A wall that fades into the distance and a fading ad slowly retreating into history.
Category: Urban Decay
Women and Men
Public restroom from a bygone era in the Lower East Side.
Faded Ad-Dumbo
The sun sliced a wedge-shaped piece out of this old, brick building in Dumbo. In the past couple of years I have shared of few of my NW Fading Ad images with Frank Jump. Since this one was in his neighborhood I thought he might have already published a copy. I love the cast iron window shutters. I’m not sure, but I don’t think there used to be glass windows behind them. Might be retrofitted with glass panes now, though. Also, (if you click to enlarge) note the star-shaped detail every few feet. It’s possible that attached to the back of the star is a long, iron bar that is used for stability in older brick buildings such as this. 
Smallpox Hospital
What remains of the Renwick Smallpox Hospital on Roosevelt Island. The building is on the National Register and is undergoing a stabilization project which should allow the public to walk through when completed. Has been abandoned since 1971.
Deserted Side Streets of Gowanus
When you see grass growing in places it normally wouldn’t, it is a good bet that nature is on the march, slowing taking back the property that once was used by people. Graffiti, rust and grass/weeds are benchmarks of abandonment, I think. 
More from Gowanus
Directly ahead on this sidewalk is the canal. Not a very inviting place. At about this point is where one picks up the scent of the canal. I think this sign is a Parks Dept. sign. Not sure if this sign just ended up here or that this SuperFund site is pretending to be a park.
Beach House & Tenant
This building is probably only fit for reptiles and rodents. I would have liked to have gone inside, but it is fenced off. It’s always a good sign when you see foliage growing out of the sides of a structure. 
The Coolest Superfund Site
The recent flood waters came up to the first seat in the boat, which means that the water travelled west on this street reaching a depth of about 12″-18″. The Gowanus Canal itself is behind the guard rail and down about 6′-8′ during normal times. Between the high tide and tidal surge that hit on that fateful evening it was just too much for the canal to handle.
Vacancy
A vacant building near the Gowanus Canal (Brooklyn). 
Downtown Brooklyn in the distance in the lower image, which has the canal in the foreground. All of this area flooded during Sandy.
Abandoned Friday with Bricks
Bricked-up door, vacant brick building and Old Glory waving in the wind in front of another brick structure. All shot in the Gowanus Canal area of Brooklyn.
Gowanus Canal: Look#1
A section of the canal that runs between Park Slope and Carroll Gardens. The abandoned mill in the first image looks like it is listing to the left. I was able to find a couple more locations along the canal this trip that allowed me to get a fuller perspective on the whole canal. I still have one area to gain access to that is close to where the canal meets the East River. Maybe next trip. A few of the companies have their areas fenced off so it is difficult to access all parts of the canal.The canal looks fairly harmless in these images, but when you see some of the closeups it will be clear why this area is now a Super Fund Site. The stench coming off of the canal, this time, was almost unbearable. Had I known the smell was going to be this bad I would have brought a respirator with me. It’s a smell that is unique to the chemical mix of the water that you just don’t find anywhere else. This day was very overcast so the images are not as stark as the ones I will post in the future, which were taken on a clear, blue-sky day.
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