Williams Grove Amusement Park

Williams Grove Amusement Park is located in Mechanicsburg, PA, right down the road from the Williams Grove Speedway and the Williams Grove Steam Engine Association. The Williams family began hosting picnics here in 1850, eventually becoming the Mechanicsburg Fairgrounds. The first rides were built in 1928 and the Speedway opened in 1938.

The biggest change came in 1972 when the park was purchased for 1.2M and many rides were imported from the defunct Palisades Amusement Park which closed that year (the year after I was born!) The park continued entertaining locals thru the 80s when a steel roller coaster was built, and received various face lifts and changes in rides as many parks do. By 2005 attendance was dropping and the owners decided to invest in the speedway instead. The park closed in 2005 and there have been various attempts to sell the property since then with no luck. All the rides except the Cyclone roller coaster were sold off. The Cyclone was built in 1933 and was considered ground breaking for its day with a 60 foot drop and top speeds of 45 MPH. Now the coaster is overgrown with vegetations, and is in a state of decay. The grounds are still maintained and in good condition though most of the buildings are not in very good shape are 10 years of non-use.

See all my pictures here

Here is Roadside Americas page about Williams Grove

HolyLand USA (Waterbury, CT)

HolyLand USA was a biblical theme park in Waterbury, CT. Built in the 50s it features numerous… what i can only describe as large scale dioramas, depicting various famous events in the Bible. The park sits on 18 acres on a hill that overlooks Waterbury, and its main focal point is a 58 foot cross, replaced in 2008 with a steel cross 50 ft tall. The park has been closed for 30 years and the passage of time has not been kind to the exhibits. In fact they look better than one would think after 3 decades of weather and no upkeep. The property is owned by the mayor and is still … i wouldn’t say maintained, but they try to keep the brush cut back and theres recent memorial bricks in the newly constructed cross base. For more details read about it at the link above on wikipedia. All my pictures are here

Decrepit barn at the Laurita Winery

 

 

 

 

 

Found this old barn at the Laurita Winery when i went there for a food truck festival. There also is an old farm and barn museum there with lots of cool things like milk cans, old tools, spinning wheels and barn doors.

 

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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.

Abandoned in the middle of Route 46

For a decade I’ve driven past this abandoned house that sits in the middle between the east and west bound sides of Route 46 in Warren County. I have always wondering who would build a home in the median between the sides of a busy highway. I don’t know how long it has been abandoned, I noticed it around 2001 on a trip to the Delaware Water Gap. Every time I would drive out that way I would either forget or it would be too late in the day and too dark or there would be police there. it seems the local PD likes to hang out there in the grass and either do speed traps or just chit chat with each other. it turns out there is nothing special about it. just another abandoned structure, ignored every day by thousands of drivers who probably never give it a second thought.

a giant auto graveyard in central jersey

I came across this location thru a friend. he was kind enough to tell me the location on condition I not reveal it. So I won’t. So don’t ask. This place is unlike any place I have ever seen. it has all manner of vehicles including RV’s, ancient pickup trucks, jeeps, numerous types of trucks, construction equipment, fire trucks, flatbed trailers, bulldozers, even asphalt paving machines. There are easily 60-70 vehicles here in a variety of states of decay.

Then there is the debris, refuse and construction material. It really is a junkyard, a dumping ground. i did some research into the place and it appears to be an old farm that was later bought by a large corporation for reasons unknown. I am researching ownership further to try and determine the history of the place.

all the pictures on flickr

Boonton Park exploring

In a park in Boonton there are some nice hiking trails, as well as some abandoned stone structures set into a hill and an old rail line.

Sussex County Farm

One of many abandoned farms in Sussex County. Located on a main road it was an easy find.

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…

a not so bandoned farm in PA

Yet another farm near the Delaware river in PA. I’m pretty sure somebody owns it, they jsut ain’t doing anything with it right now. Didn’t go inside any of the buildings, they were sealed fairly tight. There was 3-4 buildings including one which was leaning so far to the side I wouldn’t go in if you paid me. It was right on the road, so doing anything more than just wandering would’ve been… unwise.

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