7 or 8 stories above the ground. We reached the southern support tower, designed to emulate the great triumphal arches of Rome. Inside there was a small iron spiral staircase leading up to the top of the arch, inside the arch that is. The cavernous space was a sight to behold (no pictures were taken due to the complete lack of light). The structure has large slits in it which seems like a nod to arrowslits in medieval castles. Continuing up another set of spiral stairs leads to the roof. Inside the air was heavy and filled with particles, no doubt from the inches of decaying bird carcases and dirt which lined the floors.

The archways surrounding the roof of the support tower created an interesting effect in that you did not feel at all like you were in a dangerous place much like you do on the roofs of ordinary buildings. The archways created a room with windows out into the city. The weather was so nice that you hardly realized you were outside at all.

The city was only an idea at this point. The noise, the energy, the problems, all were a distant hum; all was quiet and peaceful. Trains passing below offered the only clue to the reality of the situation, but also brought out the adolescent fascination we had of big powerful machines.

We were there for a while, not to do damage but to experience something few ever have the chance to. It was a moment. What has always attracted me to urban exploration was the curiosity in knowing that what one sees in their daily life is only skin deep, that a thousand levels of infrastructure supports everything you take for granted in life. The bridge was there before I was and will be after I am no longer.

We would have stayed, the sunrise from this vantage point would have been indescribable, but legal reasons kept us wary. On our way down we happened to catch sight of a light further below in the tower. Climbing down further we discovered that the tower itself was hollow and inside were four great halls, 7 stories tall each.

While exploring each great hall we quickly ran the numbers as to the feasibility of throwing the worlds most exclusive party inside the base of the tower. Obviously David Byrne was in… A stairwell led down under the floor to a locked door, one which was familiar to me from my many walks around the outside of the bridge in the day. This was the easy way, the less fun way, the practical way in.

We made the climb back to track level and back along the tracks. The night was completed to full, breakfast awaited as a reward.

A Walk on the High Line

vanshnookenraggen — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 22:00:45 +0000

I moved the New York in the summer of 2005 and I had been interested in urban exploration photography for some time before that. New York had so much to off for me but the first thing I wanted to see was the High Line on the west side of Manhattan. At that time it was still a hulking abandoned relic hiding in plain sight. A few initial attemps were made but all ended in failure of getting up to the tracks. On a warm November day I tired again. While walking into the truck lot across the street from the
Javits Center I noticed a couple who were following me. When we got across the lot and onto the tracks that lead up to the High Line I turned to talk with them. The man had grown up in the area and had visited the High Line many times in his youth. That day he was bringing his girlfriend along because she had never seen it. As an urban explorer I wasn’t really used to running into people while exploring so I let them wander off ahead of me while I tried to document and take in the incredeble natural landscape which floated through the city.

At the time I was actually dismayed that these people were in my photographs; after all the point of urban exploration is to go where there are no people. It wasn’t until years later when the amazing High Line park opened and this once tranquil preserve became a world attraction, flooded daily with people, that I realized how lucky I was to capture that moment. These two people, out in the alien zone above the city, all alone, represent our spirit of adventure and discovery.

[Gallery not found]

Now for sale at society6, these hauntingly beautiful prints from Urban Exploration New York: A Walk on the High Line depict the famous High Line as it was before it was transformed into the amazing park it is today. Weeds and trash strewn about, graffiti tags lining the walls. Take a walk back in time. These prints will look great hanging on your wall or going with you with your iPhone!

These prints are available as the following products:

Fine art print on natural white, matte, ultra smooth, 100% cotton rag, acid and lignin free archival paper using an advanced digital dry ink method to ensure vibrant image quality. Custom trimmed with 1″ border for framing.
Framed fine art print on natural white, matte, ultra smooth, 100% cotton rag, acid and lignin free archival paper using an advanced digital dry ink method to ensure vibrant image quality.
Fine art print on bright white, fine poly-cotton blend, matte canvas using latest generation Epson archival inks. Individually trimmed and hand stretched museum wrap over 1-1/2″ deep wood stretcher bars. Includes wall hanging hardware.
iPhone Case: Protect your iPhone (fits all iPhone 4 and 4S versions) with a one-piece, impact resistant, flexible plastic hard case featuring an extremely slim profile. Simply snap the case onto your iPhone for solid protection and direct access to all device features.
iPhone, iPad Skins and Laptop: Skins are thin, easy-to-remove, vinyl decals for customizing your device. Skins are made from a patented material that eliminates air bubbles and wrinkles for easy application.

Prints are available at my Society6 page, http://society6.com/vanshnookenraggen/

Miru Kim at TED

vanshnookenraggen — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 03:13:02 +0000

Miru Kim is a New York based artist who is famous for doing urban exploration in the nude (which she explains in this TED video). I remember the first time I saw her work was right after I explored the former Revere Sugar Factory in Red Hook, Brooklyn. I saw the nude pics of her on LTV and thought it was pretty dumb at the time but now that I’ve seen the result and understand what she was trying to do I’m kind of in awe. I’ve seen a lot of urban exploration pictures but hers are just on another level, precisely because she creates this character for them. Most urbex (including mine) is more of a way to document these great places. She goes to the next level and I have to give her mad props for it.

Last day to order the 2009 Urbex Calendar

vanshnookenraggen — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 05:46:33 +0000

Today is the last day to order my 2009 Urban Exploration NYC calendar in order to get it by Christmas. Above is a quilt of the images included in the calendar. I got mine in the mail a few days ago and it looks really nice.Featuring images from the Greenpoint Terminal Warehouse, Revere Sugar Factory, High Line, and more!

Printed: 12 months, 13.5″ x 19″, coil binding, white interior paper (100# weight), full-color interior ink, $29.99.

Click the image or click here to purchase.

Happy Holidays all!

Urban Exploration New York City 2009 Calendar

vanshnookenraggen — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 01:53:55 +0000

Just in time for Christmas, the 2009 Urban Exploration New York City calendar is now available. Featuring images from the Greenpoint Terminal Warehouse, Revere Sugar Factory, High Line, and more!

Printed: 12 months, 13.5″ x 19″, coil binding, white interior paper (100# weight), full-color interior ink, $29.99.

Click the image or click here to purchase.

Urban Exploration New York

vanshnookenraggen — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 20:19:17 +0000

Abandoned Subway Station in The Bronx

Hipsters and the Homeless: Exploration of the underground.

A relic of the old elevated subway days, Sedgwick Ave station connected the Jerome Ave line (4 train) to the 9th Ave Elevated. This was the connection between the old Polo Grounds and Yankee Stadium, the origin of the term “subway series”. The elevated were torn down over 50 years ago and very little remain. When the 9th Ave was torn down Sedgwick Ave stayed in operation as a shuttle between Yankee Stadium and the Polo Grounds but when the Giants packed up for the west coast there was no need (also the city had built a proper subway connecting the two stations in the 1930s).

For more information on Sedgwick Ave: Abandoned Stations : Sedgwick Ave

For the full sets of mine and reveire’s images (as well as full sized ones for your desktops):
Reveire3
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