On the 23rd, I have been granted access into the Stearns and Foster location in Lockland, Ohio and to the Emery Theater in Over-the-Rhrine.

The schedule will most likely be as follows,
9 or 10 AM to 1 or 2 PM: Stearns and Foster western complex for four hours.
4 PM to 7 PM: Emery Theater
8 PM: Our Lady of Perpetual Lulz in Sadamsville

When: August 23
Where: Lockland, Ohio and Cincinnati, Ohio
Cost: $70, which covers the guard fee at Stearns and Foster (CASH ONLY)

I suppose between 2 and 4, there will be a light lunch, and maybe something after the Emery. Doesn't matter to me.

As for Sunday, I am game for anything. If anyone wants to make the drive to see the remains of the Marble Hill Nuclear Power Plant, or to explore the Madison Proving Grounds, or check out more local goodies in Cinci...

If anyone is interested, please let me know as soon as possible. Reply here, message me, or call 859 432 9444. Thanks!

Any cooling towers at Marble Hill, how long of a drive are we talking?

1.5 hours-ish. Cooling towers, but everything else was dynamited a few years ago... just before I was set to actually get in it (it was very easy).

i dont have 70 bucks right now but i'll go to the theater and our lady of perpetual lulz.

Oh and i'll bring my climbing gear so we can see the attic of the steeple!

I got a battery charger too!!!!

Posted by rj17 i dont have 70 bucks right now but i'll go to the theater and our lady of perpetual lulz. Oh and i'll bring my climbing gear so we can see the attic of the steeple! I got a battery charger too!!!!

So the $70 is just for the Stearns and Foster building? Well then I'm down for everything but that.

Stearns & Foster is probably worth the $70, I'd pay if I was in town. And Marble Hill definately looks worth the drive.

I wish I was in town for this.

Yeah, it is. Given that he wants $700 for eight hours, going in for four hours is more than enough for one sitting... which breaks the cost down in half ($350/4 hours), which then must be split amongst several people. Weekends he charges more, and he wants all cash. But if it is the (only) way in...

$70 is a rough estimate, and it all depends on how many show up for the Stearns and Foster property.

Paying to explore? I don't like this a bit. I want to come but really that's kind of ridic. "Granted access" usually means that you get to go in, not that you have to pay off some thug to do so. I'm not knocking your scene, Seicer, but damn. I'd give him 10 bucks to look the other way, and that's if he caught me and I was desperate, but 7 hundy? Oy vey. I'm trying not to be dickish about this. How well do you know this dude? It's a big risk on both sides of the transaction if you ask me.

Posted by G to the Race Paying to explore? I don't like this a bit. I want to come but really that's kind of ridic. "Granted access" usually means that you get to go in, not that you have to pay off some thug to do so. I'm not knocking your scene, Seicer, but damn. I'd give him 10 bucks to look the other way, and that's if he caught me and I was desperate, but 7 hundy? Oy vey. I'm trying not to be dickish about this. How well do you know this dude? It's a big risk on both sides of the transaction if you ask me.

$700 is for the entire day; we are only going for four hours ($350) and that is split amongst who attends. So each person's cost is pretty minimal ($50-$70 depending on the amount that attends).

Here are some examples where we have paid to gain access into otherwise inaccessible locations:

Ammunitions Plant: We had to pay a lot to gain access into the Ammunitions Plant and we spent all day there, and was granted free roam to explore any building as long as we generally stuck in a group. This meant that I could be in a power plant while another group was in an adjoining pump house -- not scattered throughout the 6,000+ acre complex. That kept us from clogging one building. We paid for an armed guard to follow us (there are active defense sites on the property), but he didn't interfere with any of our photographs and really just sat in a truck the whole time.

Prison: We've applied this to the Tenn. State Pen., where we had to pay a fee for an armed guard -- due to the property actually being somewhat active for the Department of Corrections. But we had unrestricted access there as well, and spent eight hours there with no issue.

For both trips, we spent all day at the locations but we learned that cutting it down to around four to five hours is better in most instances. It was 95F both days, humid and after five hours, we were toast. It's not going to be that hot for the 23rd I suspect, but it's still very tiring.

Paying for access isn't something new, and these two examples I provided would have been otherwise inaccessible without the fee. The same is applied for Stearns and Foster -- it is simply inaccessible without it. Every entrance is sealed, the property is alarmed, and a guard resides in there on the weekdays. The eastern half, which is now demolished, was well worth the entry, and I can only imagine what the western half must be like.

I've taken dozens along into these sites, and they can vouch for the trips being worth the money -- especially for the Ammunitions Plant. I've had people come from all across the Mid-Atlantic and Eastern Seaboard, including quite a few on this board. Others have hosted similar events that required payment for a guard with similar results, as well.

I am paying for a significant portion of this out-of-pocket as well. I carry personal liability insurance, which is required for entry into most of these sites, including Stearns and Foster, and I formerly charged ~$10 extra to cover my personal costs on this (the insurance is used solely for trips like this), but I am not doing it for this because I am on the verge of modifying the policy and moving it to Ohio where I can get cheaper rates.

How well do I know this guy? Enough to have his home phone, address and me driving up to verify this. I've done my homework on this, the same that I have done for the guards at the Ammunitions Plant, the guards for the Prison, and etc.

Awesome. It's something new to me and something I hadn't seen discussed here or elsewhere, but if it works, it works. My budget is tight right now so I doubt I'll make it, but I would like to come down and meet y'all somewhere. You are just going around Lockland or other parts of the city?

Group shot at Some Big Factory, taken August 23, 2008. L to R: Gordon Bombay, Tron 2.0, Oherian, GraveAddiction.com, Mike, Kim, Me

More coming soon...

Oh I wish I could have gone. I ended up having to work anyways. Boo.

Seems like you guys had an awesome trip. I hope for more of these once I am back in town next month, and as always if anyone is up for NYC exploring I've got plenty of free futons up here.

It looks like you guys had a good time, I was out of town that weekend, but props on the trip!

That was a great trip, QCD will have an update of it soon. Seicer thanks again for running me back to my car, I really appreciated that, sorry I couldn't join in on the rest of the evening.

Anyone wanna ride a roller coaster before I go back to the sticks?


. . .and just to clarify by ride a roller coaster I mean explore a defunct one.

Me. Me. Me.

We tried to get in, but a truck was in the parking lot that you advised. We did some off-roading (although Mike stayed on the road) by the water treatment plant, which was amusing (ask Jay!)...

Well, we all got to Stearns at 10 AM. I knew the "property manager" who was letting us roam the place was a little sketchy -- after all, he wanted cash up front. He wanted $700 for eight hours (or to him, a day), so since we were going in for around four, why not pay him for just that? $350?

"What's this? This doesn't look like $700."

You gotta be kicking me in the balls here. $700 for four hours? I nearly returned the money to everyone before he gave in and let us inside.

"I missed going to NASCAR in Bristol or to an Indiana cornhusking event for this."

It only got better.

The interiors of the western complex of Stearns was amazing. Equipment was still left in its place, along with signage, props and signage. The complex was still in great condition, unlike the eastern half, and we wandered through in a haphazard fashion most of the facility.

The roof was quite nice, and after climbing the staircase and proclaiming that I had successfully wet my pants in fear (not really), I admired the views to the north which showed just building after building in succession, all abandoned.

The boilers were the most impressive, in my opinion, but we spent the least amount of time there. So were the rows of ovens, but I ended up spending most of my time listening to the "manager" discuss how Lockland screwed him over when the fire ripped through the eastern half of Stearns.

He had some interesting stories. One revolved around his desire to make millions by converting his truck to run on water. Another was his brother or something making $25 million in China. Then it got weird.

I asked him if anyone else had been inside Stearns since it closed. We were the only ones to really see the place, sans some graffiti vandals who came in, tagged some rooms up with some of the worse crap imaginable (e.g. Daniel Boone and white power?), and smashed out a lot of the interior windows. There were some trespassers from the University of Cincinnati at one point, but he "confiscated" (e.g. stole) their cameras and called the police.

So note, don't trespass. Not only is it impossible to begin with -- it's well locked and watched, this guy knows his way around the complex. He worked for the company since 1980.

He did give us some large blueprints of the facility, and Craig is scanning those in at UC. We can return, he noted, but it'll be $700.

So with that, the next trip will be for EIGHT hours (with a lunch break) and I am planning for around 10 people, which will cut the cost down to around $70-80 per person. Well worth it?

--

We did check out the Emery Theatre, but we were restricted on the first floor. After that, we visited a church in Sedamsville and invited those in the adjacent Community Center to come in -- and were they shocked at its condition. Saddened would be a good word. The back and front doors are currently unlocked, but I am going to try and secure them in a few days.

Stearns & Foster seems neat, but for the next meet I think we should try and locate something new? and perhaps free? I will be back in Cincinnati in three weeks and have been missing a few places I wanted to check out before I left. Take a drive around Camp Washington, there are literally dozens of large places vacant, although some might take some creativity to get into.

Yeah that's be great. Stearns is nice but pricey, and our next trip isn't probably until November anyways.

As for new... there is always Cinci Milicron and the US Playing Card Company -- both of which I am working on legal access towards.

Posted by seicer Yeah that's be great. Stearns is nice but pricey, and our next trip isn't probably until November anyways. As for new... there is always Cinci Milicron and the US Playing Card Company -- both of which I am working on legal access towards.

Sounds cool, I've been looking into permission to get into Kahn's, 1,000,000 square feet of meatpacking. There's a security guard that sits at the place full time.