Last summer badgerphone, my kids and I went out to meet and explore a site referred to me by horizon_eyes - an abandoned oil refinery. Given that southern California used to be a major oil producing region and there are many wells still operating here, I found it ironic to see a 60+ acre gasoline refinery completely decommissioned. We got there before our companions and had the chance to explore three houses which lay abandoned outside the refinery gates.

House 2 & 3



( Little (crack) house of horrors [20 behind the cut] )

I feel comfortable posting some photos that I’ve been sitting on for a while. In fact, till very recently, I hadn’t wanted to post anything from this trip because some of the unpleasant memories from the day. Long story and I’m not going to go there.

Last summer badgerphone, my kids and I went out to meet and explore a site referred to me by horizon_eyes - an abandoned oil refinery. Given that southern California used to be a major oil producing region and there are many wells still operating here, I found it ironic to see a 60+ acre gasoline refinery completely decommissioned. We got there before our companions and had the chance to explore three houses which lay abandoned outside the refinery gates.


Welcome and mind your step

( Memories hang heavily here [17 behind the cut] )

One of the things that disturbs me about many of the recent abandonments in area is the rapid speed in which many of these houses are pillaged and often burned. In the Antelope Valley (north of Los Angeles) there’s a rumor that developer are hiring “crash crews” to systematically salvage and trash recently evicted properties is the house is in the path of potential housing developments.. While I can’t offer proof, far too many houses in this area show signs of arson with weeks or months of being cleared. This house was no exception inside, though the fire was caught very early.



( Enter the house of sorrows (14 behind the cut) )

In the 1950’s & 60’s, the Antelope Valley was full of ranches, farms and dreams. Some dreams last, others fade, some turn to nightmares. This 1950’s era ranch home was one my kids and I found on a random prowl this past January. I’m just getting around to posting it due to available time. The house was huge and appears to have been expanded several times over the decades. Unfortunately it appears to have been the site of a forcible eviction.



( Ranch style desolation (14 behind the cut) )

After a bit of exploring the “newer” house, we decided to venture next door to the old one. The newer house was 1950’s vintage with upgrades in the 1970’s and 80’s. This house was probably 1930’s construction with additions in the 1940’s including a porch step from 1945. It was finding the date on the porch step that peaked my curiosity. Further research on the site and the area, showed me that this was originally part of a recreation center and full size golf course which supported nearby Liberty and Victory Fields (WW2 era training sites for pilots). The military background and desert brown goes a long way to explain the color plan in these houses.



( The buzzing isn’t in your head.. (14 behind the cut) )

I’m taking these trips a bit out of order but I figure this might be a good example of why I go exploring – over-development. Angela (my companion of much of last summer) and I went to a site she found near Lancaster. She found what had formerly been a full-sized golf course, which shrank down to a driving range, then shrank to merely a golf shop and attached houses. By the time we explored it, the local mega-developer “KB Homes” had already built soulless subdivisions on the three other corners adjacent to this site, and this area showed signs of impending demolition. I searching it, we found more than a few cool surprises. I’m dividing this into three sections, one for each house, and one for the golf shop/bar.


The newest of the houses

( Out of bounds (10 behind the cut) )

As mentioned, several members of the socal_abandoned community got together for venture to one known site and one I’d seen many times, but never had time to go to. The little bungalow near Culver City and in the heart of Greater Los Angeles had more than a feel surprises inside. There was a definite feeling that the previous legitimate resident there, had been an old woman and her children or grandchildren. Things we found indivated a family member in jail and the older woman’s failing health.


Ghosts remain here

( Inside looking out (21 behind the cut) )

After a somewhat enforced absence, I’m happy to offer you some views from a trip I took with several members from socal_abandoned. The first site we went to was once a lovely little bungalow near Culver City and in the heart of Greater Los Angeles. In fact I was more than a bit surprised because the house is nestled among in a nice neighborhood.


Don’t bother knocking

( Outside in (10 behind the cut) )

On the front page of MSNBC, the lead article details all the abandoned homes caused by the mortgage crisis in the US. No this is not an invite to raid empty homes in your neighborhood, but it does explain why in some cases houses look like the residents merely walked away and never returned.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22506609/

As mentioned before, on this trip, my partner and I visited 4 locations on and close to US Highway 395 in the western Mojave Desert.

1. The Hawes Communications Bunker (Visit #4 because she wanted to see it);
2. The Atolia Tungsten Mines (4 miles square – 100+ mine openings);
3. Randsburg, CA (A Class C “living” ghost town – 300 houses, 78 residents);
4. XXXXX Minimum Security Federal Prison Camp (This required two visits)

After a positively wonderful lunch at the Randsburg General Store, we headed back out of town. On the outskirts of town, we spotted a lone head frame for a mine and a single house about 100 yards away. We decided to explore.

Randsburg, California (Lost Mine)


Disconnected

( Journey back to yesteryear (12 behind the cut) )

As mentioned before, on this trip, my partner and I visited 4 locations on and close to US Highway 395 in the western Mojave Desert.

1. The Hawes Communications Bunker (Visit #4 because she wanted to see it);
2. The Atolia Tungsten Mines (4 miles square – 100+ mine openings);
3. Randsburg, CA (A Class C “living” ghost town – 300 houses, 78 residents);
4. XXXXX Minimum Security Federal Prison Camp (This required two visits)

Randsburg was once a boom town. The nearby gold mines were and are generally considered some of the richest in the country. At one time, the town once had over 2000 residents and 100+ operating mines. A number of these mines were/are right in the town. Today, Randsburg is a quiet shadow of it’s past. A number of hardy souls still live here. We were respectful about exploring in town as it’s difficult to point out some houses which are definitely abandoned, preserved or lived in.

Randsburg, California (Frozen in time)


( Journey back to yesteryear (16 behind the cut) )

Like I said in previous posts, I was extremely busy this summer exploring and photographing places new and old. Normally I don’t like going back to old sites as I prefer to keep the image of the place locked from the first visit. On this trip, my partner and I visited 4 locations on and close to US Highway 395 in the western Mojave Desert.


1. The Hawes Communications Bunker (Visit #4 because she wanted to see it);
2. The Atolia Tungsten Mines (4 miles square – 100+ mine openings);
3. Randsburg, CA (A Class C “living” ghost town – 300 houses, 78 residents);
4. XXXXX Minimum Security Federal Prison Camp (This required two visits)

The Atolia Mine District could be easily described as a vast but unnoticed wasteland on the edge of US Hwy 395. To the untrained eye, the passerby on the highway would only see a few towers and a small, care-worn industrial complex. In fact, these few visible sites don’t truly indicate the extent of a nearly 40 square mile district that once included a town (west of the highway) and over 400 mine shafts or shallow drifts which employed nearly a thousand personnel.

Atolia (The Wasteland – Assayer and old foreman’s houses)



( Miles and miles, of miles and miles (12 behind the cut) )

After revisiting Felicia’s northern ‘estate’ there was light enough for one more place, so off we went. Angie badgerphone, and I drove a little ways north and further explored the Jawbone Canyon mine complex. In previous visits there, I’d only viewed the support buildings below the hill the mines were on and never wandered further up to look at the actual mines. Time is taking a heavy toll on the structures here.

Jawbone Canyon Mine



( Fading into the scenery (8 Behind the cut) )

My apologies to the community for the delay in posting these images. I’d meant to get them up last Wednesday. Preparations for the US Thanksgiving holiday set me back time wise. I do hope that for those who celebrated the day, it was enjoyable.

Tracy senzaf1ne, Angie badgerphone, and I had lunch then parted ways after a long and interesting visit. On the drive back into the Antelope Valley, Angie and I decided we wanted more, so we took a little side trip to see if Felicia had indeed survived the fire and been using one of her other known haunts. Although we discovered activity, we couldn’t be sure of the nature or timing of it.

Felicia’s Trailer Revisited


All this and the bathroom sink too

( Writings on the wall (17 Behind the cut) )

Tracy senzaf1ne, Angie badgerphone, and I got together and explored a number of farm sites that surround Bakersfield, CA and offer an insight into the region’s past. Time has stopped dead here. What first struck me as merely garbage lying thickly on the floor were layers of fallen lives, with the past exposed to all.

The Special House



( Illusions and memories are hazy at range (20 Behind the cut) )

The Special House
Imagine if you could, step back in time several decades. Imagine if what you would find in the common, day to day articles of life. The last place that Tracy senzaf1ne showed us on our Bakersfield trip was just such a place. With the exception of furniture (something carried off), every room in this modest 4 room 1910 era farm house was filled with objects from the 1960’s and 70’s. Literally in some places the floor had nearly 18 inches of papers, boxes, clothes, canned goods, boxed foods, and more. It was as if the previous resident dumped out all their furniture and vanished.

Let look around the outside first and then a brief glance inside


Right this way

( Time traveling [13 Behind the cut] )

Tracy senzaf1ne, Angie badgerphone, and I got together and explored a number of farm sites that surround Bakersfield, CA and offer an insight into the region’s past. Time is catching up to each of the sites on this trip. Some more than others, where all that remain are the memories.

The Commercial Farm
This site was large and so cluttered that I don’t believe I can do it justice with one post, so two are linked below. This was once a multi-family farm that raised and sold produce and livestock from what I could gather. Two houses, a barn, several sheds and an extensive set of pens and cages were evident.

BTW, for those who were expecting this Monday, my apologies... I took my children to Knott’s Berry Farm (amusement park). It’s something of a family tradition for us around the (US) Veteran’s Day holiday.

Tracy senzaf1ne, Angie badgerphone, and I got together and explored a number of farm sites that surround Bakersfield, CA and offer an insight into the region’s past. Time is catching up to each of the sites on this trip. Some more than others, where all that remain are the memories.



( Promises in the dark (20 Behind the cut) )
Part 2

The Commercial Farm
This site was large and so cluttered that I don’t believe I can do it justice with one post. This is the second portion of the set.


Homeless

( Promises in the dark (18 Behind the cut) )

Tracy senzaf1ne, Angie badgerphone, and I got together and explored a number of farm sites that surround Bakersfield, CA and offer an insight into the region’s past. Time is catching up to each of the sites on this trip. Some more than others, where all that remain are the memories.

The Tower Farm



( Burning Down the House (18 Behind the cut) )

As some of you may have guessed, I was very active in exploring sites in and around the Los Angeles area. Some places near and far. Bakerfield is the southern gateway to the farming communities of the San Joaquin Valley (central valley) of California. It was also the site of some of the largest oil fields in the state, a major rail transit site and even supported the lumber and mining industries in their heyday. Bakersfield has stubbornly held onto the small city feel, but with it comes decidedly aged and worn edges.

Tracy senzaf1ne, Angie badgerphone, and I got together and explored a number of farm sites that surround the city and offer an insight into the region’s past. Time is catching up to each of the sites on this trip. Some more than others, where all that remain are the memories.

The Flattened Farm


( Farming a little chunk of oblivion (15 Behind the cut) )

Abandoned farm


There are some places you look at and your head says, “yeah, that’s definitely abandoned” but your intuition says “hey not so fast there..” This little farmstead at the split of two country roads was just such a place. The decaying walls and the worn window coverings screamed “empty”, but the mowed yard, clean nature of the site led me to choose discretion. Call me crazy (and many do) but I do have a problem with looking in a window and finding a shotgun pointing back at me. :)

( Take a trip and never leave the farm [14 Behind the cut] )