Scranton Lace
I can't believe how far behind I am on posting sets, these photos are almost 3 months old now. I took 3 separate trips to this place and all of these photos are randomly from those trips. Rumor had it for a long time this place was basically stripped out and ready to be rehabbed into something else and it was too late to see anything good. Then one day someone posted a set that showed there was still some good stuff inside. One Sunday we decided to take a flyer on it and made the 3 hour trip north. The entire day was a real disaster. When we left home it was dreary but not raining. On the way up the fog was so thick in the mountains I could only see about one car length ahead of me.
We decided to hit a coal breaker first because it was on the way. We parked the the closest lot to the breaker and just as we got on the property it started to pour down like a monsoon. We got soaking wet and from there decided best to just keep heading north and maybe the rain would stop. We arrived at the lace mill and by that time it had stopped raining. We parked the car and walked a little towards the mill looking for an entrance. The way in is pretty sketchy because it is so out in the open, anyone driving by can see you from hundreds of feet away. We did get in without being seen and made our way inside. This place is a like a maze. You can tell from the outside that every 15 years or so they would build a new section because all of the architecture is so different in each part. This makes navigating the place a real cluster****. We were able to find some "bridges" that lead from one side to the other with the goal of hitting the clock tower first, but we would never find it that day.
We had made it to the front of the building but could not figure out how to get higher. At that point I decided to take out my tripod and camera and start setting up. As I am doing this I am looking out of the front window. Through the front window I can see for probably half a mile down this road that leads right towards the building. Way in the distance I see a white truck of some kind heading towards the mill. As it gets closer I can see a yellow light on the roof. I start to kind of jokingly think how it would be funny if this truck was heading for us but expected it to be a state highway truck or something once it got close enough. I watched for it to make the turn around the building but it did not, it went straight towards the building and into the loading dock. The loading dock was the only spot in the building that looked like it was being used as a main entrance and had new looking security cameras. We figured we must have triggered a motion sensor or something and security had been called on us. We packed up our gear immediately and began to try and find a way out. We were basically lost though and knew we could probably not outsmart someone who knew their way around the building. We kept running towards the back of the building and down a stairwell. Eventually we made it to the ground floor but we were trapped inside of a warehouse with no exits, everything was well sealed.
After more searching we did manage to find one open door. The problem was this door lead out into a courtyard that was close to the main road but the only way out was right past the 2nd new looking camera. We knew the chances of being spotted were too high so we decided to just wait it out. After so many minutes we had still never heard any foot steps in the building. The only other time I had been caught in a place was in a big maze mill while trying to wait out the police outside. I began to feel some strong deja vu while we were sitting there and decided I rather get caught trying to escape than just sitting there. We quietly walked around the bottom floor of this warehouse trying to find anything that may lead outside. It was then I noticed a hatch in the wooden floor that lead underneath the floor boards. I figured maybe there was some kind of vent that would lead outside or something we could escape through. Worst case scenario is we would be extremely well hidden and could easily hear anyone coming for us.
Down the hatch I went and to my dismay it was filled with beams and had rocks for a floor. With a big bag and tripod on my back this was a real bitch to maneuver through. All 3 of us eventually made it under the floor and we scrambled to find some kind of way out. It was very dark but in sections far away we could see some light. We crawled towards the light but when we got there it was just another hatch that lead out further into the warehouse. We exited it anyway and at this point just decided to find the way we had come in and get out that way. Surprisingly we did manage to get through the building and off of the property. We made it back to the car, loaded up, and sped off. We decided to take a lap around the building but when we approached the loading dock there was no longer a truck there. Speculation was that if it was security maybe he was just making his rounds and checking in, maybe he had never known we were there.
So covered in dirt, tired, and without a single photo we headed out to eat lunch and scout out more locations in the area. On the way back we did make it to the coal breaker and got photos of that but eventually it started to rain again. We left there and headed east to the steel mill which was an amazing and successful tip so at least the whole day was not a waste.
Later that week while I was on online I contacted the guy who's photos I saw and asked him if he had any trouble there. He said he did not and in fact he was there legally and got permission from the owner. He couldn't give me the info but with the help of some other people and playing phone and email tag for a week I was finally able to get in contact with the owner. So 2 weeks after going through hell and not getting a single photo for my trouble I had the owner's assistant personally unlocking the front door and giving us free reign of the place. Quite an unexpected turn of events. We did the legal explore twice which I feel was enough time to finally see everything.
The short history of this place is it was founded in the late 1800s. For a time it was the first and only manufacturer in the U.S. of Nottingham Lace. They manufactured table clothes and curtains and any other thing that lace could be used for. During WWII this place made nets and parachutes. Like most American manufacturing the end would soon come and it did around 2002. It has sat vacant for years but was purchased by the current owner a few years ago with the intent to rehab it into condos and retail space. Earlier this year it received a grant from the city to get started on the new construction. From what I know so far it has just been getting gutted. No idea when actual construction will start.
1. Sign above the loading dock...
2. Inside of the very cramped clock tower...
3. 2 different lines, one called Black Tie and another that was sold at Walmart...
4. Spiral conveyor belt...
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6. Really old GE gauge...
7. One of the "bridges" that lead from one side to the other...
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9. Punch cards that told the loom what pattern to make...
10. The inside looked like a big crankshaft that moved these pistons...
11. I don't even know how many hundreds or thousands of threads had to be threaded into this thing...
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16. Finished product...
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19. Probably a century old loom...
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21. Standing on a really rickety half broken platform to get this shot...
22. Not cool, this bulldozer was used to smash every other antique loom...
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24. This place had an intact bowling alley still inside...
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30. Theater...
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47. For some reason this one area had a ton of gay porn...
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49. He climbed up this beam in about 3 seconds...
50. While inside of this place we were standing in a big group near a window talking at full volume as groups often do. Just then we saw a police officer walk around the corner and look up at us and yell something. Basically the guy who rents an area of this building to store his worthless garbage in thought someone was inside stealing his stuff. So we yelled down to the cops that we would come right down. By the time we got out front to where they were they were all gone. We stood there for a few minutes before one came running up to us. They expected that we would lie to them and try and sneak out the backside so that is where they all went. Eventually 4 of them rolled up on us all standing here. I talked to the head cop and told us we had permission to be inside and the whole story and who they could contact. We called the owner's assistant and told her what had happened. Eventually the cops realized we knew too much to just be thieves so they just drove away. Nothing is more satisfying than being caught on a legal explore...
Video...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/theneighborhoodwatch/5948582427/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/theneighborhoodwatch/sets/72157627126516596/