The 412 - October 2017: As a kid, Andy Kelemen was fascinated with abandoned places, often breaking into a former psychiatric center near his home to see what was inside. He took that same curiosity to locations across Pennsylvania to explore the abandoned places that are rich in history for his new documentary, “Forgotten/Found,” premiering at 8 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 26 on WQED.
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I think there is something interesting about abandoned landmarks and places. People often visit historic landmarks that are still a part of everyday life. For example, tourists visit the Brooklyn Bridge. They marvel at the architecture and the scale, but it’s hard to think about how it fit into the bigger picture when it was first built. Sure, there are photos but you don’t get quite as strong as an experience. What’s so special about abandoned places is obvious but cool. They have been untouched by the rest of society for so long that they are stuck in the past. The visuals you experience transport you to a different time and bring along the past happenings of that place. I’ve done a tour of an abandoned jail before in Charleston and it’s so mysterious because each inmate’s history has been there unaffected by the rest of the world since they left.
Abandoned building are fascinating. Seeing what they are now and then imagining what they were is such a fascinating thing. Building have a life to them and some times it is sad to see a building that is abandoned. Beautiful buildings that fall to dilapidation and ruin make my heart sad. They once had so much life and supported life and community and now they lay lifeless and unused. That’s why I like the idea of opening up abandoned building for people to visit, It gives them a second life for people to appreciate them on a different level. It’s not letting these buildings go to waste. And if you make a small ticket price for entry you could actually turn a building that would be just sitting there to a building that is generating revenue for the community and is turning an activity that could possibly be considered as trespassing into a supported activity that is benefiting the county.
I am not a fan of the paranormal aspect of all of this, but the history of these places sound really cool. Abandoned buildings are interesting both because of what they were, but are also intriguing because they were at some point cast off or abandoned. Exploring the why is really fascinating to me, and I would certainly be open to exploring some of these sites--in the day time. I think that making use of these old abandoned structures and trying to bring in life again by enticing people to visit is a wonderful idea--if there is a way we can give a purpose to these buildings, why not? If a building is just going to sit there and rot, why not make it have another purpose or use? Of course, if something is truly significant, work should be done to preserve for history. If it isn't attraction is a good starts, as would maybe looking into a bigger repurpose that could perhaps make way for something new and that could better serve the community.
Although this is a really cool concept and seeing the old architecture and stories of these buildings, I must say there is something a little sketchy about it. I think if I were ever to do something like this it would have to be with a large crowd of people and someone that could make it interesting. What truly makes these building interesting is the history and you need someone who knows what that is. Just think about all the steel mills and all of the different things that happened; the good and the bad. Although I don’t spend much of my days in abandoned buildings, I would be really interested spending a few hours enjoying landmarks, especially in Pittsburgh. There is so much history in this town and it would be very interesting to learn more about it. I find myself being a very curious person and this seems like something that would be right up my alley.
Pittsburgh has so much interesting history, that I bet this documentary has found some really cool places to show. What I found most interesting is that the creator wanted to focus on the history of the locations and display it in an artful way. The pictures in the article are very compelling and visually interesting, which makes me think that the camera work would be interesting to see. I would think most other people would focus on the eeriness of the place and how they could be haunted, because that is typically more exciting to a viewer. But it seems like the created did this project solely because he was very interested in it, which I really appreciate, and would like to watch to see his passion for it. Back home there is an old abandoned mental asylum which multiple film crews have come through and filmed about how it is haunted still. It is also a popular place for teens to try to break into. I do understand the draw to these kinds of locations, but I am interested to see what is found around Pittsburgh.
This idea really appeals to me because I appreciate frequenting and preserving the creepy and creaky places of our past. The idea of experiencing the passage of time is fascinating. We step into places that are the past iterations of what we take for granted now. Being in those places forces you to reflect on the ghosts of the memories that people shared there. Humans tend to attach poignant moments to the specific places in which they occur, and I often find myself wondering what the places that I consider important will end up looking like in hundreds of years. I am quite new to Pittsburgh, and being able to explore not only the Pittsburgh that you see today, but the Pittsburgh that used to be is a really interesting idea to me. This seems like a really effective way to take advantage of open space in a city and turn it into a place of interest for the community to enjoy the heritage of their homes.
I remember running around in the woods as a kid and stumbling on this old abandoned barn. Even from a young age, I have had a visceral response to abandoned places. In the video, we hear a voice say “Visitors respond to a place that is so filled with stories and so quiet”. In that sentence, the narrator exactly sums up why these places are so intriguing. Old building and tunnels almost feel other worldly. They have a sense of danger, excitement, and stepping into the unknown because they are so different from everyday life. The buildings also inspire me aesthetically an eerie beauty that I always take an element of inspiration from. I find myself always wondering what happened here and why this place became abandoned. That curiosity is part of the fun because these buildings are relics that document the past.
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