{"id":16032,"date":"2015-06-09T22:19:03","date_gmt":"2015-06-10T03:19:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/?p=16032"},"modified":"2015-06-09T22:19:03","modified_gmt":"2015-06-10T03:19:03","slug":"video-urban-explorer-documents-the-abandoned-damen-silos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/video-urban-explorer-documents-the-abandoned-damen-silos\/","title":{"rendered":"VIDEO: Urban explorer documents the abandoned Damen silos"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>By Evan Garcia<\/p>\n<p>Rick Drew remembers the first time he explored an abandoned building. As a child on a family vacation in Scotland, he spent hours searching through\u00a0a deserted yarn factory.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was a real thrill,\u201d Drew said. \u201cI always remembered that, although I didn\u2019t start exploring again until many\u00a0years later.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"Exploring the Abandoned Damen Silos\" src=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/129712118?dnt=1&amp;app_id=122963\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"autoplay; fullscreen\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>A former scuba diving instructor, Drew suffered a jaw injury in 1998 that&#8217;s kept him out of the water. Since then, he\u2019s worked as a freelance photographer, which led him to exploring abandoned properties in and around Chicago. He\u2019s the organizer of a group called Chicagoland Urbex Photography.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere are a few different urban exploration groups in the area,\u201d Drew said. \u201cSome of them break into properties with bolt cutters and crowbars, but we try not to disturb these places.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>With his hiking and photography gear in tow, Drew captures the urban decay and nature\u2019s subsequent reclamation of these forgotten sites. To this day, he\u2019s never been arrested, seriously injured or found himself in a dangerous situation.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen I tell cops that I\u2019m just here to take photos, they usually leave me alone,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Drew took me on a trip to see the Damen Silos, located opposite Chicago\u2019s downtown skyscrapers, just off of the Damen Avenue exit of Interstate 55. Since the early 1800s, this land has been used to store and distribute the city\u2019s grain.<\/p>\n<p>The silos that still stand here today were built in 1906. Both these structures and the grain elevator that preceded them were plagued with multiple spontaneous explosions and fires. Grain dust is extremely combustible. The last fire occurred in 1977, after which the land fell into disuse.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_16052\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-16052\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"http:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2015\/06\/LightPainting.jpg\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-16052 size-medium\" src=\"http:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2015\/06\/LightPainting-300x186.jpg\" alt=\"Rick Drew photographs dark locations like the underground tunnels of the Damen Silos by using a technique called light painting. The camera takes a photograph at a long exposure while Drew illuminates the area with a flashlight. (Rick Drew)\" width=\"300\" height=\"186\" srcset=\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2015\/06\/LightPainting-300x186.jpg 300w, https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2015\/06\/LightPainting.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-16052\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Rick Drew photographs dark locations like the underground tunnels of the Damen Silos by using a technique called light painting. The camera takes a photograph at a long exposure while Drew illuminates the area with a flashlight. (Rick Drew)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Since then, the Damen Silos have been state property. Illinois\u2019 Department of Central Management Services tried to sell the 24-acre plot of land for a minimum bid of $17 million at a 2007 auction, but received no interest. It\u2019s unlikely the state will sell it for that much any time soon, especially considering the high cost of demolition.<\/p>\n<p>Abandoned and overgrown structures like the Damen Silos and the U.S. Steel South Works in South Chicago harken back to the city&#8217;s\u00a0past life as a thriving industrial center. For some, these edifices may be obsolete eyesores, but for urban explorers like Drew, they represent a fascinating piece of history.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;People drive past these buildings every day and may wonder what&#8217;s inside of them, but never find out,&#8221; Drew said. &#8220;I act on that curiosity.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Drew cautions fellow explorers to never travel alone and\u00a0come prepared. That means bringing flashlights as well as wearing thick clothing and steel toe boots.<\/p>\n<p>And urban explore, or trespass, at your own risk. After all, it is illegal.<\/p>\n<div id=\"featurecaption\">Photo at top: The abandoned Damen Silos as viewed from Interstate 55 (Rick Drew)<\/div>\n<hr \/>\n<h3><a href=\"http:\/\/cantv.org\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-8953\" src=\"http:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2015\/05\/CAN-TV-logo.jpg\" alt=\"CAN TV logo\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/cantv.org\/\" target=\"_blank\">MEDILL REPORTS<br \/>\nON CAN TV<\/a><\/h3>\n<p>In Chicago, watch Medill Reports video stories on CAN-TV channel 27<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Evan Garcia Rick Drew remembers the first time he explored an abandoned building. As a child on a family vacation in Scotland, he spent hours searching through\u00a0a deserted yarn factory. \u201cIt was a real thrill,\u201d Drew said. \u201cI always remembered that, although I didn\u2019t start exploring again until many\u00a0years later.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":145,"featured_media":16051,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30,436],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16032","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-public-affairs","category-spring-2015"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>VIDEO: Urban explorer documents the abandoned Damen silos - Medill Reports Chicago<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/video-urban-explorer-documents-the-abandoned-damen-silos\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"VIDEO: Urban explorer documents the abandoned Damen silos - Medill Reports Chicago\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Evan Garcia Rick Drew remembers the first time he explored an abandoned building. As a child on a family vacation in Scotland, he spent hours searching through\u00a0a deserted yarn factory. \u201cIt was a real thrill,\u201d Drew said. \u201cI always remembered that, although I didn\u2019t start exploring again until many\u00a0years later.\u201d\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/video-urban-explorer-documents-the-abandoned-damen-silos\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Medill Reports Chicago\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-06-10T03:19:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/medill.wordpress.offload\/WP%20Media%20Folder%20-%20medill-reports-chicago\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2015\/06\/DamenSilosFeaturePhoto1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"813\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"475\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Evan Garcia\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Evan Garcia\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/video-urban-explorer-documents-the-abandoned-damen-silos\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/video-urban-explorer-documents-the-abandoned-damen-silos\/\",\"name\":\"VIDEO: Urban explorer documents the abandoned Damen silos - 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