Somewhere between California and Arizona on Route 66... A small piece of what our history once looked like.

The old phone booth stands in front of a closed / abandoned soda shop.

What is an open door?

An open door is not always an invitation to where you want to be.

“There are so many doors to open. I am impatient to begin." --Charlie Gordan” ― Daniel Keyes, Flowers for Algernon (1959)

I shot this photo in a quiet area of North Carolina on the outskirts of the Pisgah National Forest. This photo is inside an old and deserted motel that sits on the edge of a creek. The motel is slowing caving in and mother nature is winning the battle.

Empty Places: Waiting rooms for death

Documenting History: The building sits in a somewhat undeveloped area of Nashville, Tennessee. It was built in about 1913 and was used by the Tennessee Masons as a group home of sorts for widows and their children. The money to allow orphans and their mothers to stay in the property came from a fund that was developed in 1886. At one point the four story home and two other buildings on the campus had 400 residents that included widows, their children and the elderly.

In 1941, the State of Tennessee used the massive structure that looks like a mansion as a hospital to treat patients with tuberculosis. In the 1900’s, tuberculosis was the leading cause of death in the United Stated. It was known as The Great White Plague. Those who suffered were isolated from society in homes or hospitals like the one pictured. Structures like this one were known as “Waiting rooms for death.”

The building was later used as a health department office in the 1970’s through about 1994.

61 Drive-In, Memphis, Tennessee

The Drive in that was once a part of a growing Memphis, Tennessee area opened with a single screen in 1958. It is located on Highway 61 and was called the 61 Drive-In. The theater closed down in 1965, but later reopened in 1968 as the Southwest Twin Drive-In with two screens, which was owned by Malco. The drive-in closed for good in 2001.

During the better times, the drive-in saw up to 850 cars per night. It was one of two drive-in’s located in Memphis.

Actor Forest Whitaker stated, “When I was a kid, the only way I saw movies was from the back seat of my family's car at the drive-in.”

Empty Places: Tennessee State Prison

The infamous Tennessee State Prison is located near downtown Nashville, Tennessee. The massive structure first opened in 1898. As you walk around the now silent grounds, you will see towering rock walls that were stacked by hand. On top of the wall that surrounds the prison are three wires that were once fueled by a small electrical substation to make them deadly to the touch. In fact, only one prisoner survived a climb over the live wires after he wrapped them in sheets. That prisoner did not walk away, but instead was transported to medical with serious burns all over his body. 

The prison had a death row area that included solitary cells for troubled inmates on the row. Death row also had an electric chair for the final days of some inmates in Tennessee.

The prison, which closed in 1992, is now overseen by the Tennessee Film, Entertainment and Music Commission. However, the grounds are still cared for by the Tennessee Department of Corrections. In other words, you may still see inmates walking the grounds. 

Today, the deserted prison remains under the watchful eye of a 24-hour guard and staff. The interior of the structure is off limits to the public due to the large amount of asbestos inside. 

Empty Places: Another ghost town building of America

I love to go urban exploring. Here is a deserted roadside motel I found on a hillside in Tennessee. Overgrown, no sign of life. 

Empty Places: A house in the country

This photo was taken in Tennessee. The home, that was wired for satellite television, sits vacant in the woods with a wheelchair ramp on one side and stairs on the other. The small town where this house is located has only 502 residents. 

Empty Places: Old waverunner

This old waverunner in the center of this shot was sitting in the courtyard area of a once thriving apartment, hotel and office in Florida only one block from the beach. 

Empty Places: Putt Putt Golf

What was once a thriving putt putt golf course in a small Alabama community, is now a lonely place for lizards. As I walked the overgrown course, lizards scurried about the place every other step I took. Amazingly, I did not see any snakes, only lizards. 

The population of this small town where the putt putt course once merely survived... 2,800 residents. 

Empty Places: A deserted Motel

This photo was taken at a vacant motel in Florida. This is a half empty pool adorned by signs posted by the Florida Health Department warning visitors not to swim. A lone Bible, possibly once in a bedside motel room drawer, is seen on the edge of the pool. 

Empty Places: An old pool

This was taken at an abandoned / vacant apartment complex one block away from the beach in Florida. The entire place looked like a ghost town. It was evident that someone or possibly multiple people, had been living inside the vacant apartments even though there was no water or electric services. 

Inside the individual units, mold was on the ceiling and walls and weeds were creeping into the lower units. Broken glass was seen throughout the complex. The neighboring motel in the background also sat unoccupied.