SaskUrbEx Blog

School and Farm house

admin — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 20:17:18 +0000

These photos are from a trip about a year ago. During the spring when it was really tough to get anywhere due to the flooding we really didn’t get out too much. Even this trip was spent dodging impassable roads and mud. This was a few locations that we visited one evening. We hit up a couple farm houses and then a former community that only still has a church and a school.

I hope to have another update shortly.

Very large farmhouse - I am not a huge fan of farm houses however this one was very large and interesting

Windmill

Interesting cupboard system with shared cupboards between the kitchen and dining room

Arilem on the stairs

2 room brick school house

Another shot of the schoolhouse

Toilets and desks in the semi flooded basement

The setting sun from one of the classrooms.

Looking out the front door.

Teaser and excuses

admin — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 19:01:24 +0000

Well here we are again – I am way behind on updates. I have lots of content to share, I just haven’t found the time to process the photos and do write ups. There will be some updates in the very near future though. Thank you for your patience. Here are some photos of an undisclosed former medical facility in the province.

Old hospital room

Found on the floor of a former medical facility

Hallway shot

Another Saskatchewan Ghost Town

admin — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 05:57:18 +0000

There are literally hundreds of towns that no longer exist in this province. Many are nothing more than a name on the map and some aren’t even on the maps anymore. There are very few true ghost towns in Saskatchewan. I define a ghost town as a site that has at least a half dozen buildings remaining but not a single resident. The town featured below doesn’t quite fit into what I would consider a ghost town because there are still a few residents however there are less than 10 people living in this town that was once home to around 200 residents at its peak. The town has become popular and people are coming out to see it due to media attention over the past year and that has also brought pickers and vandals. I have been aware of the town for several years but never took the time to stop by until this fall. We found a very decrepit hotel, a town hall, and several houses. We were watched closely by one resident who has gotten tired of the trouble that the media attention has caused, he finally approached us to ensure we weren’t damaging anything or taking anything. After speaking with him for several minutes and seeing our professional photo gear he decided we were no harm to the place and only warned us to stay out of the buildings. I find it kind of humorous because he is tired of people coming out there however he is responsible for the media attention that the town received in the first place. I am a firm believer that the places that we visit need to be kept anonymous to protect them and that is why we always protect their true identities unless it is a location that is gone all together. Enjoy the nameless ghost town.

Looking down Railway Avenue

The former school

Town hall

Inside the town hall

Rental rates for the hall - however there is no power to the hall and it hasn’t been used in some time.

This town hall has one of the nicer kitchens I have seen in a rural hall

The bar in the hall

The back alley behind the hall with some other abandoned houses near by

The hotel - by the looks of things it won’t be standing all that much longer

Sidewalk leading up to the hotel

Back of the hotel - most of the top floor is without a roof

One side of the hotel - I believe this was the lobby and perhaps a restaurant

The bar is on the other side with collapsed roof

This massive safe was in the hotel - considering the state of the hotel I am surprised the floor can still hold this safe.

Pick Axe Mines

admin — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 22:29:03 +0000

In an old historical mining area in west central Wyoming one can find many old gold mines. Some are just areas of slumped ground where a mine entrance had been filled in. Others were complete complexes of many buildings, and some were Just unmarked concrete shafts that you could easily fall into if you weren’t careful. It’s an area that you definitely will want to tread carefully in.

Below are a few photos of various mines in the area, the most interesting one was sealed up tight and appears to have been done recently however the buildings themselves are an amazing piece of history. There is much to see in the area however time constraints and lack of a better off road vehicle didn’t allow us to see all that we would have liked to see.

A filled in mine shaft

an open concrete mine shaft

It was a long ways down - watch your step around here

Mine cart rails near the head frame building leading towards the mill

Where the carts were dumped into the mill below

Head frame building

Looking down at the mill - Sealed up very well

Arilem walking along the rails

Bunkhouse and head frame

Over all site - Mill is not visible though

Another nearby mine that is very closely watched

Another nearby mine that is being restored / preserved

Power Plant in an Oil Field

admin — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 03:41:03 +0000

Arilem found a couple exterior photos of an amazing looking power plant in Wyoming. Armed with only a name neither one of us could find it. I searched and searched the topographical maps trying to find it until I stumbled across it while looking for something else all together. It appears to be a very large building which I believe is limestone. I don’t know much about it – I don’t know when it was built or when its use was discontinued. On the one side of it is a switching yard that is still in use.

After many hours of driving we finally arrived. It looked so promising from the exterior however it was very gutted on the inside. It appears to have utilized by a local farmer that uses it for storage. It was still well worth the visit and was very photogenic.

Our first look of the plant - it looked amazing

However it is an empty shell

It is a very nice piece of architecture

Another look inside from the other end

The switching yard is still used

The basement area where the some of the cooling was - there were pits of water and remains of huge pipes

There was once a lot more to this place as there are foundations all around it