After the dissolution of the medical supplies depot Wittlich/Germany in July 1975 the medical depot Lorch/Rheingau was set up. It had the task to store, maintain, deliver and dispose medical supplies for the Medical Service of the German Bundeswehr. In the 1960s, the days of the Cold War, they sought to protect such facilities against […]

Lansdowne Theater in Philadelphia / PA
The Lansdowne Theater opened on June 1, 1927, featuring the silent film “Knockout Riley” starring Richard Dix. The opening event was overseen by John J. McGuirk, president of the Stanley Company, the predecessor of Warner Brothers. Mr. McGuirk described The Lansdowne as “the best example of suburban theatre construction around Philadelphia”. Adding to the excitement […]

Essex County Jail Annex / NJ
Originally constructed in 1862 to hold Confederate prisoners of war, the Essex County Jail Annex functioned as a state penitentiary for many years before eventually being replaced by a new facility to alleviate overcrowding. The penitentiary was largely self-sufficient. As late as the 1970’s inmates still tended to apple and peach orchards on the grounds, […]

Voelklingen Ironworks / Germany
The Ironworks, which cover some 6 ha, dominate the city of Völklingen in the German State of Saarland. Construction of the plant began in 1881, it went of production in 1986. It is the example in the whole of Western Europe and North America of an integrated ironworks that was built and equipped in the […]

Melaten Cemetery in Cologne / Germany
The Melaten Cemetery is the central cemetery of the town of Cologne. The name „Melaten“ comes from the French word „malade“ which has the same meaning as the English „malady“. It’s history goes back to the 12th century when the area located an asylum for people suffering from leprosy, called „campus leprosi“…. Later, in the […]

Japan / Between Tradition and Progress / 2006
Back in March 2006, I visited Japan together with my friend Simone, who had been staying there for a language course, in order to discover a very strange -for me at first- country. Her vast experience and knowledge of land and culture naturally helped tremendously to discover and understand its very unique features and specialties. […]

Ligne Maginot PO Hobling / France
Ouvrage Hobling is a lesser work (petit ouvrage) of the Maginot Line. Located in the Fortified Sector of Boulay, the ouvrage consists of two infantry blocks and two observation blocks, and is located between gros ouvrage Michelsberg and petit ouvrage Bousse, facing Germany. It has been stripped of metals and abandoned. Hobling was approved for […]

Ligne Maginot GO Michelsberg / France
Ouvrage Michelsberg, one of the Maginot Line fortifications, formed part of the Fortified Sector of Boulay as well as the fortified region of Metz. The ouvrage is located in Moselle (département) between the towns of Dalstein and d’Ebersviller, about 23km from Thionville. It is located between gros ouvrage Mont des Welches and petit ouvrage Hobling, […]

Police Detention in Frankfurt / Germany
This is actually one of my first Urban Exploring „harvests“. In 2007, The German Museum for Architecture used the old building as temporary home during some renovation work at the actual museum. During this short intermezzo the site was partially open to the public. The Detention was built in 1886 and throughout its history it […]

Hudson River State Hospital / NY
The Hudson River State Hospital is a former New York state psychiatric hospital whose main building has been designated a National Historic Landmark due to its exemplary High Victorian Gothic architecture, the first use of that style for an American institutional building. The Hudson River Psychiatric Center, nearby, is a successor facility. Frederick Clarke Withers […]