Exploring a building that's been abandoned for 50+ years.

[Zakk]

So my girlfriend and I spent the day yesterday looking through an old rusted out building just outside of our town, after getting the idea for just going exploring several weeks ago, we finally decided to go for it. In retrospect, we should have brought flashlights and whatnot to be able to see things more clearly, since it was darker than the devils ass in there. And since this particular area of my state is known for its drug/homelessness/violent crime problem, I brought my handgun with us just to be safe from whatever may be lurking within.. siiince the first time I ever went exploring a place, I had an old homeless man chase after me with a wrecking bar.
So, here comes the wall of photographs.

Building in question, "Parsons Cash Shop" is what it was called apparently.
Foreboding as fuck ain't it?
Yes that's my faggot prius.
[t]https://scontent-a-atl.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpf1/t1.0-9/10390945_1501280000083720_5391470769027833615_n.jpg[/t]

Only way into the building that wasn't completely boarded up.
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How inviting, right?
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Think this place was some kind of general goods store? Had tons of ancient, and I mean fucking [I]ancient[/I] canned goods, old shoes everywhere, just various things.
[t]https://scontent-b-atl.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpf1/t1.0-9/10376333_1501280133417040_2162962689044352720_n.jpg[/t]

We couldn't get this open. Can't tell if it was a safe of some sort, or just a stove? no idea.
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More shoes.
[t]https://scontent-b-atl.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpa1/t1.0-9/10440997_1501280210083699_131049570154514976_n.jpg[/t]

stairway to the second floor, managers office?
Hit my fuckin' head on the low-ass ceiling.
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Second floor was no cleaner.
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I'm talking.. like.. not at all.
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I'm guessing this is the owner of the building. So we're going to call her Manager Mittens. You fucked up, Mittens. You fucked up [B]HARD.[/B]
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This door here was [I]welded[/I] shut. We couldn't get through it.
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Anyone want a TAMPA NUGGET?
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Mittens just keeping an eye on us.
[t]https://scontent-a-atl.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpf1/t1.0-9/10426924_1501280370083683_8807657279295637472_n.jpg[/t]

We found dozens of these little packages filled with old bank receipts, shipping manifests, all sorts of weird shit. Oldest one we found was dating back to fucking [I]1949[/I]

[t]https://scontent-b-atl.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xfp1/t1.0-9/10455179_1501280400083680_8472022204918078904_n.jpg[/t]

Not to mention these old as fuck mattresses.
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Second floor window.
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Piano?
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That is a can of Campbells onion soup.
That expired in 1963.
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Last picture of the managers office.
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To the right of the staircase was another door to the.. what I'm guessing was the home of the person that owned this place.
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This fucking cat.
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Looked like insulation had fallen through the ceiling, no telling what kind of cancer causing shit we were breathing in. Also cat.
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Had no fuckin' idea what these things were.
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Bathroom!
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...uhh..
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Out of all the pictures i've taken of the place, this room still just irks me for some reason.
It's a bathroom with the standard fixtures, but that window there thats [I]overlooking the goddamned bathtub[/I] connected with the room in the previous photo. Who the fuck designed this place?
[t]https://scontent-b-atl.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xfp1/t1.0-9/10269363_1501280963416957_4421432423412357704_n.jpg[/t]

Peaches!
[t]https://fbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xpf1/t1.0-9/10429361_1501281110083609_4041174827330743159_n.jpg[/t]

When she pushed this door open, it made the loudest fucking noise. almost like a cartoon haunted house amount of noise.
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And of course some shitbag spraypainted shit on the walls
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Living room?
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More fucking shoes.
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She hit her head on this board.
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TOBACCOTOBACCOTOBACCOTOBACCOTOBACCOTOBACCOTOBACCOTOBACCOTOBACCO
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Horse shoes? What the shit
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Rusty as shit nails.
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Still hanging out with us.
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[t]https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xpa1/t1.0-9/10330249_1501281736750213_1890647186545217632_n.jpg[/t]
The bottom fell out when I picked them up.
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Still in the wrappings
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Back stock room. Smelled like rot, like a dead animal. hand suddenly on holster.
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Hinges were rusted shut, couldn't get through this door.
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Fracturing masonry, deathtrap
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These antique soda bottles though, man.
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...Can't tell what was in here.
Mittens followed us in here and started staring at something in the corner. smell of rot was fucking intense in here, nauseating even. Mittens did not move the entire time. Ladyfriend gave notion to leave, and I of course ran the fuck out. Did not turn my back on the room, because even though super-spoopy-monster-ghosts don't exist, I'm armed, and there's two of us, paranoia can get the best of you.
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And to end this story, this fucking thing was hanging on the door frame.
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[t]https://scontent-b-atl.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpf1/v/t34.0-12/10424258_1501431076735279_7143151529607772806_n.jpg?oh=feb807ce6194405f266e8c62639a3280&oe=53983E23[/t]

Going through these old receipts and shit, I'll keep the OP updated if I find anything worth noting.
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September of 1956.
[t]http://i.gyazo.com/5230c06864359b05cdea377663a2919f.png[/t]

Guess I'm going to get started.
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[b]Update[/b]
Starting to look around some more for the guy that owned the place, and it's actually really creepy.
Parsons was always a bit of a weirdo apparently, suffered from paranoid schizophrenia before it was a commonly diagnosed thing. Had two children, one committed suicide [i]by drowning[/i] and the other was killed in the store during an armed robbery. Parsons eventually fucking [i]disappeared[/i] without a trace. No one ever found him or where he went. His wife died in 1997 at the age of 85. Trail ends there. :l

[Thelurker1234]

[url]http://facepunch.com/forumdisplay.php?f=401[/url]

goes here

[Zakk]

Whoops, I'm blind and possibly retarded. Forgive me.

[ironman17]

Pretty neat little bit of exploration, though it kinda seems like this'd be better placed in the Urban Exploration subforum, just fyi. That aside seems like quite the place. With all that stock left on the shelves, it seems like they just left the place and everyone forgot about it.

Everyone, that is, except Manager Mittens and whoever sprayed their tag on that wall.

[TheHipster]

Even if it's in the wrong section.

I have to say one thing, buy the property. Fix it up. Make it a tourist attraction for ghosts.

Profit.

[sir whoopsalot]

You can't blame poor Mittens too much for the place being such a mess, he's only a cat.

[Grenadiac]

People who go through buildings like this chock full of antiques and with things still on the shelves and just trash them are the worst.

[Zakk]

[QUOTE=Grenadiac;45045980]People who go through buildings like this chock full of antiques and with things still on the shelves and just trash them are the worst.[/QUOTE]

seriously. broken glass was everywhere too where it looked like some cunt just started breaking bottles and jars.

also, updated OP about what happened to the owner. Unsettling doesn't even begin

[lordcrypto]

also fyi, you said you were armed

don't bring weapons when urbexing

that raises it from misdemeanor trespass to felony cause you're trespassing with a deadly weapon

if you get caught, it's not good

[Zakk]

[QUOTE=LordCrypto;45046148]also fyi, you said you were armed

don't bring weapons when urbexing

that raises it from misdemeanor trespass to felony cause you're trespassing with a deadly weapon

if you get caught, it's not good[/QUOTE]

Oh fuck, I didn't even consider that. Okay, won't bring a weapon with me next time.

[ViralHatred]

[QUOTE=LordCrypto;45046148]also fyi, you said you were armed

don't bring weapons when urbexing

that raises it from misdemeanor trespass to felony cause you're trespassing with a deadly weapon

if you get caught, it's not good[/QUOTE]

But america isn't like the UK where you just get yelled at by an angry security guard or disturbed hobo. In america you all seem to be armed?

Also maybe you should take the cat and see if it's chipped. If it's a stray maybe you could adopt it.

[Grenadiac]

[QUOTE=ZakkShock;45046096]seriously. broken glass was everywhere too where it looked like some cunt just started breaking bottles and jars.

also, updated OP about what happened to the owner. Unsettling doesn't even begin[/QUOTE]

We got into a really old train station in my town (built ~1870s) and some parts of it had been closed up in the late 1800s and early 1900s. The vast majority of the things that were in those rooms had been broken (relatively recently) by vandals who smashed everything they could and spraypainted the walls. Anything that survived the vandals was picked through and taken to antique stores by the explorers who came after them, which unfortunately is probably for the better, but it left nothing to see but debris for us in what could have been an extremely interesting exploration.

It's just a shame people cannot leave anything alone.

e: Parsons attempted to uncover the secrets of dark magic and accidentally transformed himself into an immortal cat.

[404 Not Found]

I would just like to warn facepunchers to be careful when you are Urbexing, wear a respirator.

A few of my friends were at [URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashmore_Estates"]Ashmore Estate[/URL] for a few days and half of them came back with Histoplasmosis, it's a nasty fungal infection. If left untreated, you'll have to get shot up with some hardcore antifungal meds.

It's not fun

[Xenoyia]

You [I]took[/I] items from the scene?! that's one of the most important rules of urbexing man. Don't ruin it for future explorers, keep it the way you found it.

[Grenadiac]

[QUOTE=Lord Xenoyia;45049094]You [I]took[/I] items from the scene?! that's one of the most important rules of urbexing man. Don't ruin it for future explorers, keep it the way you found it.[/QUOTE]

Normally you'd be right but this scene is already trashed. Anything intact that gets left behind is prone to being ruined by vandals.

[Zakk]

[QUOTE=ViralHatred;45046737]But america isn't like the UK where you just get yelled at by an angry security guard or disturbed hobo. In america you all seem to be armed?[/QUOTE]

Don't start this.
The last time I went somewhere unarmed, I caught a crowbar to the side of the head. I had no intention of shooting anyone, but the next crazy bastard that comes after me or my girlfriend would be a gunpoint.
And yes, all americans are armed. even the children. Be afraid of us, don't look us in the eye. The only way to defeat us is to retreat to a second floor of a building only accessible by stairs.

Stairs are our natural enemy.

[editline]9th June 2014[/editline]

[QUOTE=Lord Xenoyia;45049094]You [I]took[/I] items from the scene?! that's one of the most important rules of urbexing man. Don't ruin it for future explorers, keep it the way you found it.[/QUOTE]

I agree, but the place was a single rat fart away from collapsing anyway so figured that this could be a just-one-time thing.

[Adeptus]

[QUOTE=LoLWaT?;45048646]You said the smell of rot was pretty intense in some locations while you were exploring and that Mittens wouldn't stop staring at something in the corner. Parsons disappeared without a trace apparently and he probably didn't have too many people looking for him.

He never left the store man.

[editline]9th June 2014[/editline]

I hope you consider finding a better place for the cat. Leaving it in that death trap just doesn't seem right.
If you go back again leave some food or something at least.[/QUOTE]

I'm sorry but that's pretty stupid. Unless he vanished from there 2 months ago, the rotting smell would have gone AGES ago.

[Pyroknight]

[QUOTE=Adeptus;45052617]I'm sorry but that's pretty stupid. Unless he vanished from there 2 months ago, the rotting smell would have gone AGES ago.[/QUOTE]

wat is joke

[>VLN<]

Please find a home for the cat.

He looked skinny, and that is no place for a domestic animal. He was obviously friendly, and wanted to be around people. All you have to do is just put him in a cat container and drop him off at the local shelter.

I couldn't think of leaving a poor animal alone in a dangerous abandoned building.

[Polonium9]

sounds cool, man, but I wouldn't take anything from there. I love the look on those lipton tea bags, though. That font is beautiful.

[Zakk]

[QUOTE=>VLN<;45053164]Please find a home for the cat.

He looked skinny, and that is no place for a domestic animal. He was obviously friendly, and wanted to be around people. All you have to do is just put him in a cat container and drop him off at the local shelter.

I couldn't think of leaving a poor animal alone in a dangerous abandoned building.[/QUOTE]

I hate to make you feel worse, but, here's the current weather.
[t]http://puu.sh/9mTUH/4db799f04c.png[/t]

I'm in the dot in the "i" in huntsville, this building is roughly in the "e"

She's fine, place was bone-dry.

[editline]10th June 2014[/editline]

[QUOTE=Grenadiac;45046838]We got into a really old train station in my town (built ~1870s) and some parts of it had been closed up in the late 1800s and early 1900s. The vast majority of the things that were in those rooms had been broken (relatively recently) by vandals who smashed everything they could and spraypainted the walls. Anything that survived the vandals was picked through and taken to antique stores by the explorers who came after them, which unfortunately is probably for the better, but it left nothing to see but debris for us in what could have been an extremely interesting exploration.

It's just a shame people cannot leave anything alone.

e: Parsons attempted to uncover the secrets of dark magic and accidentally transformed himself into an immortal cat.[/QUOTE]

I like to think of it being not so much as [i]stealing[/i] but protecting.
I'm pretty much Nick Cage in National Treasure.

And I wouldn't doubt it, Hobbs Island is a fucking haunted as shit area. Indians were butchered constantly in the early 1800's when Alabama was first being settled, and slaves usually ran through the way trying to get to the north.. which they'd usually be shot on sight.

Alabama has some dark history, man

[Lurklet]

you should go back and check out what that rot is

Could it be the owners skeleton? or would it have decomposed already? How long do corpses stench for?

spooky

[BlueAndGray]

I'm curious, what was the [I]newest[/I] thing you could find there?

[TehMentos]

[QUOTE=Lurklet;45056944]you should go back and check out what that rot is

Could it be the owners skeleton? or would it have decomposed already? How long do corpses stench for?

spooky[/QUOTE]

The skeleton of the owner would most likely still be there.
Though I bet it's just a dead hobo.

Seriously though, you need to find out what that smell was. Too mysterious to not investigate further, even though it is most likely going to be disappointing.

[Venezuelan]

[QUOTE=ViralHatred;45046737]But america isn't like the UK where you just get yelled at by an angry security guard or disturbed hobo. In america you all seem to be armed?[/QUOTE]

Regardless of how the vocal minority makes it seem that's not the case at all

[LuaHelper]

[QUOTE=TehMentos;45060037]The skeleton of the owner would most likely still be there.
Though I bet it's just a dead hobo.

Seriously though, you need to find out what that smell was. Too mysterious to not investigate further, even though it is most likely going to be disappointing.[/QUOTE]

It's most likely some small animal that died there. Normally the stench of decomposing human is very very overpowering depending on the time it's left in the open. OP would have probably caught wind of it before even entering the building.

[Zakk]

[QUOTE=LuaHelper;45061016]It's most likely some small animal that died there. Normally the stench of decomposing human is very very overpowering depending on the time it's left in the open. OP would have probably caught wind of it before even entering the building.[/QUOTE]

Yeah I really doubt it was a corpse, I used to intern at the local coroners office down town.. you uhh.. you don't forget that smell.

[ubermensch]

All the old documents are pretty interesting, gives a rough idea of what went on back then.

Also moved to UrbEx :)

[josepho93]

[quote]
We couldn't get this open. Can't tell if it was a safe of some sort, or just a stove? no idea.
[t]https://scontent-b-atl.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpf1/t1.0-9/10460784_1501280153417038_7925105602316982030_n.jpg[/t] [/Quote]

No wonder you couldnt get that open, its a 1950's era safe, we have one quite similar at work, looks as if someone has had a major go at it, but id guess it hasn't been opened. Could have something amazing inside, and all it would take is a heavy duty angle grinder.

[s5300]

Fuckin five in the morning, get down to the part about Manager Mittens getting spooked and not going near the corner. Turn on tv, turn on lights, go into every other room in the house and turn on lights, grab garbage-esque gAyR-15 'It looks like I won't be sleeping tonight, Mr.Mittens'

But other than me becoming paranoid by reading somewhat spooky things, seeing as this place obviously does not matter to anybody, consider opening that safe.

Edit: Yeah, considering that thing has his name on it... definitely a safe. Unless they had classy custom order stoves with your name on it back then..