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  #1  
Old Posted Nov 2, 2007, 3:23 AM
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Abandoned Alberta/BC: Locations?

I thought you all might be able to help me plot some locations of abandoned places in BC and Alberta. I'm compiling them in preparation for a road trip next summer with an intent to document as much as I can with my camera.
SE BC is rife with abandonment. I could spend years down there alone, but Alberta is what interests me most.
Help me figure out worthwhile abandoned places to visit.

PICS FOR CLICKS!

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  #2  
Old Posted Nov 2, 2007, 3:46 AM
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I love this kind of stuff. Excellent idea.


I don't have any pictures, but when I was in junior high (about ten years ago) me and some buddies came across some this boarded up concrete building in the Whitemud ravine near Twin Brooks while searching for a loaction to host a bush party.

It was so weird to see because it was fairly recent. Facing the river there was a huge window, but it had giant metal plates to block anybody from going inside. The door was on the other side of the house and it had a trench like entrance. Nothing else was visible as it was a dome structure that was covered in soil.

I'm pretty sure it's gone now, but the path leading to it is still there. If you look near the yellow arrow, there is a path leading from near the end of the cul-de-sac that has a switch back.

Does anybody have any idea what this was? I always assumed it was just a house that the landowner built before he sold off the surrounding farm land...but like I said, this stuff fascinates me.



Growing up in Newfoundland, abandoned stuff like this was all over. Never knowing all the answers would drive me crazy.
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  #3  
Old Posted Nov 2, 2007, 3:54 AM
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u tryin to dump a body or somethin?
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  #4  
Old Posted Nov 2, 2007, 4:02 AM
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I know of an abandoned warehouse near Rexall Place in Edmonton. Really dilapidated - can't believe nobody has bought that lot yet.
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Old Posted Nov 2, 2007, 5:16 AM
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You probably know about these sites, but I'll post them anyway:

http://www.ghosttowns.com/canada/alberta/alberta.html

http://www.ghosttowns.com/canada/bc/bc.html

Not all the towns have pictures, but they at least give a description

Also, I know I posted this awhile back and we discussed it, but for the benefit of other people here:

http://www.abandoned-places.com/

This guy goes and takes pictures of abandoned places in Europe. Mostly industrial-revolution style factories, mines, and even whole towns. Amazing material. The site layout is a little artsy, but easy enough to navigate.
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Old Posted Nov 2, 2007, 11:15 AM
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I see you've got a picture of the Former Molson Brewery there. That's as good as any place to start. Alberta is full of abandonment. There are vacant refining facilities, dormant powerplants, empty storage silos, century-old ghost towns and mines. I probably won't tell you anything further about any of them.

Personally though, if I were going on a road trip to see vacant decay, I'd be driving east some 3000 kilometres.
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Old Posted Nov 2, 2007, 1:07 PM
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Anybody else a fan of that old BC TV show, Gold Trails and Ghost Towns?
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Old Posted Nov 2, 2007, 1:48 PM
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If you head over to Panorama BC take the Jumbo Glacier road further west and you come into an area with lots of the old mining equipment they used to use in the early 20th century. I believe most of it is where Toby creek and Jumbo creek meet. It has a really eerie feel to it since you are pretty much in the middle of nowhere at that point with a bunch of rusted old equipment.

I'm eagerly anticipating these shots, even though it is a ways off! I've always been fascinated with the URBEX photographers and in general scenes that show manmade decay in natural settings.

I think one of the most famous examples; at least for myself, would be the school bus covered in the snow made famous by Christopher "Alexander Supertramp" McCandless in the novel 'Into the Wild'. Or the SS America Star on the Canary Islands:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Star
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  #9  
Old Posted Nov 2, 2007, 3:37 PM
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in riverbend near promentory point i found an abandoned mine entrance...complete with tracks for carts. it was about 3'high by 3'wide and there was significant amounts of dirt/rock expelled into an old creek. I dont think anyone else has found this given its location. There is also the brick remains of a house about 30' away. I found a 1939 cash register around this site.
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Old Posted Nov 2, 2007, 5:14 PM
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In British Columbia, the best sites are located in the old gold rush communities in the Kootenays and south Okanagan. Sandon, located just east of New Denver on hwy 31A is ripe with abandonned mining & railroad equipment, and I noticed the last time I was there that they've got some of Calgarys' original trolley busses there as well. Well worth the visit. Take the trip up to Idaho peak while you're there.

The drive from New Denver to Kaslo is great, there's some abandonned buildings (A train stopover I believe) old rail bridges over creeks, and if you keep an eye on the mountains you'll see lots of old mines, lots of abandonned mining equipment.

The whole Kettle Valley rail system is pretty interesting. The most impressive trestles were destroyed in the KLO fires near Kelowna a few years back, but there are some good ones right around the Castlegar leg of Arrow lake, and there are some neat tunnels on the KVR around trail to Christina Lake.

If you're headed through Grand forks to Kelowna, on the west side of town (headed up the big hill) you'll see what I believe is an abandonned Dhoukabour village. It's on private property & I don't know how to get to it, but if you could figure it out it would be well worth it for taking some pix.

If you want to check out an old hippie commune near Cherryville BC PM me, and I'll give you directions... it's on private property but I know the owners and can make a call so that you won't get shot when they see you wandering around down there
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Old Posted Nov 2, 2007, 5:39 PM
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Good link Frinkprof. The abandoned towns in the Drumheller Valley and the Crowsnest pass sound particulary interesting to me, especially considering they are areas which recieve a relatively considerable amount of traffic.
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  #12  
Old Posted Nov 2, 2007, 5:54 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Boris2k7 View Post
Good link Frinkprof. The abandoned towns in the Drumheller Valley and the Crowsnest pass sound particulary interesting to me, especially considering they are areas which recieve a relatively considerable amount of traffic.
Boris beat me to it through Frinkprofs link, but I was going to suggest the Crowsnest Pass. I have had a vacation house there for the past 5 years and have explored the back country extensively there. There are many abandoned mines and small towns.

Most of the mine entrances have been shut with concrete and steel but I have been able to get into a couple of them, not too far however as I my mind always fears a collapse or I begin to get creeped out. I'm sure they are not safe places to be exploring.

There are a couple of abandoned towns there as well. Not far out of Bellevue there is an abandoned town called Lille (too lazy to make sure spelling is correct), lots of old foundations etc. Once it was a pretty bustling little town but now it's a peaceful place to enjoy the surroundings. Many of the structures/homes were moved to Bellevue and other places in the Pass when the town was abandoned and still exist today. My dad is living in one of these homes in Bellevue, albeit renovated several times since its days in Lille.
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  #13  
Old Posted Nov 3, 2007, 1:23 AM
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Check out this website:

http://www.nightphotographer.com/index.htm

He is a night photographer who visits abandoned buildings and towns in Saskatchewan and Alberta. Interesting pictures too!

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  #14  
Old Posted Nov 14, 2007, 7:58 AM
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there used to be a little clump (town?) just west of chetwynd on hwy 97

i always wanted to stop and take a look at it when i was a kid

it kept getting grown over as the years went by might not be visible from the road anymore
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