Urban Exploration: Craddock High School

Urban Exploration is completely fascinating, but me and Bender are big chickens, and kinda scared to go it alone.

If you don't know what an Urban Explorer is, check out this great podcast from How Stuff Works.

My neighborhood is a mixtured of old, yet active suburbs, and crumbling structures. Though most Urban Exploration is in abandoned areas, this place looks and feels abandoned. I haven't tried to go inside, since I think there might actually be stuff going on, and, well, Bender is always with me, but it's fun to walk around and see weird stuff.

This used to be Craddock High School, in Portsmouth, Virginia. I have no idea if there's a new High School, or what they plan to do with this one, but it looks like it used to be a very pretty place. If it weren't for the overgrowth of vines, I woulda never noticed the "Back to the Future" Clock way up there.

Even Bender likes to look at the clock, or maybe it's the squirrels crawling on the brick walls.

Almost all the windows have been boarded up, except for the far right side, where I think some sort of printing press and Adult Education go on. If the inside is anywhere as bad as the outside, I don't think I'd be able to concentrate on getting my Adult Education.

Sometimes I see skateboarders in the parking lot, sometimes I see photography nerds testing out new equipment here. I don't blame them, its a fun place with some pretty nice shots.

Here's decent shot of the parking lot from a few months ago. It was completely flooded and our walk got cut short that day.

During the summer, Guerilla Gardeners come through this area and spruce it up, and put some pretty flowers in the rock beds.

The other side of the building, where I think there's schooling and a printing company, has a functional softball field and football field. The last storm to come through really did a number on the place, and all these old lights came down, along with some power lines.

Look what I found in the field?

I think it came off this.

I'm not sure what this is, but this was right next to it. Kinda scary.

There's quite a few places here that make for great photos, and other places that are just great.

Like this giant smoke-stack. It used to heat the whole school in the wintertime.

As you can see, there must be something much more interesting to the left.

This place has been trashed, and parts of it look both terrible, and beautiful.

I never thought I would capture sun-beams shining down on a pile of trash with my iphone and Canon SD970 IS.  But I did.  I call it, "Angelic Trash".

Enough with the photos, I need a break to scratch behind my ears.