Stairs to Nowhere - Abandoned and Decaying

Exploring abandoned buildings is one of my past-times, and locally there's no place better than Gary, Indiana. By some estimates, 30% of Gary is abandoned. It's a city on the brink, but one with a sign of hope. The new mayor is aggressively courting new businesses, pushing change and having many eye-sores demolished. This is a breath of fresh air, as the history of Gary politicians (and mayors) is a story of corruption.

Gary is the Urban Explorers (Urbex) destination for the Midwest. Apartment buildings, malls, retail stores, banks, houses, offices - you name it, it's abandoned in Gary.

This pano was shot at the Ambassador Arms apartments, originally a luxury apartment built for U.S. Steel management in the start of the 20th century. This image is several stories up, between floors.

This is also the only building I have explored that has used "Pyrobar" blocks. These were large blocks made from compressed gypsum and wood pulp. The white powder just screams "asbestos" but it's not. Unfortunately when this stuff is exposed to moisture for long periods, it disintegrates. This is the result.

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USA-Canada / USA-Indiana

Lat: 41° 36' 2.56" N
Long: 88° 21' 37.01" W

→ maps.google.com [EXT]

Precision is: Unknown / Undeclared.

Canon 7D
Sigma 8mm Fisheye
Manfrotto tripod
Nodal Ninja R10 Tripod Head
Photoshop CS6
PTgui
Pano2VR4