December 2009
Monthly ArchivesThe Abandoned Side of Houston, Texas
The Houston skyline reflects a glittering and modern city – the fourth-largest in America, a huge port, home to the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center and losing out on the most Fortune 500 companies within a city’s limits only to New York. It’s hard to imagine that this bustling metropolis has a forgotten side. Accent on Eclectic has captured this brilliantly…
Deep Blue Sea: Aircraft & Aircraft Carriers Lost Beneath the Waves
Seabeds are a treasure trove of history, where the natural world mingles relatively undisturbed with man-made artifacts lost through the ages. Shipwrecks naturally spring to mind when we ponder such places, but a complete aircraft is always a coveted find for divers. Here are four of them, and one of the awesome ships that they once called home…
Crumbling History: 8 Abandoned Churches
Derelict churches are becoming increasingly abundant across the world for a multitude of reasons. But there urban decay bestows a mysterious atmosphere upon these places, and urban explorers become the unlikely members of their reinvented congregations.
The Monastery of Sant Cugat
In photography, there’s no denying that having a good subject certainly helps. But skill with a lens will elevate that subject to new heights. In this series of pictures, Reinante El Pintor de Fuego captures the Monastery of Sant Cugat in Catalonia with exquisite results.
Aircraft Disposal: From State of the Art to Heap of Scrap
Ever wondered what happens to a state of the art aircraft at the end of its useful service life? For those that don’t go on to museums, fate is often dealt out by the unforgiving arms and jagged claws of mechanical diggers. And while it’s a crying shame when it happens, it’s certainly an impressive sight to behold…
5 Awesome Abandoned Railway Stations
Railway stations are often vast structures teeming with life, which makes them all the more fascinating when they’re left abandoned and forgotten. There are multiple reasons why such places fall into dereliction, from war and natural disaster to a shortage of the resources that many towns grew up around. Here are five awesome abandoned stations which illustrate this point…
Scariest Places on Earth: The Paris Catacombs
For urban explorers, few places are more coveted than the Catacombs of Paris. Long sealed off to the public, these harrowing subterranean chambers house an 18th century cemetery – essentially an anonymous mass grave. Beyond this, a labyrinth of tunnels extends for 280km beneath Paris in a network of disused stone mines and galleries.
Grand and Abandoned: 3 Peeling Pleasure Piers
Once upon a time, pleasure piers were the jewel in the crown of Victorian seaside resorts. In the days before package holidays, these elegant structures reaching out into the bay were at the forefront of entertainment, with their fun fairs, ballrooms and cafes hosting hundreds, if not thousands of people, each day. Sadly, many have long since been demolished, while others cling to life dejected and abandoned. Here are some haunting examples…
10 Amazing Pieces of Infrared Photography
The first ever infrared photographs were published in the October 1910 edition of the Royal Photographic Society Journal to illustrate a paper by Robert W. Wood, who had discovered the unusual effects which became known as the “Wood Effect”. The end result, as you can see from this selection of mysterious images, is to give seemingly normal subject matter an enchanting, dreamlike appearance…
Drinking with Kings: 5 Fantastic Medieval Pubs
As many people know, the local pub is the cornerstone of British culture. Not only that, the country itself is rather old, meaning you can pop for a pint at establishments formerly visited by the likes of King Richard the Lionheart and Oliver Cromwell. Here is an assortment of medieval ale houses to whet your appetite as we near the weekend.