As found on the WATE TV website:


January 31, 2006

By TIM MILLER
6 News Anchor/Reporter

KNOXVILLE (WATE) -- They are "urban explorers" and their movement, so to speak, is catching on in Knoxville.

They find ways into places most people want to avoid, such as abandoned factories or houses and find treasure where others find filth or danger.

Some urban explorers like to keep their real identities a secret. "What's the biggest rush you get doing this?" 6 News asks. "It's just seeing, wondering what it was like before it was abandoned," says Rich XXXX, who's also known as Slickis.

The urban explorers 6 News tracked down are spreading the movement around Knoxville. One of their playgrounds is the old Palm Beach Mill Outlet in North Knoxville.

"I really like the factory atmosphere," says an explorer who didn't want to use her name. "It is pretty wide open. Even though it's empty, there's still a lot of interesting things about it."

They walk around with masks to protect them from asbestos and head lamps to light their way. They're armed with cameras to capture anything that interests them.

The odder the find, the more they can write about it on this popular Web site. It's becoming an urban explorer's showcase. They post pictures and urge others to check the location.

Several Knoxville sites are listed, such as the boarded up Gray Stone Hotel on Central Avenue, Beverly Steel in Fountain City and the old Coster Shop Rail Yard along I-275.

Urban exploring can be physically demanding. Explorers may climb dozens of stairs or climb in and out of windows.

And they have to worry about their personal safety. "Well, you could go and have a good time and then wind up sick if you don't take the right precautions," Slickis says. "I also wear steel toed boots with a puncture resistant insole, so I don't step on nails like she (the other explorer in this report) did."

"Do you guys ever worry about the cops?" 6 News asks. "All the time, yeah. It's definitely a concern," the female explorer says.

Is what they're doing illegal? The explorer wouldn't say whether they pay attention to no trespassing signs but she says they do have a code of ethics. They won't break anything to get inside, won't vandalize and won't take anything from the sites.

"I've personally been caught once by an owner of a building and they let us go but I guess that kind of adds to the thrill of it as well," she says.

Kim Trent, executive director of Knox Heritage, says the urban explorers' interest in architecture and history is commendable. But it could create new problems for preservationists.

"It does cause some danger for the building, that someone who doesn't have such good intentions might get in and either try to live there as a homeless person would or might start fires for fun or might steal the architectural details that those folks have come to enjoy," Trent says.

The urban explorers who spoke with 6 News say there are other people around the country who don't follow any rules.

Local explorers urge others not to get involved unless they're serious about the hobby.