Out of the few places i've explored, I enjoyed them all and would regularly hang out in an abandoned mall near me. But theres one that sticks out, happened to be the first exploration I've done. My parents went to school there, and something about that place. God it spins my head how those memories are so profound in my head like I could never find this much happiness in another hobby. I know it sounds cringe, believe me it types cringe. All of those nights on the roof, we had taken a team effort and brought the only two chairs in the building up, barely any vandalism. What buildings are close to your hearts, and why?

There are three places out of the multitude of locations I've been lucky enough to see over the last fourteen years that genuinely hold a place in my heart.

First was the derelict grain storage silo on the outskirts of my home town, it was an iconic landmark for people arriving in it from the north, and over my many many trips there with a great many different people it created some of my most precious memories.

Second is the huge abandoned Air Force base about 25 minutes away from where I live, for exactly the same reasons - multiple trips and many wonderful memories during my formative years of exploring, maybe even more so there than the grain silo. I was sad when the grain silo was demolished but I was absolutely gutted when the last parts of the base were demolished a couple of years ago.

Third, and perhaps most surprisingly, is Selma Plantation House in Virginia, it's the only property I've ever instantly fallen in love with at first sight, walking up the snowy road towards it seeing it looming over the landscape on top of it's own hill, and seeing inside for the first time, it had this grasp on me and I didn't want to leave it. Thankfully now it's been restored.

For me, so far there have been two places so far that really stick out. One of them is a storm drain under a nearby under construction neighborhood. Recently, for the second time, my friend and I brought down a bargain bin baguette and had an underground picnic in a manhole room we nicknamed "The Baguette Room". We will likely return to the baguette room on a later date with yet another baguette.

The other place is the first building I ever explored, a limestone factory several hours away from where I live. During the time I explored, my lungs were being wrecked by the flu. While exploring a factory with inch thick dust on the ground with lungs might be an awful idea, I finally had a chance to explore an actual building. Due to this being the first building I entered, I was absolutely stunned by seeing the old machinery inside.

Due to the awe I have had for the places I have explored thus far, I am excited to see what the future holds.

Edit: I was wearing a P100 respirator during my exploration of the factory

For me I have one place that will always be in my heart. If you know the iconic Golden Gate bridge, right across from it sits the Marin Headlands which used to be filled with World War 2 bunkers, and there’s a museum with a fully restored Nike Missile Site.

What sticks out about this place are the gorgeous views of the ocean and San Francisco, and how for the most part the land is all public so there is no need to worry when exploring and there are countless hidden batteries or bunkers that each have a unique story.

A place that really sticks out is a secluded marsh area with a couple of abandoned houses from the early 1900s. The area is so quiet and peaceful. The sound of the river that cuts through the marsh, and the occasional waterfowl that pass through the area makes the area very special. Going during the summer is a treat since the sunsets are always beautiful. Because of the flat terrain around it, you could see all the way to the bay and on the otherside, the bay area mountains. If you visit around 8pm you're in treat for an awesome sunset. I haven't been there in a while and maybe I should go back, during the summer is when I'll go.

Service tunnels are the subject of my fascination, especially the ones running beneath a local university.

The main reason is the daunting sensation of the seemingly incomprehensible topography of them, as well as that of entering a ghostly world, much like the backrooms.

Total darkness, the eerie sounds emanating from the death of the unknown, the diverse contents of the various rooms, the opportunity To find something new lurking literally just around blind corner and, lastly, them leading into power facility inaccessible from the ground above, certainly add the experience and adventure.

Yes, even if the place is unrecognizable (revived) or demolished. There are some places that i still see in my dreams since 2008 / 2010. These includes large cold war era communications bunker and a furniture factory that i explored many times when i was younger.
Also i sometimes revisit semi-abandoned Daugavpils fortress where parts of series "Unsere Mütter, unsere Väter" were filmed.

There is a historic mine north of Vegas that seems to call me back time and time again. There is a reported 60+ miles of underground workings, so it's huge. I've been going there for over 10 years and we are still finding new areas of the mine that are extremely difficult to access, therefore untouched. There is a small hand full of us that are considered experts on the mine. I am closing in on 200 underground hours in the mine. Ironic that last time we were there we discovered another large unknown area of the mine. We ran out of time before we climbed up a ladder that reached up as far as our lights would shine. No doubt this will lead to an area that is cut off from the main workings by a collapse. It takes 2 to 3 hours of challenging climbing just to get to the base of the ladder. My exploring partner Tony and I will probably be the last people to ever see this section of the mine.

Abby Normal

Posted by JBUrbex Out of the few places i've explored, I enjoyed them all and would regularly hang out in an abandoned mall near me. But theres one that sticks out, happened to be the first exploration I've done. My parents went to school there, and something about that place. God it spins my head how those memories are so profound in my head like I could never find this much happiness in another hobby. I know it sounds cringe, believe me it types cringe. All of those nights on the roof, we had taken a team effort and brought the only two chairs in the building up, barely any vandalism. What buildings are close to your hearts, and why?

i've worked in factories and mills most of my adult life... my favorite locales are places like that. My last job was in a Kraft-process paper mill, working the back end (pulp mill, recausting plant). So whenever I see places like this come across the collective here, i squee and clickity click click.