Urban Exploration

A friend of mine from the haunt is in the hotel industry. I had the good fortune last year of getting a tour of the Crystal Ballroom atop the King Edward Hotel. The King Eddy has a rich history, being built in 1903, and with a huge addition - bringing it to 18 stories - completed in the 20s.

So indeed, it has a rich and storied history, I suppose.

Today, the hotel's common areas are full of plaster work and murals, with a spattering of bad renovations.

The Ballroom was impressive. It's been closed for nearly 40 years, and is delapitated. The finishings are stripped. Just going from the modern floor into a time warp by climbing one flight of stairs was awesome. I'm trying to get me hands on the pics.

The above is an example of Urban Exploration. Except I had permission to be there. UE is comprised of a bunch of tresspassers who leave things as they find them. They do it Just for the wonder of it all - be it an abandonded building, a tunnel or a sewer.

Infiltration, by the way, is the exploration of 'active' buildings. Going into the kitchen of the Royal York for example.

This is an excellent site in that regard.

Surf for a while. In a couple hours, you'll see pictures of Lower Bay station, the depths of City Hall and One King West to name a few.

Categories: Urban, Exploration, Buildings