Forgotten Sanctuaries: Urban Exploring in Chicagoland

General Interest, Summer 2018

Forgotten Sanctuaries: Urban Exploring in Chicagoland

7/22/2018 Factory south of Chicago, IL An urbex crew walks through the train terminal of the coal factory. This group, as with most in the Chicagoland urbex community, explores together because of mutual interest in preservation and adventure. “It’s kind of an underground community; it’s a loose connection of different networks. We have people from a bunch of different age groups. It’s really not a demographic at all, it’s just an interest,” Maximilien says. (Leta Dickinson/Medill)

October 31, 2018

By Leta Dickinson
Medill Reports

As waves of gentrification sweep across Chicago neighborhoods like Pilsen and West Loop, in many other neighborhoods, decrepit structures stand guard against the burgeoning development—long forgotten abandoned buildings. That is, forgotten by most. These vacant factories, cathedrals, warehouses, schools, homes and more become the go-to destinations for the local urban exploring community.

7/22/2018 Chemical plant south of Chicago, IL Gabriel climbs through a gaping hole in the fence surrounding the chemical plant. The urbex community is incredibly dependent on word of mouth for information about sites, since any public forum would quickly be disbanded by authorities. Information about entrances, new sites, security updates and demolitions are exchanged between community members. (Leta Dickinson/Medill)

7/29/2018 Warehouse in Chicago, IL suburb Urbexers, one at a time, carefully climb down a precarious and rickety ladder. Perhaps unsurprisingly, there are many inherent risks associated with urban exploring. “I take a lot of precautions: slow methodical movements, having the right gear, never having less than three light sources, never ever letting a door close behind you, always checking the floors for damage, and having at least one person in the world know where you’re at and when you expect to be done,” Gabriel says. (Leta Dickinson/Medill)

7/29/2018 Warehouse in Chicago, IL suburb Esmae jokes around with her boyfriend, AJ, as she holds up her camera mounted with a video light. She takes photos and video while exploring “bandos” to contribute to the national urbex Instagram page that she moderates. Although many people are drawn to urbexing for the photo and video appeal, others do it for the sense of adventure or modern history that old buildings hold. (Leta Dickinson/Medill)

7/22/2018 Factory south of Chicago, IL Explorers carefully hold the railing of the stairwell as they ascend abandoned transport structures of a coal factory. Little coal flecks still dot the grated floor, and old equipment sits unused. The place seems frozen in time. Maximilien, an urbexer who posts Youtube videos of his expeditions, says, “I think that’s one of the things urbexers do; they preserve certain places. The way I see it, it’s more modern ruins and more modern exploring. It’s modern history and archaeology.” (Leta Dickinson/Medill)

7/29/2018 Gum factory in Chicago, IL Esmae pushes open a door with her foot as her camera light reveals old vats where the gum used to be made and peeling strips of paint. Even though the gum factory shut down in 2006, the smells of gum production persist. One room, called the Big Red Room, smells—as you might expect—overwhelmingly like cinnamon. (Leta Dickinson/Medill)

7/29/2018 Gum factory in Chicago, IL Maximilien, after discovering that the ground was covered not in stagnant water, but rather pools of thick and sticky gum base, sacrificed his shoes in order to demonstrate the gooeyness of the substance to his Youtube fans. Producing good content for Youtube means getting engaging or exciting content. Maximilien will go out of his way to film the grand entrances that start off his videos. (Leta Dickinson/Medill)

7/29/2018 Gum factory in Chicago, IL The urbexers lean over the edge of the roof, peering into the shadows and looking for others that might be in the factory as well. They were sitting on top of the roof, laughing and talking when a pipe crashed through the window. It seemed a warning or a threat of sorts. Not all urbexers are there to explore. “Scrappers and graffiti artists tend to destroy things a lot. They tend to vandalize things a lot, not just with paint, but breaking stuff too,” Gabriel says. (Leta Dickinson/Medill)

7/29/2018 Gum factory in Chicago, IL AJ sits contentedly at the tallest point of the factory after climbing around 5 or so stories up a ladder. The city in the distance is sometimes the only reminder that the rest of civilization still exists. “Whenever I explore I try to get to the highest point just because of the view of the Chicago skyline. I can do what I want there. I feel free,” he says. (Leta Dickinson/Medill)

Photo at top: 7/22/2018 Factory south of Chicago, IL
An urbex crew walks through the train terminal of the coal factory. This group, as with most in the Chicagoland urbex community, explores together because of mutual interest in preservation and adventure. “It’s kind of an underground community; it’s a loose connection of different networks. We have people from a bunch of different age groups. It’s really not a demographic at all, it’s just an interest,” Maximilien says. (Leta Dickinson/Medill)