Hundreds of historic buildings are demolished carelessly every year. With them, thousands upon millions of memories are wiped for new generations to forget. We may not be able to stop these demolitions, but we can document what once was.
Preserving History
Throughout the years, our small friend group maintained a hobby of "urbexing". Exploring abandoned buildings just to observe and photograph, much like anyone would at a park or museum. Instead of paved paths though, we opt for the overgrown and forgotten. The abandoned and the dilapidated.
It takes a certain kind of crazy to volunteer to enter a structure that can fall on top of you at any moment. And we didn't have a particular objective besides "ooo'ing and ahh'ing" at these buildings. Until we realized that we could bring awareness and get in contact with those who knew these buildings than what the passing traffic on the roads know: some old building on the corner street.
So we continue. Continue to push through the rusted doors and spend hours researching and talking to those who knew these buildings before us.
Completed Projects
Scores Fun Center was an entertainment center in Painesville, Ohio tucked away in a small parking lot off the infamously busy Mentor Avenue. We originally heard from another colleague about "an abandoned bowling alley" and couldn't have anticipated the undertaking we were in for. We got in touch with the owner, George, as well as multiple former employees and got their stories and worked with them to salvage the building, welding doors shut, placing cameras on frequent break-in spots, and maintaining contact with law enforcement on the area. When the land was sold, our efforts were a key factor in enabling the next owners of the land to reuse the building to their use, rather than just demolish it entirely. We also worked with the former employees and owner to extract multiple containers of memorabilia and awards to distribute to rightful owners.
Scores Fun Center
Industrial Rayon Corp. was a string of factories, pioneering some of the most cutting-edge architecture and textile technologies for their manufacturing of rayon, a synthetic silk used in everything from socks to tires.| The decreased needs for rubber and similar textiles after World War 2 proved fatal for the company, selling to Midland-Ross Co., another Cleveland company supporting the automotive industry. As a division of Midland-Ross, the rayon manufacturing division (known as IRC Fibers) became a division of American Cyanamid of New Jersey in 1969 where it was mostly sold and defunct as of 2009. We spoke with multiple employees from multiple sites who were apart of the IRC franchise, spanning from finance and HR workers to manufacturing and die workers. We anticipated making this into a small video documentary, but we were gratefully beaten by another YouTuber who made a comprehensive and beautifully shot video before we could finish.
Industrial Rayon Corp
Ongoing Projects
Conneaut Lake Park is an amusement park dripping with over a century of history. Originally a boat landing in 1877, it became a proper amusement park in 1901. Though claimed as "historic" by the American Coaster Enthusiasts group in 2010, the park has become a political battleground for legal battles, tradition versus progress, and time versus nature. Though Conneaut Lake Park still technically stands, it's a shell of once it was with over 100 acres of attraction now reduced do a few attractions and a disappointing ownership. We've spoken with dozens of former visitors of the park as well as the Conneaut Lake Historical Society over the phone and in person for hours. We're excited to share this one!
Conneaut Lake Park
Houses and Small Closed Businesses
We're always looking around for any kind of buildings or structures that may have some history to it. Even it it doesn't, we'd love to document it! Use the form below to get in contact with us or text us at 440-508-6945!
