abandoned rubber factory

After a seriously inactive 2016, Jeff and I have been doing our best to get out and take more photos this year. I have to say, we’re kind of kicking butt. For the last solid month, possibly longer, we’ve been getting out at least once per week to search for abandoned places that we haven’t been to or at least haven’t been to a while. Because we’ve been so active I actually have a small backlog of rad photos that I still need to share from our recent adventures. It feels so darn good!

When we go on vacation, Klaus goes to my parents. Our New Orleans trip a few weeks ago was from Monday until Friday. Instead of heading straight to pick up Klaus after getting back we tried to make the most of the fact that we had a dog-sitter still and a weekend with no plans. We decided to head to a town nearby that is chock-full of abandonment. We went hoping to find brand new spots to explore but knew that there was a rubber factory that was essentially a sure thing in case everywhere else fell through.

Jeff had been here many years before and didn’t necessarily talk it up to be anything special. We had also tried on one previous occasion to explore it but shortly after exiting the car a cop drove by… and then another. We took it as a bad omen and called it quits before even starting. That little peek didn’t really leave me too interested. From the road it just looked like a shell of a factory – cool to snap a photo of but not really worth the effort or risk of trespassing. Oh how wrong I was…

Just like the Rubber Bowl, an abandoned stadium I had known about for a while but failed to make much effort to visit, this factory and it’s many buildings turned out to be pretty darn rad. While there wasn’t too much left inside there were still lots of interesting sights to behold. I was particularly smitten with the shoes dangling from the ceiling. Seriously, why are there always so many shoes in abandoned buildings? Shoes here, shoes there.

What I thought would be a quick stop of us just dipping onto the property, snapping a few photos, and leaving quickly turned into a couple of hours. This factory complex closed twenty seven long years ago. Multiple buildings still stand but a vast majority have been demolished, at least their upper levels have been. The property is littered with holes, both large and small, giving you a peek as to whats down below. Definitely a place you have to watch your step, lest you end up breaking an ankle or worse!

The photo below was taken from inside one the aforementioned holes. Jeff loves all things underground, and I do too… with some hesitation. While he raced to the opening with access to a small underground room, I poked around at the opening feeling a little bit too sketched out to want to spend anytime underneath the surface. Behind me were stairs, well, stairs covered in pieces of brick and overgrown with weeds. To my right was solid wall, and to the left was a drop down. I eventually went underground but ended up liking this photo better than anything I took down there. I think it’s a really neat shot.

So, note to self, stop avoiding all the things in life you thinks are easy and therefore not worth it because they’re actually probably pretty darn rad.
xoxo


If you haven’t gotten your grime fix, be sure to browse my “abandoned” tag!