Midwest Urbex

05/27/2026

Urbex gone wrong

A Milwaukee County court commissioner said the 22-year-old cannot possess any burning materials, including ci******es, as a condition of her bail. MORE BELOW ⬇️

05/04/2026

Time stopped somewhere in these halls.

From the echoing auditorium to dust-covered classrooms, this abandoned St. Louis school still holds the energy of packed assemblies, squeaky gym floors, and passing periods that never came again. The hallways stretch on like memories, classrooms frozen mid-lesson, and every corner tells a story that didn’t get a proper ending.

There’s something haunting about a place built for noise and life sitting in total silence.

04/20/2026

POV: you found what's left of Chicago's Storytown Improv...

Once filled with laughter, late-night shows, and packed crowds, this space at Stage 773 now sits quiet-empty seats, dim corners, and echoes where punchlines used to land.

One of those places where you can almost hear it if you stand still long enough.

04/19/2026

This is what “in between” looks like.

Inside this former factory in St. Louis, the floors have turned to glass—standing water stretching wall to wall, perfectly mirroring the rusted beams, exposed pipes, and fading structure above. Every column, every shadow, doubled. It’s quiet in a way that makes you stop and just take it in.

With asbestos abatement underway, the building is slowly being stripped back, but for now it exists in this surreal state—graffiti on the walls, reflections under your feet, and long industrial lines disappearing into symmetry.

A piece of St. Louis industry, caught mid-transition—reflected twice.

04/11/2026

“People just started going in and stealing stuff off of the building and around the building and inside of the building,” — Pastor Terry Williams.

Built in the early 1900s as a modest neighborhood house of worship, the church originally opened under a different name before eventually changing hands.

For decades, it stood as a cornerstone of the community, hosting services, gatherings, and moments of faith that brought people together.

But as the congregation dwindled and the doors finally closed, the building was left behind—quiet, vulnerable, and forgotten. Over time, neglect turned into decay, and decay invited destruction. What couldn’t be preserved was stripped away, piece by piece, as looters and scrappers took anything of value, leaving behind a hollow shell of what once was.

Today, the remains tell a different story—one not of worship, but of abandonment. Peeling walls, broken windows, and scattered debris now fill the space where voices once echoed in prayer, a stark reminder of how quickly history can be lost when a place is left unprotected.

04/07/2026

Where laughter once spilled as freely as the drinks, this abandoned art experience in Chicago sat frozen in silence.

Tucked along Belmont Avenue, the former Stage 773 once buzzed with late-night laughter, quick wit, and the unpredictable energy of Chicago’s improv scene.

Known over the years as home to Storytown Improv and WHIM, the space was a creative hub where performers turned empty stages into entire worlds with nothing but imagination and a few suggestions from the crowd.

Inside, the intimate black box theaters fostered a close connection between audience and performer—every chuckle, every missed beat, every perfectly landed joke felt shared. The bar area echoed with post-show conversations, where ideas were born, friendships formed, and the line between performer and audience blurred.

Demolition is currently in process, with plans to create a 5 story apartment complex in its spot.

04/04/2026

Once a powerhouse of St. Louis industry, the abandoned Laclede Power Company now stands silent along the riverfront.

Built in the early 1900s, it once generated electricity that fueled the city’s growth, its massive turbines and coal-fired boilers running around the clock.

Today it stands empty, scrapped and vandalized—a reminder of a time when this plant helped power a region. Time has taken its toll, but the scale and history of the place are still impossible to ignore.

03/31/2026

Once a place built on discipline, structure, and ambition—now left to time and silence.

Built in the early 1900s and later merged with another high school, this historic St. Louis property eventually took on a new identity as a Junior Naval Academy—where students once followed strict structure, discipline, and a path toward service.

After years of operation, the academy closed its doors in the 2010s, leaving behind quiet hallways and empty classrooms that once held purpose and direction. Since then, the building has sat largely unused, though there have been occasional discussions and proposals to redevelop the site into housing or community space—plans that, so far, have yet to fully take shape.

Today, the former Cleveland Junior Naval Academy stands in limbo. Peeling paint, scattered remnants, and long-abandoned rooms echo its past life, while its future remains uncertain.

03/29/2026

Justice once echoed through these halls, now only silence remains.

This abandoned courthouse in stands as a fading symbol of order, where verdicts were delivered, lives were changed, and history quietly unfolded day after day. Marble floors that once shined under polished shoes are now coated in dust, and courtrooms that held tense moments of truth sit frozen in time.

From the judge’s bench to the empty galleries, every corner tells a story—of law, consequence, and the passage of time. Now, nature and decay slowly reclaim what was once a place of authority.

03/18/2026

Once a powerhouse of American manufacturing, the former Barber-Colman Reed Chatwood plant in Rockford now stands frozen in time.

Founded in the early 1900s, Barber-Colman became a global leader in industrial automation, textile machinery, and control systems, with its Rockford facilities employing thousands at its peak.

Reed Chatwood later became part of that legacy, contributing to the production and innovation that helped shape the region’s industrial backbone.

There have been ongoing plans and discussions to redevelop the massive site—aiming to breathe new life into the property with potential mixed-use, industrial, or commercial projects.

While much of the complex remains in limbo, its future may once again bring activity back to these empty halls.

For now, only echoes remain—but change may be coming.