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FeaturedCHALKVILLE CAMPUS: Sickening History of the Alabama State Training School for Girls
JULY 9, 2023 My original post: https://deepsouthurbex.com/2020/01/23/state-training-school-for-girls/ – Still photos are from 2020, video footage is from 2021 0:00 – intro 1:07 – Marie Claire article 3:13 – History of Chalkville: Matsuyama 7:40 – Lawsuits and Abuse Allegations 18:00 – Future of the Chalkville Campus 23:40 – credits Photo and Info Sources: National Archives Record Group 69-N Birmingham Public Library… Read more
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SIESTA MOTEL MURDERS: Owners Killed by Handyman
My original post: https://deepsouthurbex.com/2020/01/16/siesta-motel/ DAYS INN BESSEMER MURDER (another video involving a homicide case and an abandoned Birmingham-area motel): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-jB6LBbAU8 AL.com story: https://www.al.com/news/2023/04/american-dream-for-immigrant-irondale-motel-owners-ended-in-horror-their-killer-is-fighting-for-his-life.html Schlauder Productions 2023
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DAYS INN BESSEMER MURDER: the Story of Urban Explorer Michael Richard (@mcrichard01 on TikTok)
Michael’s Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mcrichard01 Michael’s YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/aloneinthedark My original post (Jan 2020): https://deepsouthurbex.com/2020/01/20/days-inn-knights-inn/ https://www.al.com/news/birmingham/2023/02/family-longs-to-know-why-an-urban-explorer-was-shot-to-death-outside-a-burned-bessemer-motel.html https://obits.al.com/us/obituaries/birmingham/name/michael-richard-obituary?id=32301107 https://www.al.com/news/birmingham/2021/12/hoover-man-found-shot-to-death-in-vehicle-at-vacant-bessemer-motel.html https://www.cbs42.com/news/local/abandoned-days-inn-hotel-catches-fire-none-injured/ https://www.cbs42.com/news/local/bessemer-fire-department-working-to-contain-fire-at-vacant-knights-inn-hotel/ Schlauder Productions 2023
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La Estatue De Colon (Columbus Statue)
ARECIBO, PUERTO RICO JAN 3, 2023 The statue, named Birth of the New World, is one of the strangest things I have ever laid my eyes upon. It is the tallest statue in the western hemisphere and could not be more inappropriately and uncomfortably positioned on the beautiful, natural rural coastline of Puerto Rico. Obviously, some people are extremely unhappy… Read more
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The Bells Stables at Brenton Point
NEWPORT, RI JUNE 8, 2022 I went to Newport, Rhode Island for the first time last summer and was surprised to learn about this abandoned mansion in Brenton Point State Park. I visited to take some updated photos of the remaining stable/carriage house structures. ONCE ONE OF NEWPORT’S GRANDEST estates, The Bells moulders in disrepair at Brenton Point State Park… Read more
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Fear and Loathing in Tunica, Mississippi
TUNICA, MISS MARCH 15, 2022 Once one of the poorest places in the US, Tunica is currently home to six operational casinos. While the economic investment of the gambling industry has transformed the county and town of Tunica over the last thirty years, there have been a series of failures along the way. Many casinos have closed down and been… Read more
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Jesus Miracle Chapel
HOLOPAW, FLA AUG 9, 2021 Rev. Lee Hoffman has long dreamed of his Jesus Miracle Chapel welcoming more than 200 worshippers for Sunday service. For about 25 years, he’s worked on the structure by hand, but never quite finished it. His church has never had a roof nor a congregation, but mowing the lawn out front keeps the 92 year… Read more
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(Fisheye) Fort McClellan Army Barracks
ANNISTON, ALA JULY 5, 2021 The former headquarters complex for Fort McClellan will soon go up for sale, more than a year after plans to develop the site into an independent living facility fell through. “This is not a decision that the MDA board took lightly, and it was a last resort,” said Jason Odom, lawyer for the McClellan Development… Read more
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(Fisheye) Chalkville School for Girls
CHALKVILLE, ALA DEC 10, 2020 This place has a terrible history. Alabama is home to some of the worst prisons in the country and some of the worst schools in the country, and this state institution for teenage girls was no exception. Click here to see my first post about the Chalkville State Training School for Girls from January 2020… Read more
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Land Without Demand Birmingham Mini-Doc
A film about Birmingham by Luke Schlauder. Official Selection 23rd Annual Sidewalk Film Festival. FEATURING Charles Ball – https://www.rpcgb.org/ David Bulit – https://www.abandonedfl.com/ STILL PHOTOGRAPHS David Bulit – https://www.abandonedalabama.com/ ADDITIONAL FOOTAGE Atlanta Beltline – https://www.youtube.com/user/beltline… SPECIAL THANKS TO Michele Forman Sam Smith, Fred Bouie & Sabrina Palmer MUSIC Secret Job by Godmode 2021 undergraduate project for UAB Media Studies Ethnographic… Read more
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Big Bend Jai Alai Arena
CHATTAHOOCHEE, FLA MAY 11, 2020 Jai alai is a sport that gained popularity in Florida in the 20th century as one of the state’s only legal gambling options, marketed as “the Fastest Game in the World.” It consists of a wicker sling-like device known as a cesta being used to bounce a hardball known as a pelota off of a… Read more
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Port of the Islands Hotel Polaroids
NAPLES, FLA NOV 25, 2019 The first post on this site was on my visit to the abandoned Port of the Islands Hotel in Naples, Florida. These are SX-70 Polaroids I took while I was there. The hotel is part of the infamous Florida wetlands real estate scandal. The developers sold worthless land to unknowing buyers in the 1960s and… Read more
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Bremen Lakeview Resort
BREMEN, ALA FEB 13, 2020 “Pine Tree Trail Resort was located at 1940 County Rd 143 in Bremen, Alabama. It was originally developed as a timeshare resort, but closed down due to legal issues. It re-opened in the mid 1990’s under the name Bremen Lakeview Resort. It was then bought in 2006 by Bergendorf Properties as a Gatlinburg-meets-Smith-Lake style resort. It… Read more
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Abandoned Shannon Homes
SHANNON, ALA FEB 11, 2020 These two homes sit next to the Shannon Church of the Nazarene on Shannon Oxmoor Road. Shannon is an old town situated between Hoover and Bessemer, Alabama consisting of a post office, three churches and surrounding residences. The surrounding area is mostly composed of new subdivisions and apartment complexes, making the old homes in the… Read more
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Abandoned Oxmoor Valley Home
BIRMINGHAM, ALA FEB 11, 2020 This house sits on Shannon Wenonah Road near the recently constructed Lakeshore Parkway Publix grocery store and the Oxmoor Valley golf course. The property is currently listed for sale at $69,900. The house was clearly damaged by fire at one point although it has clearly been abandoned for some time. As subdivisions, apartment complexes and… Read more
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Fort McClellan Army Base
ANNISTON, ALA JAN 24, 2020 Historically, this district served as the primary headquarters, officers’ quarters and permanent barracks core of Fort McClellan, a 45,680-acre U.S. Army facility established as a National Guard Training camp in 1917 and upgraded to a permanent fort in 1929. Closed in 1999, Fort McClellan was a major military installation for more than eighty years during… Read more
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State Training School for Girls
CHALKVILLE, ALA JAN 22, 2020 The Alabama State Training School for Girls Campus in Chalkville was used for over 100 years, from it’s conception in 1909 until an EF3 tornado destroyed 11 of the buildings in 2012. Stories emerged from the 90’s and early 2000’s detailing mental, physical and sexual abuse inflicted on the girls by staff members and guards.… Read more
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Days Inn / Knights Inn
BESSEMER, ALA JAN 19, 2020 The Knights Inn on 9th Avenue in Bessemer has never been completely abandoned. Built as a Days Inn, it was ironically changed to a Knights Inn, and at one point the front building was a Studio Inn. This location has been abandoned for two or three years, although squatters and arsonists have kept it alive.… Read more
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Siesta Motel
IRONDALE, ALA JAN 16, 2020 The Siesta Motel on Crestwood Boulevard in Irondale has been closed since January 2018 for code violations that the owners of 13 years had failed to address. Owners Ching and Siumei Kao were in their late 70s and had decided to hire a handyman named Steven Richard Mulkey to help them fix up the motel.… Read more
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Sugarloaf Mountain, Florida
CLERMONT, FLA JULY 7, 2017 Sugarloaf Mountain is situated west of Lake Apopka outside of Clermont and is the highest point on the Florida Peninsula. While it’s technically a ridge, Sugarloaf Mountain is the fifth highest and “most prominent” high point in the state of Florida. When ranked nationally, Sugarloaf Mountain is more prominent than the most prominent high points… Read more
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Film Set Ghost Town of Spectre
MILLBROOK, ALA JAN 7, 2020 The most picturesque ghost town in Alabama is actually the partial remains of a set built in 2003 for the Tim Burton film Big Fish. The state of Alabama has a film office and a fairly sizable tax incentive for filmmakers. The set was actually built on Jackson Lake Island, which was bought by locals… Read more
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Ghost Town: Cahaba
CAHABA, ALA DEC 30, 2019 Cahaba was the first state capital of Alabama. Originally built in 1818, the history has been very well documented compared to the other ghost towns in the state. The original grid of streets that make up the site of “Old Cahawba” are preserved for visitors to drive around and see the remains of the town.… Read more
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Ghost Town: St. Stephens
ST. STEPHENS, ALA DEC 30, 2019 Before arriving to the site of Old St. Stephens travelers happen upon the successor town, New St Stephens. The town of Old St. Stephens was founded right next to the Tombigbee river, making it the furthest North a boat would have been able to travel at the time via Mobile Bay. Having been originally… Read more
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Searcy Mental Hospital
MOUNT VERNON, ALA DEC 30, 2019 Established in 1900 as a mental health facility to house overflow from Bryce Hospital in Tuscaloosa, Searcy Hospital, formerly known as Mount Vernon Insane Hospital and even the Mount Vernon Hospital for the Colored Insane, exclusively served African-Americans until it was desegregated in 1969. It was closed on Halloween 2012 as part of Alabama’s… Read more
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Byrnes Lake
STOCKTON, ALA MAR 10, 2017 Byrnes Lake near Stockton Alabama in Baldwin County was the primary filming location and set of Camp Crystal Lake for Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood, filmed in 1987. Stockton Fire Department’s actual fire truck was used for several shots in the film. Shot on iPhone by Luke Schlauder Fridaythe13thfilms.com ‘s page on… Read more
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6 South Alabama Ghost Towns
BLAKELEY – CAHABA, ALA DEC 30, 2019 Many previous Alabama capitals and once bustling cities of the past lie abandoned between Mobile and Montgomery, Alabama, west of the modernly recognized South-state travel route. I’ve made the drive on Interstate 65 from Baldwin County to Central Alabama many dozen times, which is relatively not scenic compared to much of the state.… Read more
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Pensacola Amtrak Station
PENSACOLA, FLA JUNE 23, 2017 The Pensacola Amtrak Station property is littered with trash, vandalized and covered with spray paint. We were visiting the famous Pensacola Graffiti Bridge when we happened upon the train station just west down the tracks. The Amtrak route from New Orleans to Jacksonville that stopped in Pensacola hasn’t operated since Hurricane Katrina damaged large sections… Read more
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Bama Bayou Resort
ORANGE BEACH, ALA SUMMER 2017 – DEC 19 2019 On the edge of Alabama’s Gulf Coast Intercoastal Waterway (canal) constructed right next to the Beach Express bridge and toll stands the incomplete Bama Bayou water resort project, first conceived in 2002. It sits directly across the canal from the Wharf condominium, marina and shopping center, and is easily the largest… Read more
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Styx River Water World
LOXLEY, ALA MAY 27, 2017 The abandoned water park on Water World Rd in Loxley, Styx River Water World was opened from 1977 until 1993. It’s located off of the Interstate 10 exit in Loxley near Shelton Fireworks, the Oasis Travel Stop and Wilcox Video. The property was made famous locally and on the internet for the large fiberglass statues… Read more
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The Irish Bayou Castle (Fisherman’s Castle)
EAST NEW ORLEANS, LA JUNE 26 2018 Fisherman’s Castle is visible to millions of travelers each year from Interstate 10 on the far east edge of New Orleans. After Hurricanes Ivan and Katrina, it was cited as one of the only undamaged structures left standing in the small community of Irish Bayou. Originally intended to serve as a tourist attraction,… Read more
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The Gates of Hell (in the Blood Bowl)
COLUMBUS, OHIO JULY 3, 2018 The Blood Bowl is a very accessible drainage tunnel behind a Tim Horton’s on North High Street in Columbus. A popular spot for both graffiti artists and skateboarders for years, it was deemed the “Gates of Hell” for the large metal beams/gates that lead to the tunnel. This property isn’t abandoned by any means and… Read more
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Century Plaza Mall
BIRMINGHAM, ALA OCT 20, 2018 I originally visited this property in November 2017 before it had been bought to be redeveloped as a storage facility. The mall itself was inaccessible, although Abandoned Southeast got access in early 2018. The sprawling parking lot behind the mall has an elevated portion accessible by a ramp and an elevator with a sky-way bridge.… Read more
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Bellefonte Nuclear Generating Station
HOLLYWOOD, ALA SEP. 22, 2018 A total of four nuclear reactors have been proposed for the site over a 40-year period, with over $4 billion having been spent. But no nuclear reactor nor electric generating plant was ever completed; and no nuclear fuel was delivered or loaded. Bellefonte Nuclear Plant – Wikipedia Unfortunately while this property has never been in use, it… Read more
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Carraway Methodist Medical Center
BIRMINGHAM, ALA OCT. 21, 2018 The hospital got in financial difficulties in the beginning of the 2000s. According to The Birmingham News, two factors were responsible for the institution’s financial demise: the decay of the Norwood neighborhood and “decades of decisions favoring patient care over profits.” Carraway Methodist Medical Center – Wikipedia The massive abandoned Carraway Methodist Medical Center complex sits… Read more
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Miami Marine Stadium
MIAMI, FLA JULY 6, 2019 Built in 1963, the Miami Marine Stadium took advantage of a beautiful view of downtown Miami and a passing speedboat trend, but now the world’s first boat racing stadium is an abandoned maze of vandalized cement. Atlas Obscura A unique concrete structure sitting on the coast at the end of a large parking lot on… Read more
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Port of the Islands Hotel
NAPLES, FLA NOV 25, 2019 Not to be confused with the Port of the Islands Adventure Resort which is still in operation, the Port of the Islands Hotel located to the North of Tamiami Trail was part of one of the most infamous scams in Florida. Abandoned Florida (abandonedfl.com) Visit the post from 2018 on abandondedfl.com to read about the… Read more
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