Down in the Old Dark Mills
The first Sunday evening after daylight savings time finds this photobobo contemplating coming seasons and distant pasts exposed in crumbled brick & mortar and pine and walnut hewn beams. Mills. Manchester, the town where I reside, has a heavy mill vibe — some still alive with textile manufacturing, others as converted apartments and of course the relics awaiting rediscovery or renovation. Walk through the woods along the Hockanum River or down Hillard Street, Elm Street, or Hartford Road, and you’ll likely discover the architectural beauty resting in the fade of this Sunday evening.
The Hilliard Mills
Manchester, Ct.
The Hilliard Mills
Building 6
Manchester, Ct.
The abandoned Butler Paper Mill
From across The Hockanum River
Manchester, Ct.
The abandoned Butler Paper Mill
From across The Hockanum River
Manchester, Ct.
building 3
the Hilliard Street Mills
The depth of color and texture sizzles!
thank you … i must admit to knowing a wonderful and talented photographer who inspires me.
hauntingly beautiful shots and elegantly written!
thank very much for your comment. I do appreciate it.
I do so like all the deep, rich colors and especially like the opening paragraph
thank you, the writer in me is smiling.
The photos are amazing!
thank you for your kind comment.
Very clear pictures, really nice
lovely images.
there is something full of soul and sadness in the image of an empty neglected building.
I agree … there are times when shooting the old mills, it feels as if one can hear the workers and machinery. And knowing the history of exploited labor, there are ghosts crying in the wind.
Fabulous! inspiring ghosts
it’s a mutual vibe
there’s a sadness about the ghosts of lost jobs, lost families, lost souls
i agree to the sadness of lost industry; the main family of the mills in Manchester (Cheney Family) are sadly going the way of the mills. lost souls perhaps surf the waves of eternity.
Fantastic shots. Great colours. There is something about a derelict building that makes it so interesting. Thanks for sharing.
Excellent series of compositions. Your use of light, colour, and texture is very dramatic and eye-catching.
Love the photos of the mill. Very cool. Exactly the kind of stuff that draws me in.
thank you for viewing and commenting … my hometown is a mill town with many more scenes to shoot.
Sadly can’t say Dallas is all that scenic. But maybe I’m just too used to it?
Such beautiful buildings, and I image most (all?) of them are on prime waterfront property? Too bad they’re so expensive to fix up. I’d love to live in one….
RPRT Photo
most New England mills were built by rivers — a natural power source, that some have withered, there’s no diminishing of beauty.
Nice one. Some wonderful textures there.
thank you for stopping by … i appreciate your comment.
I don’t know why some of us are excited, almost mesmerised, by tumbled-down industrial buildings, but it feels innately poetic.
abandoned, repurposed or left intact, architecture imprints on what was and who was there…
A very erudite answer Chuck. So maybe the desolation is just a more intense emotion.
so i believe… their quality,for me, is epiphanic mojo.
“……an epiphanic mojo.” Love it~! What I really like is the capturing of the soul of the ruins, The deep color of the broken bricks, the sadness of the deserted grounds that comes out in your exposures. Nice work! Thanks for sharing.
the mills that remain are treasure for the photographer and architectural historian aficionado.