building

There are 60 posts tagged building (this is page 2 of 10).

Rooftopping Versus Skywalking

Rooftopping is not about hanging yourself from the edge of a building.

Skywalking has been promoted in the media as rooftopping, incorrectly. Urban exploration is not about taking silly risks with your life. Urban explorers take photographs, are careful as they explore, don’t litter or vandalize and they make it home again to upload their photographs. Taking photographs is not to prove you were there, or show how much of a thrill seeker you are. The photos document the place you visited, not the fact that you, in particular, were there.

Rooftopping is not performance art. Some explorers like to be underground in tunnels, drains and other types of big holes in the ground. Some (maybe the same people) like to be far above ground, to see everything from a new angle and look at all the city lights. The first rooftopping photo was taken in Toronto, Ontario. The photograph showed the city far below with the photographer’s shoes hanging over the edge of the tall building they were sitting on. (Note, sitting on, not hanging or dangling from). If you enjoy dangling yourself from a crane join a circus or take up construction and learn how to do it safely. Have some care and respect for yourself and be here (relatively undamaged) for your own further adventures, tomorrow.

If you Visit Thunder Bay…

I found this while poking around on a real estate site. The bank was built in 1911. The location is Victoria Avenue East, Thunder Bay. It burned down in 2007, just the front of it left standing. They are selling it, hoping someone will build it onto something new. But, the chances don’t look so good for that. Mainly, that entire area is old and deserted looking. In 1911 it must have been beautiful with architecture and bustling with people. Now, its all neglected and forgotten looking. Not likely someone will put in the money for a burned out bank in a forgotten area of a city in northern Ontario. But, it has its history.

This is the description from the real estate sales listing:

Own a piece of history! The old site of the CIBC bank, burnt down in 2007, and Designed by architect V.D. Horsbugh, the building, complete with its four massive terra cotta columns using clay imported from England, officially opened its doors on July 11, 1911. The terra cotta façade and four giant columns made it a landmark in the Victoriaville area and still stand today. The bank was constructed in 1910-11, boasts a Classical Revival style of architecture, with four massive columns framing a terra cotta façade. The façade would make a perfect front for a new office building – or a smaller building constructed further back with the façade as a fencing. Great lot in the heart of the southside business district – close to the new courthouse and city hall!

A view from the back of the building. You can see there just isn’t anything left. A little on the sides, probably helping to hold the front face upright.

Across the Street from the Bank Ruins in Thunder Bay

I noticed a ghost sign on a building across the street from the burned out ruins of the CIBC bank building in Thunder Bay. I had looked up the bank on Google Street View and noticed the area looked old and run down. It has seen better times I’m sure.

The building with the ghost sign has been known as the Roy Building at some time in its history. It may be empty now, I wasn’t sure.

One more ghost sign, a little farther down the same street.

Canadian Vintage Postcards

I have been a history fan since the day I first noticed old buildings with the carved and sculpted stonework, the majestic columns and the extras, like gargoyles. My Mother loves antiques. We still have some of the massive pieces of furniture which she told me were called Canadiana, over 100 years old made from trees far older than that even. The wood has become soft to the touch and the colour is lighter than the finished wooden furniture.

Anyway, nothing lasts forever. Isn’t that the sad part of history, architecture and antiques?

This is why I have always enjoyed finding vintage and antique postcards of old Canadian cities, towns and places I have been in the current time. In the old postcards you can see some of what once was and how a building (still standing) looked when it was new. The street views are my favourites. Horses still in the streets, sometimes sharing it with vehicles and sometimes, just horses and buggies. People along the sidewalks, some close enough to see a pattern in their clothes and the trimmings on their hats. Those were real, living people. Not a design someone created to add features to an illustration.

What do you think about when you see an old postcard? Travels? History? Collectibles and antiques? Maybe you see them for the art they are too?

Haunted in Canada

Tis the season for spookiness, creepiness and just plain ordinary hauntedness. So, I started looking for Haunted Canada. Who better to find haunted sites and locations than a Canadian urban explorer? Sure, there probably is someone better, but I’m here.

How to Tell if a Place is Haunted

You might want to try exploring and ghost hunting yourself. But, how do you become an instant expert on the topic of hauntings? Here are some guidelines to get you started.

  • Try a little historical research. What history does the place have? Were there any deaths in the building? Any history of violence or tragedy?
  • Watch for suspicious or odd flashes of light or light orbs in your photos of the location.
  • Do you see anything else unusual like a mist or something that disappears once you turn your head for a better look.
  • Have a map (your own hand drawn map is great) and mark down any odd cold spots or places where you suddenly feel emotional: fear, aggression, anger, etc.
  • Listen for noises – especially anything unusual that can’t be explained in a simple way.
  • Are things different when you are alone, at night? Be careful you aren’t just letting your imagination have free reign.
  • Are any pets afraid to enter a room in the building? Animals can be more sensitive than humans.

Take these tips with a grain of salt. Most noises, lights and atmosphere can be explained once you start looking for a logical answer. I think this is why it is so hard to prove the existence of ghosts. There are so many logical answers. Logic is so nice, firm and solid. Meanwhile, everything else is just a feeling, something you could have imagined or something you want to believe in spite of the logical explanation.

I don’t know if anyone will ever find concrete proof of ghosts. But, they keep on trying.

How to Explore a Haunted House

Don’t go alone. It’s safer with an exploring buddy who can call for help if one of you has an accident, like falling through rotten floor boards.

Gather the gear you need: flashlights digital (or film) camera, tripod to set the camera on, extra lights for better photos in a dark house, sound recording device, temperature gauge, notebook and pen. Bring supplies for first aid and cleaning up after the exploring. Consider a back up for your camera and flashlight this isn’t the time you want a mechanical problem to keep you from exploring.

Don’t impede your own investigation with alcohol, smoking or long hair. Not drinking alcohol should be common sense. But you should consider the photos you will be using as evidence and make sure you get the cleanest, clearest photos you can. Don’t let stray cigarette smoke or long hair wind up being a ‘ghost’.

Find a place to explore. Get some historical background, talk to others who have explored there and get permission from the property owner. (If you are carrying a bunch of equipment into the house this might be the smarter way to go rather than risk having the police charge you with trespassing).

If you can, make copies of floor plans from the location. This will let you plan the route you will explore so you can make sure you don’t miss a room while you are there. You can also use your floor plan to note the exact area you found any paranormal activity.

Visit the location before you plan to explore it. Make sure you will be able to get in. You may need to contact the owner again for a key. You may find your information is out of date and the house has already been demolished, etc.

Don’t start out expecting to find something haunted, spooky, etc. Try to be unbiased when you explore. Don’t get into scaring each other for fun. If you are serious about detecting paranormal activity, approach the location like a detective or a scientist.

Articles

Creepy and Spooky Places

Ghost Hunting Supplies

 

Weird, Unexplained and Paranormal Canada

Paranormal CanadaThere are paranormal explorers all across Canada. Paranormal gets mixed in with everything ghosts. But, paranormal is a lot more than ghosts and haunted houses. In Canada we have a lot more paranormal, unexplained mysteries and mysterious monsters than you may think.

I tried sorting paranormal and ghost hunter links but it became a judgement call based on very little for some groups, researchers and societies. For the links here I read through some of the site’s pages, recent work and blog posts (if there were any). Then I decided whether or not they were truly paranormal in nature. Most were focused on ghosts. I guess that’s where the money is for a lot of them. My heart is with the real paranormal researchers – those who have an interest in the weird, more than just the haunted.

A Paranormal Explorer Needs a Good Camera

One nice thing about a digital camera for paranormal exploring is also a reason I really like the digital camera for exploring in general. – you don’t need to get your film developed. This means you don’t need to spend money on film and developing film. You also don’t need to wait. You can take your camera home, plug it up and see your photos right the same day or evening.

Once you add extra memory to your digital camera you can take all the photos you would ever need from one location. I’ve just bought a new memory card which stores up to 2 gigabytes. I’ve got an older memory card on my back up camera, it only stores 512 MB. Still funny to think of that as only 512 MB. It was a lot of memory at the time I bought that card. (If you want extra memory pick up another memory card and keep it stored safely in your camera bag to switch it out).

Some digital cameras will have a feature which lets you shoot in infrared light, or even low light will help get you something. Flash is not a good option because it washes out everything with bright light for that one instant. To find out if you have infrared on your camera, read the instructions or check the camera manufacturers site for a list of features and how to use them. Most camera manufacturers will have a downloadable instruction guide on their website for each of the cameras they sell/ make.

The new cameras, with more zoom, are becoming bulkier. I bought one for the extra range when I am photographing buildings from a distance. Or, even when I am close to the building itself but want to get close to a feature which is high up or very small. So, for my outdoor work, the bulkier camera with the added zoom is good. You won’t need extra zoom for indoor photos, looking for paranormal activity. You may want to find a camera with a lot of shutter speed. A fast shutter speed means there is very little time between you pushing the button and the camera actually getting the photo. This means you can use a smaller, slimmer camera – which means it is fairly easy to be portable and slip into a pocket or purse. Nice for leaving your hands free when you aren’t actually using the camera.

Paranormal Photography

  • Paranormal Photography Condensed, by Brian Schill
  • Camera Equipment – For paranormal research
  • Camera for paranormal photography of ghosts – Long Island Paranormal Investigators
  • FindersCreepers – Paranormal Photography 101

Canadian Paranormal Groups, Investigators and Societies

  • OSI Team – Other Side Investigations (Alberta based)
  • Canadian Ghost Society
  • Canadian Paranormal Society
  • ParaResearchers Quebec
  • PRS (Paranormal) Canada
  • PSICAN – Paranormal Studies and Investigations Canada
  • Weird Canada