Do you like abandoned churches? Well, I absolutely love them. Abandoned churches probably rank high on the list among some of the urbex lovers, and there are tons of buildings scattered across the U.S. These have shallower history when compared to those in Europe, but weathering and deterioration of modern buildings have its unique beauty too. Many churches in the U.S. are now facing problems such as building deterioration (that needs serious repair and/or refurbishing), lack of attendees forcing several churches to merge together, and so forth. “Empty churches” are thought to be a problem, and this Methodist Church is one of the major problem Pennsylvania had to face.
教会の廃墟は好きでしょうか？私は大好きです。教会の廃墟はUrbex愛好家の間でも人気の物件ジャンルの一つ。アメリカには教会の廃墟が結構な数で存在しているんだけど、ヨーロッパの重厚感のある教会に比べ歴史は浅い。しかし、近代的な建築がリアルに荒廃していく姿はいわゆる衰退を意味していて魅力的です。今アメリカ全土で、教会の老朽化、小教区の閉鎖や教会同士の合併、宗教離れなどさまざまな理由で閉鎖に追い込まれています。いわゆる”空き教会”は問題。このメソジスト教会は、ペンシルバニアで最も危機に瀕した歴史的な建物にも挙げられています。
A Little History
The church building was completed around the late 1860s, inviting many people that were moving from other states to Pennsylvania to work as a coal miner. By the 21st Centruy, many of the operations were suspended and were forced to shut down, leaving people no choice but to leave the state. As the population declined, the church was also closed down in 2004, nearly 170 years after the completion.1860年代後半に完成し、石炭採掘地域として活発になった街に住む多くの信者を受け入れていました。21世紀に入ると炭鉱は閉鎖され、この地域に住む住民が少なくなったことで教会は設立から約170年後の2004年に閉鎖されました。
It’s Sunday! Time to go to (abandoned) church!
Looks like it’s starting to snow. As I stood in front of the church entrance, I had to wonder why it was barricaded. The building is trying to tell us that no one is welcomed here. I thought churches accept everyone. After spending about 20 minutes trying to find a way in, I finally succeeded. Inside was filled with musty odor. The Victorian styled chapel greeted me as I walked down a dark stairwell, but its condition was worse than I expected. You wouldn’t expect to see this from the beautiful brick exterior.
A little incident
While surveying around the area, a foul smell started filling the air. This means someone is living in the area. I slowly and carefully walked toward the room where the odor was coming from. As I peeked inside, I saw a bed with a foot sticking out and immediately started to leave the area… but wait. The entrance to the room was blocked, and I didn’t see any other way out. Did this person get trapped inside? Could it be… a corpse!? After I calmed myself down, I looked inside again and found a sock. It was just a sock sticking out. Phew! Scared me for a second! Looks like someone had been living there until recently. It gave me chills after I realized there was a knife sticking out of the shelf. I’m really glad I didn’t run into this person. “The Love Sex Bed” was written on the bed. Heh.
探索中に異臭キャッチ。誰かが住んでいる合図です。神経を研ぎ澄ましながら異臭のする方向に近づき、部屋の中をチラと覗くと、そこにはベッドが。そして布団から足がチラリ。「あ、やばい住んでいる人がいる・・・。」と判断。しかしちょっと待て。出入り口はどこも塞がれていた…この人は閉じ込められた？まさか死体では！？とワタワタ。もう一度確認。チラ見えしてた足はただの靴下でした。ふぅ…脅かしやがって！つい最近まで誰かが住んでいたようです。長いナイフが棚に突き刺さっている…鉢合わせしなくて良かった。ベットの上には「The Love Sex Bed」の落書き。正直者だな。
