Irrational Ecstasy

Updated Blog on Underground Ozarks

2006-06-02T12:45:00.000-07:00

I have been having trouble uploading pictures onto blogspot recently, so I went ahead and posted an update on my blog at http://undergroundozarks.com/blog/memorymachine/ . I will try to work out my problems here, as I think I may have reached my allowed upload capacity. Please visit the link for updates until I can figure out what the problem is.

Being an Urban Explorer

2006-05-30T10:04:00.000-07:00

This post might just as well be called "A Plea to Those Who May Visit These Places....." Recently I made a return trip (one of many) to one of my favorite sites because my good friend and fellow explorer White Rabbit was in town. It was strange as I came into an open area and heard voices. I peered through a window and saw a group of three young guys. It was obvious that they were there doing the same thing I was, so I thought I'd just mess with them a little. I yelled "HEY!" really loud and watched them turn around uncertainly. I don't think they thought it was as funny as I did, but they were very friendly anyway. I asked one of them how they had found out about this place that I thought was pretty darn forgotten, despite being in the middle of a very urban area. He informed me that he had read about it on a blog called "Irrational Ecstasy." They were pretty surprised when they found out who I was. I mean, I'm almost a rock star, right?

It may be a little presumptuous to think that the only reason that they were at this particular site was because of my writings about it. Maybe they would have discovered it anyway, like Chris and I did. Maybe they would have read about it in the "Lost Caves of St. Louis" book. I don't really know. What I do know is that they were there, and that they were able to say that either directly or indirectly, it was because of me. These three guys, while I have to admit I don't really know them, seemed to get it. They were walking around, cameras in hand, admiring the ruins of a forgotten part of the history of our city. So many people don't get to see the wonderful areas right under their noses, and I am glad maybe a few more will get to see them because of my photos. If I can even inspire a few to get out there and see these things for themselves, that's even better! While these guys may be new to the Urban Exploration community, they understood what it was all about, and I'd go exploring with them any day.

A few days ago, someone close to me was talking to an older lady at a graduation party. She found out that this lady worked for a company that buys and then begins to restore old historic buildings in St. Louis. Wondering if her company owned any of the buildings that I had visited, she asked her if she had ever heard of Urban Exploration. "Oh yes, I've heard of that," she said angrily. "Those are the people that break into old buildings and take things of historical value because they think they have a right to it since it's historical and abandoned." After hearing this, she tried to explain to the lady that this was not at all in the spirit of UE, but who knows if her explanation did anything.

As I wandered around the well known walkways and rooms of the building with White Rabbit, Chris, Hiccup, and Hunter later that day, I was amazed at the amount of damage present.......things that were not damaged a few months ago. One of the first things I noticed was that someone had forced entry by breaking down a door in a very visible area. There had apparently been a recent fire in the main courtyard. People had smashed through brick and tile walls in a way that littered the ground with rubble in piles, making it hard to walk. This was all new. People were visiting this site at a rate that it was unused to. I was aware that the police were keeping a much closer eye on the place, and now I understand why.

It may be jumping to a conclusion to say that the increased traffic to the site was due to my blog, but I do not think that it is unlikely. I had already met one group of guys who told me that exact thing! I probably wouldn't be so sure if I were not able to see how the place had changed in the few months since I had first written about it. It was crumbling before due to the passage of time. And yes, there were areas where people were disrespectful and had smashed things just for fun, but it had gotten exponentially worse.

I would hope that all of you who read this decide to get out there and explore the world around you. Go into every unauthorized area, just to see what is there. Visit every vacant building to view the beauty of forgotten spaces. If you do, however, choose to do these things, you must realize that you are part of an already exsisting community. Many who have come before you have done the same thing and visited the same sites. Often, these sites remain in the untouched states that you may find them because of the sense and discretion of those past explorers. Every site that I have visited and posted on this blog I have entered WITHOUT HARMING OR BREAKING ANYTHING. Sometimes I have went to a site and found no possible way that I could get in without breaking a door or something. It is those times that I have turned around and went somewhere else.

Because by nature, UE is breaking the law, the rest of the public may not understand. Because of this, you must ensure that you do not become a mindless vandal in their eyes. If you do take anything from these sites, not only do you risk getting charged with burglary if you are caught, but you also ruin the experience for future explorers who will not get to see those "cool little things" that you happened to take with you. If you smash down a door or break a window to gain access to a building, you have quickly upped the level of what you're engaging in from tresspassing to breaking and entering. Sure, a cop can probably charge you with whatever he feels like, but like I have already stated: realize that you are part of a community of people who care about and do the things that you do. Do not ruin places for other by entering stupidly and getting the placed secured that much tighter, or simply by vandalizing and ruining the space that so many of us have come to love.

There are many sites that I have yet to post, but I am becoming much more selective of what I am willing to share online. I don't want to see these places ruined for those who actually care about their preservation. If you choose to engage in the exciting and mind expanding hobby that we refer to as Urban Exploration, please realize what that means: "Take nothing but photos, leave nothing but footprints."

Demolition of River Roads Mall

2006-05-14T20:45:00.000-07:00

The demolition of River Roads Mall has been in the planning stages for some time now. Nearby Northland Shopping Center met its fate last year, and everyone knew that it wouldn't be long until River Roads joined it. Like Northland, River Roads is that unfortunate age that is too young to qualify for historic tax credits, but too old for restoration to be feasible or worthwhile (especially considering the economy of the city of Jennings today). I had heard from someone who works for the company that now owns the property that it's time had come, so I made it a point to visit this location for the last time this weekend.

As I drove up, it was apparent that demolition was well underway. The first satellite store that I saw was nothing but a concrete skeleton. Fortunately, this seemed like the only part that work had started on, as far as destroying stuff goes. As I entered the interior of the mall, much of the debris and junk that used to litter the floors and hallways seemed to have been piled up, or removed completely. Large piles of trash that has been removed from inside the mall dot the parking lots, but it's strange that they remove all this stuff when the building is just going to be coming down on top of it anyway.

The satellite store was bare, all of its walls having been removed. The only thing remaining that showed that it was anything but a parking garage was the center escallator. I would've went upstairs, but unfortunately it must've been turned off at the time.

Once I was inside, I headed for the part of the mall that I most wanted to visit: the basement bowling alley. It's amazing to me that when the place closed down, all of the pins and balls were just left there. Now they lie scattered about, many of them in the flooded areas at the back of the lanes, where one can peer into the murkey water and see old muddy bowling balls peering back. If anyone has photos of this place while it was in operation, I would love to see them!

From the bowling alley, I entered a room where many of the mall's seasonal decorations were still stored. However, multitudes of four feet tall toy soldiers had been thrown into a large pile, decapitated. Some of them had even been pierced with spears and hung from the walls. If I didn't know any better, I'd say that some pesky kids had found their way down there and wreaked a little havoc!

Before I left the mall, I wandered the main hallways for awhile, taking extra time to take my last photos of the place, and especially the famous clocktower in the center. Yes, it is still there, and like the rest of River Roads, it will soon be nothing but a pile of Rubble. It is such a shame that an icon that so many remember from years past will be lost. I almost wish someone would steal it, if only to preserve one small piece of St. Louis's recent history. Seriously, someone take it. I don't have a truck.

New Blog Hosting

2006-05-10T20:34:00.000-07:00

No, I don't plan on abandoning this site, so settle down children. My good friend White Rabbit from www.undergroundozarks.com has been kind enough to host my blog on his website, and I am honored to be a part of it. Since you're reading this, I don't know if it's actually necessary for you to read both blogs, since they're basically the same thing. However, I do hope you'll visit the site, because then you'll be able to read about the splendiferous adventures of White Rabbit and Sterile as well. There are so many amazing places in the other parts of the state that these guys are visiting, and I'm sure you'll find them interesting.

My blog is at http://undergroundozarks.com/blog/memorymachine/ , and from there you can navigate to the other blogs or other parts of Underground Ozarks. Enjoy!

Cotton Belt Freight Depot

2006-05-10T15:07:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago Chris, Tunajive and I got together with a photographer for the Riverfront Times who wanted to get some shots for the article that came out last Thursday. We first took him to Armour Packing Plant in East St. Louis, where he took many shots that felt to me like band photos. It made me feel way cooler than I actually am. That is, of course, until I took a step in an unstable area of one of the upper floors and my foot went clear through. Had I not caught myself and had continued to fall, it could have been 30 feet or so of very bad. I should have been more scared than I was. I just calmly lifted myself up and said "Wow, that sucked." I think it severely damaged my cool factor, though. Falling through floors is never cool.
After Armour, we met up with Rob and Brian and visited the Cass Street Tunnel briefly before attempting to check out an old rail depot I had driven by the previous weekend. The building, previously known as the Cotton Belt Freight Depot and the St. Louis Southwestern Railroad Freight Depot, was massive. The Cotton Belt route was formed in 1891 and connected Texas to Arkansas and southeastern Missouri. I can not find very much info on this depot inself, only that it was probably built around 1900 and operated in some function until 1974. I would love to know exactly how the four stories of the building were used when it was an active rail depot. The group of us began walking around trying to find a way in. On one side of the building, pieces of broken up asphalt had been arranged into a large circle for what I could only assume was ceremonial purposes.....or for hippie sing alongs. We had made a complete trip around the building with no luck, until I went back to a spot where I had a hunch, and found a way in.

The inside of the depot has area that are barren and clean, and areas where strange stashes of toys, tires, or magazines can be found. I was quite excited about the large amount of really old Star Wars memoribillia we found, although I couldn't bring myself to take any of it........even the Boba Fett figure..... Much of the building is still very secure, and we were not able to find any way to access the upper floors. I was almost about to follow Brian who was attempting to climb the elevator shaft, when I noticed that there was a large couch suspended directly over my head in the shaft. The last thing I wanted to do was something that might dislodge it and give me a nice couch-sized bump on my head.

The Cotton Belt Depot was an interesting site, and one I hope to return to in the hopes of seeing the rest of it that I was not able to explore on this trip.

Window From St. Aloysius

2006-05-08T16:24:00.000-07:00

I recieved this picture from some someone who reads my blog, and who grew up attending St. Aloysius. A member of her family purchased their family window from the Archdiocese of St. Louis, and it is now hanging in their home.
It's good to see that at least a portion of St. Aloysius's history will be preserved in the homes of those who share memories of the place. Most of the other family windows have yet to be purchased, and are being sold by the Archdiocese for around $2,000. Those interested should send an email to manthosearesomeexpensivewindows@archstl.com , and then probably rob a bank or something.

Gumbo Jail

2006-05-08T12:46:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, Tunajive and I decided to spend our evening in the most productive way we could think of: checking out some of the abandoned sites that West County has to offer. First we visited the old Nursing Home, but eventually made out way to the old "Gumbo Jail." I assume this jail got its name because of it's location on the Missouri River floodplains of Chesterfield nicknamed "Gumbo Flats," not because they used to serve a kickass cajun seafood stew. But who knows, maybe their gumbo was outstanding. Gumbo Jail was a fully functioning penitentary for St. Louis county until 1993, when the great flood caused it to cease operation and a new jail was built in Clayton. The jail was in the news again recently after Hurricane Katrina, when it was cleaned up and prepared to house victims that never showed up. The site was recently aquired by Duke Reality Corp. for $6.74 million, with the intention of constructing a number of large office buildings.

On this night, we had additional company for our adventure: Fellow explorer Slim Jim and a group of his friends from the Minneapolis area had made the trip down to St. Louis, and were meeting up with us for the first time. The first part of our exploration took us to the bowels of the jail's utility tunnels, which stretch a long distance under the site. As we made our way up into the upper parts of the jail, the work that had been done for Katrina was apparent. Obviously, it had been vacant for some time, but there was none of the usual rubble and grime that one usually finds in abandoned places. In certain areas, the cells had been dry-walled over.....apparently so the victims living there wouldn't feel like they were living in a jail.

Despite how clean the place was, signs of its former use were everywhere. Many cells had names and graffiti scribbled everywhere. I was surprised when I found a number of different places where inmates had placed tic-marks, I'm assuming to count down their remaining days of imprisonment. That is the kind of thing that one sees in the movies, but that hits a somber note when you see that it really happened, and think about the many people who lived out long portions of their lives behind the barred doors of the building.

All of the usual "jail areas" are still intact, including the visitation room with two-way phones, the cafeteria, a large auditorium/gymnasium, and the guard tower outside. I couldn't believe that we were actually able to gain entry into the guard tower, and couldn't help but have someone snap a picture, despite the fact that the flash would be incredibly visible through the glass windows lining every side of the tower.
Although plans for the site seem to be in the works, nothing has been done yet. It will be sad to see this place demolished. I know that, compared with other St. Louis sites, this one does not have anywhere near the history, or even interesting architecture for that matter. It is a bland, two story grey shack looking building. I remember, though, watching the inmates in the yard from my mom's car on the highway when I was a kid. This is something I am able to think about every time I drive by today. Not for long, I guess.

Photo Gallery

2006-05-05T13:53:00.000-07:00

I have decided to put some of my favorite photos online so that anyone who is interested can see them full size. You can find them at http://memorymachine.deviantart.com/gallery/ .

St. Aloysius Gonzaga

2006-04-25T21:44:00.000-07:00

I have known that St. Aloysius has been getting closer and closer to demolition for awhile, and it has remained at the top of my list of places to visit. I had visited before, but had found the church and surrounding buildings to be fairly secure. Recently, I finally made the trip again by myself, and this time was able to gain entry and photograph the interior of the church, rectory, and old gymnasium. It seems such a waste that the Archdiocese of St. Louis is allowing this historic parish to be demolished to make way for luxury housing. A few locals told me that the church has settled considerable recently, and some of its structural flaws would be far to expensive to repair. Regardless, I hate to see any historic building meet its end in such a way.

Someone who is close to my family actually grew up attending "St. Al's," and her requests to see photos of the interior only made me want to visit more. As I began walking around the church interior, I knew that it may be something she would not like to see. You would never know that it has been closed for just over a year by the amount of debris lying around. One of the few features of the church to remain are the painted archways, which are still beautiful to behold. All the stained-glass windows have been removed, and I have been told will be sold for a hefty sum by the Archdiocese.

I also visited the rectory that is attached to the church building via an inclosed walkway. It seemed to be almost in worse shape than the church itself, with grafitti having found its way into many of the rooms. It also appears that the entire complex has become an unofficial airsoft location. Only the frame of the main staircase in the rectory remains, and vandals have destroyed some of the windows and the first floor toilet (which was unfortunate because I REALLY had to go!).

Finally, I made my way into the old school gymnasium. I don't usually explore by myself, but on this trip I felt completely comfortable aside from entering the pitch blackness of the gym basement. At one point, my flashlight came across a man standing in a corner. I nearly evacuated my bladder before I realized that it was a statue. Even then, the gesture he was making with his hands still made me a little uncomfortable.

The gym floor was pretty unremarkable and empty. There was a fairly large stash of old trophies on the stage. It seems sad that kids probably worked very hard to achieve these tokens of athletic superiority, and now they are as forgotten as the church itself.

At this point, the demolition of St. Aloysius may be inevitable, as the developer's sign site prominently outside the front door of the church. However, there are those who are still battling to save this historic piece of St. Louis history. Visit http://www.savestaloysius.org/ if you would like to help or learn more.

Nursing Home

2006-04-10T13:55:00.000-07:00

This nursing home is located in West County. It's interesting, because most local adults have no idea that it is there. However, most local teenagers are acutely aware of its presence. This is easily apparent from all the obviously "teenage rebellion" inspired graffiti and thoughtless vandalism. The building is not very old, nor has it been abandoned for a very long time (around ten years, I believe), but it has suffered more damage than most buildings ten times its age. This is the reason that it is probably the most dangerous location that I've visited as far as getting arrested goes. The local police watch this place like hawks. They know the areas that people park to visit it, and the don't hesitate to come inside after you.

In fact, the last time I attempted to visit this site with Soccermom we had a run-in ourselves. We were unable to access the building, because the entrance I had used before had been secured. The entire building seemed as if someone had taken great pains to re-secure it. They did an excellent job, and I didn't want to ruin their efforts, so I decided to call it a night. On the way back to my car, I noticed a car parked across the busy street and though briefly "I wonder if that's a cop car." As Soccermom and I came into a lit area, the car turned and painted us with a powerful spotlight. We both hit the ground, only to realize that we were still fully illuminated. "Run!" I said. Unfortunately, she didn't hear me say that. She just suddenly realized that I was halfway across the field without her. Boy we laughed about that one................a few days later.

This previous experience was taken into account when Tunajive and I planned out latest trip. We parked in a place so far away that we had to suck wind up what I'm sure is one of the steepest hills in the state of Missouri. We had to convince ourselves that we were willing to be out of breath for awhile to avoid any kinds of legal trouble. In the years since I had last visited, the building had changed very little. Apparently, local law enforcement's efforts had been successful, because there was little new graffiti. What we did notice was that much of the trash and debris that had once been present was cleaned up. This supported the rumors I have heard that the current owners are trying very hard to sell the site. I was surprised, then, that they worked so hard to clean the place up but didn't paint over the various murals that say things like "I rape small children."

I have heard the stories that this home is haunted. It is quite apparent how these stories got started. The building is never quiet. One is forced to stop and listen every few moments because of different strange sounds or vibrations. I am not ready to say that is actually is haunted, but it is an eerie place to visit. Local teenagers have tryed to make the building even scarier, and in many places one can see bloody handprints or footprints or makeshift Ouija boards or messages like "Get out while you still can."

Many of the sites I visit are beautiful examples of decay and neglect. This site is not beautiful, but it is an interesting example of meaningless teenage vandalism. I can understand the graffiti, but personally I think the fires that have been started are a tad unnecessary. Regardless, the local teens have made this site their own, and it has become part of the local lore.

Arcade/Wright Building

2006-04-03T08:57:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, I was offered one of the most amazing opportunities that I've had since I began seriously exploring the forgotten places in and around St. Louis. Chris called me one night to tell me about an excursion that he and his friend Hunter had planned for the weekend. As soon as I heard him say ".....Arcade Building....." I almost flipped out. I was, of course, aware of this building because it is on the National Register of Historic Places. I had assumed that it would be to difficult to gain entry to, but they had found a way. I could barely wait for the weekend to arrive.

The Arcade Building is one of the more ornate buildings in the downtown area, with its gothic detailing and lavish second and third story bay windows. When passing it on the street, one can tell that it is vacant, but it is still a beautifully preserved piece of architecture. The Arcade Building is actually considered the "Wright-Arcade Building" because it was built onto the existing Wright Building in 1913 (the more architecturally subdued Wright Building had been there since 1907). In it's day, the Arcade housed numerous businesses and was the early equivalent of today's shopping malls. The building is named for the two story shopping "arcade" that stretches the length of the building between two streets. I had heard how magnificent the arcade was supposed to be, and that was one of the reasons I was so excited to visit the building.

I met up with Chris and we made the trip downtown to hook up with Hunter. Less that five minutes after arriving, we were inside the Arcade building, and after walking just a few feet, I found myself in the center of the famous arcade. Even in its disrepair, it has an intricate beauty that one doesn't see in modern buildings. The entire ceiling is vaulted with gothic arches and elaborate buttresses (wow, it's not ever day a guy gets to refer to a buttress!). I can only imagine what the arcade looked like in its glory days.

After about 20 minutes of wandering the main arcade, we ventured into the basements of the building, attempting to find the entrance to the tunnels that are rumored to exist, connecting the Arcade Building to old train tunnels that are now used by the Metrolink. We had read that they were never used and were closed up, and this appeared to be the case because we found nothing. We then began exploring the upper floors, which I found particularly interesting. Many of the original businesses still have their signs painted on the glass doors inside the building, and some even left pieces of equipment or paperwork. You can still see parts of an old radio station, a law oriented printing company, and (my personal favorite) an "Ear Mold Laboratory." I am not quite sure why one would need a laboratory to make ear molds, but it's still cool.
After what seemed like hours, we realized that we had only explored five floors or so, and that we were on pace to finish exploring the building in around seven years. An executive decision was made to put off the rest of the building to concentrate on getting to the rootop. This proved to be none too easy of a task, considering the staircase we had chosen was missing the flat landing areas between flights of steps on every story past floor 8. It is quite an unnerving experience to step over a hold wheree you can see down 10 stories below you, but Hunter kept assuring me that the frame of the stairs itself was quite sturdy. Not like I needed encouragement. I just had to repeat my trademarked phrase "I'm sure it's fine..." and I felt better.

When we finally reached the 18th floor (or at least, I think it was 18 floors) it was just a matter of finding the roof access, which turned out to be quite easy. I was particularly impressed with the view down one of the many elevator shafts where the door had not been welded shut. For some strange reason, there were windows in the shaft. Fortunately, this helped me see almost all the way down into what would have otherwise been just a dark abysss. Most of the elevators seem to have been removed at some point, but at least a couple still remain. One of them is even still stopped at a floor halfway up where it ended its last trip. On what I thought was the top story there was an iron staircase which led to a small room at the top of the building where the equipment that controlled the elevators was located.

From the rooftop we were provided with an amazing view of the arch and the riverfront. It is so odd to be standing on top of a vacant 18 story building in the middle of the busy downtown area. The Paul Brown Building (the other building on the block that has recently been renovated and converted into loft apartments) was visible on the other side of the alley. Luckily, it was not yet warm enough for people to be using the rooftop pool, or else we would have been in plain sight.

Pyramid Construction, the company that renovated the Paul Brown Building, now owns the Arcade/Wright Building, and has plans for a renovation in the near future. There is talk of using the space for luxury condos, a 250 room hotel, and room for retail space. I am thankful that this will most likely happen, instead of the Arcade meeting the same fate of the recently demolished Century building a block away. The Arcade is historically and architecturally important, and I look forward to seeing the main arcade in its restored state.

Hospital Dormitory

2006-03-20T17:02:00.000-08:00

Recently Chris, Matt, and I began our day downtown looking for interesting sites. After finding nothing that looked doable, we hopped in the car to check out a few other locations that I had in mind, eventually ending up at an old hospital dormitory in North City. While entering this building appeared easy at first, it became increasingly more difficult when we realized that it was actually still attached to an active complex that houses an assisted living community. Entering the dormitory required us to pass right by areas in full view of these active buildings. We just hoped that we were passing by during nap time.

There is very little remaining in this hospital building that hints at its former use. I only assume that it was a dormitory building because there is so little in the way of actual medical equipment or facilities remaining, and because that is what other explorers who have visited the building have been inclined to think. The interior, while crumbling and decayed in many places, still seems to be structurally sound, unlike sites like St. Mary's Infirmary. Also, we found very little evidence of vagrants occupying the building at all. Each of the floors had it's own charm, as the original coloring is visible despite the widespread peeling of the paint. However, it is apparent right away that all of the floors follow the same layout. Chris and Matt quickly became bored, and wandered off away from me. It was then that I began to hear sounds of yelling coming from the outside lawn. I was nervous at first, until I realized that it was just the neighborhood kids playing tag. Whew! One of the few areas that is unique in the building is the attic, which is empty aside from a few small religous pieces. The light shining through the one open window in the attic made it stragely eerie. Chris also happened to find a tunnel in the basement which assumingly runs undergound to one of the active buildings in the complex. On the lowest level, one is offered a glimpse into the adjoining nursing home through the window of a sealed door. There is something very strange about looking into a well maintained active facility on just the other side of a door when you're standing in a hallway crumbling with neglect.

I don't know very much about the history of this building, only that the hospital that used to occupy it moved west to a suburb of St. Louis in the 1970's. When I was telling my dad about the location of the place, he knew exactly what I was talking about because apparently both he and my uncle were born at this hospital. But that was a LONG time ago. I would be very interested to know which of the other buildings at this site were once a part of the hospital, and why this one building was sealed off and forgotten while the rest were maintained.

While Chris and Matt weren't overly impressed with this site, I found it interesting for its historical value and for the beauty of it's decay like I do all the sites I visit. I don't know if I'd go out of my way to visit again considereing how visible someone entering it is, but I am glad that we made the trip and that I was able to document this one forgotten building on a site that has definately not been forgotten.

The Miles Mausoleum

2006-03-14T12:49:00.000-08:00

This interesting spot I just happened to notice on the way home from my day of exploring at the quarry in Valmeyer, Illinois. For many miles, bluffs had risen to my right side far above the flood planes that I was driving on. Always one to admire my surroundings, I noticed something strange high atop one of the bluffs. I was tired from walking many miles through many tunnels and caverns, but I didn't know when I would be back in this area, and I hate feeling like I missed out on something. I parked my car and set off on my own to find a way up the bluff to this "thing."

As I began my trip, I wasn't sure what exactly I was looking at up there, and I definately didn't know of its history. What I had accidentally stumbled upon is known as the Miles Mausoleum, and is one of the most infamously haunted and eerie spots in southwestern Illinois. Stephen Miles was a veteran of the War of 1812, and used the land given to him in return for his military service to begin running his very own farm. Legend has it that many other soldiers would claim land in the surrounding countryside for their military service as well, but all soon disappeared after strangely signing over their claims to Mr. Miles. In a few short years, he owned and operated several thousand acres of the fertile farmland of the region.

The family mausoleum was built in 1858 by Stephen W. Miles, son of the elder Miles. Despite his grand plans for the upkeep of the tomb, he later went bankrupt and only 11 of the 56 vaults were ever used. Local lore says that it once housed the bodies of Miles himself, along with his two wives, a few mistresses and a number of servants. Unfortunately, they would not be allowed to rest in peace.

In the early 1960s, the mausoleum was apparently rediscovered where it was hidden in the enveloping woods. It was broken into, and later visitor said that caskets and bones with dried flesh still clinging to them could be seen everywhere. It was rumoured that the tomb had been desecrated in search of the valuable jewels that had been buried with its occupants. A few years later, things continued to get worse. A cult group removed the remaining bodies from their vaults onto the grounds outside, and burned them in their attempt to "raise the dead." As you could probably imagine, stories of ghostly encounters at this site have been numerous and continue to the present.

As interesting as that would have been, I had no ghostly enounters during my visit. The site is covered with graffiti and other teenage vandalism, and the floor is littered with empty beer cans and bottles. During my brief visit (on a Sunday afternoon, mind you), I saw at least two different goups of teens with intoxicating beverages in hand examining the site. It is apparent that area teens don't find the idea of getting drunk in an old desecrated tomb unnerving at all. Well, thumbs up to them! Even in the daylight, the mausoleum is eerily beautiful, and from its perch atop Eagle Cliff, one can see miles of the surrounding Illinois countryside.

Much of the information I found about the mausoleum didn't seem to know exactly where it was, only the stories about it. I find that very strange, since I don't understand how one driving down the adjacent road with his or her eyes open could miss it. Many accounts said that there are no longer roads that lead to the cemetary, but I found out later (after hiking up the side of the cliff, which was quite difficult in my out of shape state) that the local roads do still take you to the cemetary entrace. If I decide to return, I'll probably opt to use those roads as opposed to sucking wind for a half mile up the side of a cliff.

I would be very interested to know how much of the legends of the Miles Mausoleum are actually true, and how many have been passed down over the years just because the idea of an empty tomb is kind of creepy. I would enjoy visiting this site again, but probably at night so that I can scare the pants out of the poor soul that I drag along with me.

City of Rock (AKA "Where the hell are we?")

2006-03-10T08:29:00.000-08:00

Chris Happened to find this site while following a train in Illinois. Why was he following a train? Because Chris likes trains, okay?! This has, however, led me to create the following theory: Trains know where the best places to explore are! A few weekends ago, Chris took me and a couple other adventurers to visit what he called "the huge quarry in Illinois." As we began exploring, I realized that the word huge was not sufficient to describe the vast underground areas of this quarry.

As you approach the quarry in Valmeyer by road, you immediately begin to notice the many large openings in the nearby bluffs. As you begin to see how far this system of openings streches, you get your first hint at how large the areas inside must be. The site has been in use since the early 1900s, when the Missouri Pacific Railroad used the site as an open-faced quarry to obtain rocks for use as railroad ballast. For most of its exsistence, it was operated by the Columbia Stone Company, who is responsible for the vast labrinyth of room-and-pilliar tunnels. In 1948, the Knaust Mushroom company leased 110 acres of the man-made caverns. The temperature and humidity of these underground areas turned out to be perfect for mushroom growth, and at its peak 2 million pounds of mushroom were harvested at this site in just one growing period. Today, a portion of this complex is being used once again, this time for a cold storage facility. Of the 6 million square feet of underground area, 100 thousand has been turned into what is now known as "Rock City." Though extensive, Rock City encompasses only a small part of the vast man-made cave system.

Our small group of adventurers approached the site from the side that is still abandoned, where I began by checking out one of the small crumbling buildings that sit near the base of the hill. Though small, this building was quite interesting. It still contained many of the old switches and guages. While I never know exactly what these devices once controlled, they always cause me to make my pattented "Oooooh, switches and guages!" face. Something I had never seen before were the makeshift shelters someone had made using old clothes, shoes, and wire frames. At least, I assumed they were shelters or windbreaks of some kind. Whatever they were, they were odd.

There are many shafts and tunnels leading from the base of the hill and leading deep into it, although most are either dead ends or have now collapsed. There is still one, however, that provides easy access into the upper inside areas of the quarry that would otherwise require some serious hill climbing to reach. I could care less about a tough climb, I just thought it was so cool to be entering the quarry through a tunnel. I'm sure my yelps of excitement were audible to all. We passed through this old tunnel along a path still occupied by some sort of conveyeur. From there, it was only a matter of ascending a few staircases and ladders until we reached the main levels of the caverns.

The first areas of the quarry are fairly well lit and open, with light still shining through the large openings on the bluff face. There are many signs that these areas are still frequented, the coolest of which were some ATV tracks that seemed as if they were taken off some "sweet jumps." In these first areas, we found most of the cool items that hinted at the history of the quarry. In many sites we have explored we have found government issued rations, because many of these locations were at one time designated Civil Defense Shelters. This quarry was at one time the largest shelter in Illinois. It is quite evidents, as this was by far the largest stash of these supplies we had ever found. You can also still find the cylindrical tubes that used to contain demolition charges, and many boxes of old core samples.

As we began to move further into the hill and farther away from the light of the sun, the caverns became seemingly much larger and more ominous. Many of the lower chambers are flooded, and the group of us spent near an hour attempting to find a dry route through a specific part of the quarry, but were unsucessful. In the pitch blackness of some of these deep parts of the quarry, strange artifacts can still be seen, such as large deflated tubes still attached to the roof of the cave that at one time must have been a part of some air filtration system. We also found a number of spotlights which at one time must have lit the path for vehicles traveling on the many underground roads. After wandering for a few hours, we began to notice that we were no longer in the forgotten parts of the caverns. I have to admit, it is strange to wander onto a paved road in the middle of a cavern complete with road markings, street lights, and street signs. We had wandered into the Rock City complex, where the cold storage facilites are operated today. These areas offered a much different version of the quarry, complete with loading docks and even underground office buildings! How cool is that?! We were able to wander into one of the office areas because someone was kind enough to leave the door open for us. Whoever designed these areas deserves major props, because the way the rooms used the cave itself as some of the walls and ceilings was quite amazing. In one of the rooms, we even found a large map of the entire complex, which showed us that there was still another entire hill's worth of quarry that we had yet to see. This second hill ended up being much emptier and full of rubble that the areas we had already explored, so we didn't spend that much time there. We left the complex that day covered in dust and sand, using the main road that trucks must use every day of the week when the complex is active. This massive quarry may not be as full of neat little nuances that I enjoy at other sites, but it makes up for that by its size alone. After spending around five hours exploring, I still felt like we had seen only the tip of the iceberg. I'm sure I'll return, some day when I have a lot of extra time.

Live Review: The Fiery Furnaces

2006-03-06T08:40:00.000-08:00

A little over a week ago, Mardi Gras was in full swing here in St. Louis. As one who has been to the "real" Mardi Gras, I don't really think what we have here in St. Louis is comparable. Sure, there are plenty of beads, and boobies a-plenty, but the partying and drunken interaction here in St. Louis just seems to be much more mean-spirited. I don't think it is very funny to try and injure women with flying bead projectiles launced at full speed at their faces. I also think the drunken guy who decides that it is necessary to fight because someone in a large crowd bumped into him is the lowest form of life on the plant. So, I decided to forgo these festivities for a much more stimulating experience: seeing The Fiery Furnaces live at the Mississippi Nights!

The Fiery Furnaces is composed of siblings Matt and Eleanor Friedberger, and is one of the most unpredictable bands in indie rock today. To help illustrate this point, I offer their latest album Rehearsing My Choir: an especially inaccessible piano opera starring the Friedbergers' grandmother. Even as someone who appreciates music that other people don't seem to get at all, I was intimidated by Rehearsing My Choir. I thought "What if I don't get it?" Then I'd have to admit that I was not nearly as pretentious as I would have liked to believe. While it is difficult to curl up and really enjoy emotionally, it is an aesthetically pleasing album, at least for me. I do, however, enjoy envisioning what the brainstorming session that led to this album must have been like.

"So, Eleanor, our last album was sufficiently complicated and difficult, but was pretty much universally loved in the indie community. Where do we go from here to make sure that there is no way a mainstream audience will ever like us."

"Well, Matt, how about having a guest star on the album that can only help drive us in a direction that no one will like."

"But who to get, Eleanor? Ben Gibbard? No, everyone loves the Postal Service. Conor Oberst? No, he's much too good looking. George W. Bush? No, then not even I would like us. Wait, I've got it! Grandma!"

"Matt, that's it! No one will get it! To the studio, and bring the Ensure!"

Okay, maybe it's funnier in my head. The opening band of the evening was a Chicago group called Sybris. Their brand of rock was quite emotive and ethereal. I expect great things from this group. They were followed by a Louisiana duo called Deadboy and the Elephant Man. When they came out, I expected a White Stripes-esque bluesy sound, but they had a unique sound all their own. I have to admit, I couldn't help but stare at the drummer. My buddy Matt and I were both like, "Whoa." As you can see from this pic - super hot. By the way, if you couldn't tell, I didn't take that one. They cancelled their photo shoot with me. Bastards. She was definately a much more agressive drummer than Meg White, so I give them props for that.

Despite the strong performaces from the opening bands, everyone was quite ready for the Furnaces to take the stage. I have been a huge fan of their piano driven yet sufficiently complicated indie pop since their first full length Blueberry Boat, and I was expecting their live sound to be pretty comparable to their album sound. I was totally wrong, however, as all of their songs had been reworked live to include absolutely no piano at all! This was soley a guitar oriented show, and the audience was gonna like it, or else! I am quite familliar with all of thier releases, but in many cases it would take me a minute to realize what song they were playing, as they often sound completely different live played only with guitars.

Eleanor was in top form, either slinging a guitar or leaving the duties to her brother. Her vocals were dead on, and seemed to be sincerely enthusiastic. The show, overall, seemed to be a totally different side of the Furnaces, one I had never seen. Instead of amazing you with the intricate arrangements and complicated melodies of their songs, they were going to bash you over the head with the same songs turned up to eleven! It's not often that bands go through the trouble of giving you a completely different type of experience when you see them live. It was not what I was expecting, but after the first few songs I really got into it! Even their live show challenges their fans, by asking them to see the songs they already know by heart in a totally different way.

If you have a chance to see The Fiery Furnaces live, I strongly recommend it. They put on the kind of enthusiastic show that you don't see too often. And it's even less often that you see a band who is willing to reinvent themselves on stage. Well done, guys!

A Return to Falstaff (a.k.a. White Rabbit is "da man")

2006-03-03T10:43:00.000-08:00

The same day that Chris, Tunajive, and I showed White Rabbit and Hiccup around the Armour Packing Plant, we also made a trip to the Falstaff Brewery. White Rabbit was particularly impressed with the Consumer's Brewery Cave which lies underneath the complex. After we had finished exploring the rest of the Brewery, he asked us if we could go back down to the cave. He had a pair of chest-high waders in his car, and wanted to take a look at the flooded lower levels of the cave. Man, this guy was good!

True to his word, White Rabbit returned with the waders, and we all watched in awe as he prepared to descend the rickety ladder into the lower portions of the Consumer's Brewery Cave. I was quite jealous, knowing that he was probably the first person in decades to see these areas. I was a little worried that the water may be too deep even for chest-high waders. It was difficult to judge just how deep the water was from our vantage point six feet above the surface. Luckily, the water in most places came up to just higher than his bellybutton. There were only a few places that he didn't think he could make it. He did comment later that it was difficult holding his arms and camera above his head the whole time.

White Rabbit ventured into the lower chambers, which were apparently pretty extensive as we waited a good half hour for his return. He would sometimes yell us things describing what he saw, and every once in awhile I would catch a glimpse of his flashlight or the flash of his camera in a far off area of the cave. Hearing him talk about how much of the cave remains to be seen by me makes me consider buying a pair of waders myself. Or I guess I could just wait until summer when I won't mind getting a little wet. White Rabbit took a number of pictures of the areas of the cave that he explored. Keep watching his site, www.undergroundozarks.com for updates about this exploration!

I also found this interesting. The same day, Tunajive found this slip in one of the buildings of the brewery. It seems to be some kind of, I don't know..............Distributor report to the brewmaster. That's just my uninformed guess, though. Man, I love artifacts! Finding things like this really make the history of a place come alive for you.

Armour Packing Plant

2006-02-27T09:18:00.000-08:00

Across the river, in East St. Louis, there exsists a large area dotted with industrial ruins known as National City. If you would have visited this area 100 years ago, you would have seen one of the most well known and innovative industrial centers in the country, with it's state of the art meat packing plants and stockyards. This once great and now crumbling area is often cited as one of the causes for the urban decay taking place in East St. Louis. The Armour Packing plant once made hot dogs - Armour Hot Dogs (I feel like I should be singing that), and is now one of the most spectacular ruins in this part of the country.

The day Chris, Tunajive, and I visited Armour was an exciting day before we even left our meeting spot. White Rabbit, creator and administrator of www.undergroundozarks.com, was making the trip up from his hometown of Springfield so that we could show him some of the highlights in St. Louis. It was through White Rabbit's site that our small but illustrious group had met, as we were all active on the Undergound Ozarks forums. Though we had spoken via email, none of us had ever met White Rabbit. He pulled up just as I was taking an impromptu pee, which was quite embarrasing. But what an ice breaker! We all introduced ourselves to him and his girlfriend Hiccup, and then were off to Armour.

I was immediately impressed with the packing plant. It is massive, beautiful in it's crumbling state, and relatively free of any tagging. White Rabbit was impressed as well. "We don't have anything close to this in Springfield," he said. Chris began giving us the grand tour. Armour is really two separate buildings: the packing house and the power plant that supplied it with power. Armour was built in 1903 by Chicago industrialist Phillip Armour. He singlehandedly revolutionized the process in which hogs were slaughtered and converted into yummy rods of deliciousness. As opposed to having the slaughtering done at a different plant and then shipped somewhere else for processing, Mr. Armour realized it would be easier to do it all in one place. Packing plants like this were the first industry to use assembly lines. Phillip Armour simplified the process of hog slaughtering and processing by giving one simple task to countless unskilled workers, allowing hogs to be killed, dismembered, and prepared faster than it had ever been done before. Different by-products were even used to make different products like Dial soap! Unfortunately, this empire of meat was abandoned like the rest of National City in 1959. It is in relatively good condition when compared to the nearby Hunter Plant, which closed in the 80s and is crumbling to the point unrecognition.

We began exploring the packing building first. As we slowly ascended the many floors, we found more and more intersting catwalks and ladders. It's amazing how a ladder can go absolutely nowhere, but because it's there I just have to climb it. At one point, White Rabbit decided to climb out into a portion of the building where the above floors had collapsed into the room. As he was returning, he somehow cranked his head on a fallen beam and spent the rest of the trip looking as though someone had smashed a ketchup packet on his forehead. I never once heard him complain about his wound. I did, however, hear him tell Hiccup that he was sorry on multiple occasions. Apparently, this was not the first time his adventurous nature had been a source of stress for her.

On higher floors we found large trenches in the floor that seemed to run to a series of drains. Always morbid, Tunajive and I decided that these must have been where the blood ran after they slit the hogs' throats. Not that we have any idea about the process, but we'd like to think we're right. On the highest floor, you can still see the gate where the hogs would file into the large room for god knows what step of the process. There was no real machinery left in this area of the plant, so I didn't get to see the large machines with whirring blades and clubs like I'm sure must have been there at one time.

After the packing building, we entered the power plant. This building is by far the more interesting at Armour, because unlike it's sister it still has all the old massive machines that used to keep the plant running. I've never seen such a collection of industrial equipment so well preserved in one place. This alone makes any visit well worth the trip. We wandered around this building, actually finding our way into one of the two smokestacks. Though we exited covered in black carbon powder, it was worth it for the feeling of being at the bottom of the massive stack. White Rabbit seemed to want to climb up the ladder that still stretched to the top, but was somewhat unsure of it's stability.

We walked up another series of steel staircases and found ourselves on a catwalk above the giant coal hopper. Interestingly, it was still full of coal. I grabbed a handful in case I would have to play Santa this year. Because seriously, where can you find coal this day in age? The higher floors of this building are all the old locker rooms, including one that is only acessible by dropping through a hold in the roof of the plant. Here on the roof, White Rabbit and I both seriously considered climbing the ladder that still remained on the outside of the smokestack, but again we weren't sure how much we could trust the 100 year old rungs. In the end, our good sense got the better of us. White Rabbit was able to show us the power of his digital camera from there on the roof, taking a shot of someone scavenging through the junk that litters the land around the plant. "You wanna see his face?" he asked me. It was amazing how close he was able to get! It looked as though he had bed standing right next to the man when he took the photo. I guess that's what paying a grand for a camera will get you.

Armour is one of the more interesting places I've ever explored, and begs many return trips. Whenever I tell someone that I visited an abandoned building in East St. Louis, their eyes widen. The armour plant, however, is well removed from anything else. It sits alone, crumbling yet undisturbed. There are always ideas being discussed by those who discuss ideas about what could be done with the many empty industrial areas of National City. Until then, Armour and the surrounding ruins will remain as a testament to a once great empire of industry.

Live Review: The Appleseed Cast

2006-02-24T09:17:00.000-08:00

Last night I made the trip to the Gargoyle at Washington University to take in one of my personal favorites: The Appleseed Cast. This was my first time at the Gargoyle, so I wasn't exactly sure where to go. The directions on the website are unspecific, and there are no signs or anything on campus. Somehow, I managed to wander into the correct building. Then it was only a matter of following the 18 year old scenesters with emo haircuts. This just proves my theory: When you can't find the show, follow the emo kids. It's never failed me.

The opening band was a local outfit called The Feed. At first, I was a little aprehensive, as I saw they had a saxaphone waiting on stage. I was preparing myself for the worst of local band self-importance, but these guys actually kicked major ass. They play a interesting brand of piano driven pop, and the saxaphone was only used on a couple songs. It actually fit into the set very nicely, so well done gentlemen. The lead singer kept reminding everyone that it was okay to move around a little bit, and insisted that we all move closer to the stage. By the end of their set, most of the audience had taken to at least minor head bobbing, which is pretty good for an indie crowd.

The next band to play was another local group called Sparland. They were obviously quite young, and wanted desparately to sound like anyone on Victory Records. Normally, I'm a sucker for rock with synth added in, but their keyboardist seemed to be added as an afterthought. I will admit that he was quite enthusiastic, jumping around stage with a feminine style stolen directly from Johnny Whitney from the Blood Brothers. I chose not to waste any of my film on this band. And I was using a digital camera.

Finally, Appleseed took the stage. Their particular style of atmospheric reverb rock translates particularly well in the small club setting. Very few bands can create such lush soundscapes with only two guitars. Known for their epic instrumental sections, the Cast played for a good 5 minutes before singer Christ Crisci sang a word.

I knew, after reading their website, that they would be playing mostly songs from their forthcoming album. The new stuff was beautifully realized, and I can't wait to hear the recorded versions. Despite the amount of material they were unfamilliar with, the audience remained attentive, while they were the most enthusiastic when the band broke into old favorites like "Forever Longing the Golden Sunsets." I was particularly impressed with the drumming of Josh Baruth, who seemed at many moments to be in some kind of a zone, smashing cymbals in a way that helped drive the band forward.

After the band left the stage, I was amazed that the entusiastic crowd was able to get them back out for an encore. The played another old favorite "Fishing the Sky." It was, as expected, an amazing show. I look forward to the new album, and for their return in April.