The Vass Homestead

Located alongside White Lake in Hardwick is the old Vass Homestead. Born Johann Wass, he emigrated to America in 1764 and changed his name to Vass. One of the first settlers in the area he ran a successful farm, and his sons established a business selling ice taken from White Lake, and mining the shells from the bottom of the lake and crushing them for use inf fertilizer and cement.

The farm house has been preserved, the other buildings on the property, not so good a shape. You can read more about the man and the property at this website.

More pictures

Abandoned on the Mullica River

I recently came across this non descript trio of houses on the banks of Mullica River. In Lower Bank these houses have sat for I am guessing two decades or more, judging by debris I found in the building. The buildings are in really bad shape but have been left alone by people. I saw no signs of vandalism or destruction, not even evidence of kids drinking and smoking pot. All I saw the decay of time. Built on sand, literally on the sand with no foundation, these houses built yards from the Mullica River were destined to meet a fate like this.

The amazing House of Route 9

I really can’t think of anything to say about this house. It’s all in the pictures. This very large house on a very large property sits on Route 9 in Egg Harbor Twp. I counted no less than four dragons, a half dozen elephants, a clown, two Jesuses flanked by two Marys and two Gundams. At least I think they’re Gundams….. They may be Mazainga according to a friend of mine.

The story behind it (which can be found here) is as fascinating as the property itself. Somewhere on the property is a replica of a 75 foot Korean military vessel that fought the Japanese in the war with Korea in 1592. I am going to try to arrange a visit.

pictures from the inside of Demon’s Alley

Many years ago the New City development owned by the Newark Watershed Commission was demolished after numerous arson fires set to the abandoned buildings there. The buildings had become an eyesore and a source of great trouble as curiosity seekers often (illegally) explored the buildings because of rampant rumors of murder, witchcraft and bizarre events that were alleged to have occured there. I explored these ruins once but didn’t do more then wander around the 8 abandoned buildings. The buildings themselves were in such a state of disrepair that safe discovery was not possible. I took a few pictures thru the windows but never entered them.

Several years ago I was sent pictures taken from inside the buildings. You can see all the pictures here. The ruin is… impressive.

Abandoned townhouse complex in Florida

I was on vacation on Florida in 2010 and was visiting one of the many attractions outside Orlando when I noticed this place. I excused myself from the family and poked around. There wasn’t a whole lot to see and the buildings were fairly secure. Was I going to risk injury or arrest while on vacation 1000 miles from home? No, no I was not. I wandered about, took a few pictures and returned to my wife and son. Some research was done once I was back home but there’s nothing really interesting to say about this place. Florida is full of developments that either never got finished or which briefly flaired to life and then died. This is one of many…

The Plywood House

The Plywood House was built by a Architect Gamal El-Zoghby, an Egyptian man learned in astronomy, mathematics, philosophy and art, all of which were incorporated into his dream-house design. The house was sheathed in unpainted plywood and covered with several coats of special preservative or varnish to protect it from the sea spray and cold winters. Built in the late 90’s the design gives one the impression that it is unfinished, which was as intentional as the other design elements. The house is aligned precisely on eographic east-west and astronomical alignments. As in an ancient monument, two windows are positioned to capture the sunrise and sunset at the spring and autumn equinoxes. Unfortunately Mr El-Zoghby did not always appreciate the attention he receives and hated the nickname “the Plywood house”. The houses true name was the “The Parousium” from the Greek word “parousia,” meaning “presence or appearance.” I had visited the house many years ago and the owner was uninterested in discussing his home. Apparently he was tired of explaining the design to gawkers, passerbys and photographers….

The house and it’s owner were in the news today when a fire broke out. Firemen broke thru the walls with axes to get at various empty pockets of wall space. While doing this, child porn fell from between the walls and El-Zoghby was arrested as a result.

Abandoned houses in the meadowlands

You can see this ramshackle house from the NJ Turnpike before the toll plaza at 16W. I’ve seen it for years and finally in 2006 I decided to visit. The house sits behind a golf course and a PSE&G fueling station. I asked the golf course owner for permission to go back behind the course to take pictures and he agreed. I had to walk out on the golf range but there was only one guy taking swings and I warned him to let me get to the end and he was cool.

The house has been there since the 1930’s and the area is used by fisherman to store their boats, both the working and the non working. I really don’t know much more then what I’ve already said. it is very very picturesque, and I love the last photo I’ve posted below.

Lots of photos

Abandoned house in Hunterdon County

The house sits maybe 150 yards off the road, and the “driveway” (a pair of depressions in the weeds) sits behind a large thicket of bushes so it is concealed from traffic on that side of the road.. The stairs to the porch ere gone so I hoisted myself up and almost went directly into the doorway but caught myself before pitching headlong into one of the biggest spiderwebs I have ever seen. There was just enough room to squeeze under it without touching it.

The living room seemed bare and unassuming. I headed towards the back, where it seemed as if the 2nd floor either collapsed or was taken down for some reason, as I could see into the upstairs bedrooms. I headed up a spiral stairway, going carefully because I could see it was not aligned well. The upstairs bathroom was destroyed, and I could see thru some holes in the roof. There was a basement but I decided against going in there for safety.

Watchung Reservation

The area was originally settled by the Wilcocks family, who ran a grist and lumber mill. A small cemetery plot with four gravestones dating to the 1700s is the only evidence of the earliest settlers. It is believed that it became abandoned at some point before again becoming occupied in the 1800’s. David Felt rebuilt mills and began a book and paper processing center, which furnished products to the New York stationery business.

It is presumed that in these 11 houses that were built, 4 families lived in each house. There was one building that served as a general store, school, and church for the residents of this village. In the 1860’s Felt sold the village, and it was sold several times over in the next 20 years. It eventually ended up in the hands of a man named Ackerman who renamed it Glenside Park. He tore down most of the buildings and built new ones more suited to farming and raising cattle. The old mill was used as a stable until it become structurally unsound and was torn down in the 1930’s. The barn was built in 1882 to house horses and carriages which would transport business men to the train station.Glenside park flourished until 1916.

In the 1920’s, the Union County Parks Commission purchased the property. The houses in the village were rented out to families until the 1960’s. The village was listed on the State and National Registers of Historic Places in 1980. The barn is now home to the Union County’s own Operation Archeology.

Watching Reservation is home the bunny bridge and also was home to a Nike base

There is a large water tower nearby, and although there was only one confirmed suicide, it has been nicknamed “Suicide Tower”.

guide to hiking in watchung reservation

another hiking guide

little stone huts

I was in the Mt Arlington.Jefferson Twp area when I saw this little stone… hut next to a local park. It looks like a little stone smokehouse or perhaps a storage shed for dynamite that I saw in the Palisades. The really weird part is that it looks half submerged below ground. When I looked into the entry way I could see the floor was below ground. I have no idea who owns it, what it’s for and whether it supposed to be half below ground level or not, but there was another one just around the corner.