Category Archives: Abandoned
Abandoned Diner
Washington DC Signage
I made a mini-roadtrip this morning to DC for some good old fashioned neon.
A&R Auto Parts. The neon appears it originally read something else.
1824 Bladensburg Road NE
Washington, DC 20002
http://www.aandrautoparts.com/
Ride With Safety – Yellow Cab Company.
Ohio Restaurant
1380 H St. NE
Now Closed
More pictures, including ones of the interior, can be found here.
Atlas Theater
1331 H St. NE
Built 1938
Architect John J. Zink.
S and S Shoe Repairing
1126 H St. NE
Budget Motor Inn
1615 New York Avenue Northeast
Syd’s Drive In Liquor Store
2325 BLADENSBURG RD NE
Publick Playhouse
5445 Landover Road
Hyattsville, MD 20784
Opened 1947
Modern Dry Cleaning/ Electric Maid
Takoma Park, MD
Rayco Auto Seat Covers
7998 Georgia Avenue
Silver Spring, Maryland 20910
Glenmont Arcade
Formerly home to “Tuffy” Leeman’s duckpin Bowling alley. Tuffy, a pro football hall of fame member, played for the New York Giants from 1936 to 1943. The duckpin alley closed several years back.
Aspin Hill Pet Cemetery- Aspen Hill, MD
Herald Building supplement
Pardon the blurriness, these were shot through a glass brick
Pyrofax Gas Service – Maine
Abandoned Pennsylvania Turnpike
On Monday, my friend and I loaded up the car and made the two hour drive to Breezewood, PA, a “Traveler’s Oasis”, the “Town of Motels”.
My fifteen year old bike rack popped a few of the mounting hooks along the way, but the bikes were still there when I pulled into the gravel parking lot at the Pike2Bike trail head.
I’d found out about this trip in a bit of an unusual way. Earlier in the year, my next door neighbor in my dorm had been listening to a Bloodhound Gang song on repeat. She showed me the video, and what caught my attention was the location where it was shot. A little bit of googling later, I’d found one of the many websites about the abandoned Pennsylvania turnpike. I emailed my friend about it, and plans were set in motion.
Not too soon after starting out, we spotted the first tunnel, Rays Hill Tunnel, the shorter of the two. We climbed to the top of the tunnel, climbed down a metal ladder, and in through a broken window. We found ourselves in the ventilation room, with its two large ventilation fans. We explored a bit in the ventilation shafts, which I must say is one of the most frightening places I’ve been. They’re claustrophobic, pitch black, and echo and amplify all sounds, the shuffling of our feet and the dripping of water filtering through the hill. We made our way through the two other stories of the building, down the rusted metal staircases, and exited through a broken out section of the ground floor door.
Rusty metal and broken glass. What a turn on.
We pressed onwards to Sideling Hill Tunnel, the longer of the two, at 1.3 miles long. You can’t see the light at the end of the tunnel when you enter, and then when you finally do, it never seems to get any closer. The headlights we had installed on our bikes, supplemented by large flashlights didn’t begin to illuminate the place. You could barely see the pavement in front of you to dodge the chunks of concrete that had fallen from the ceiling of the tunnel. We explored both ends of the tunnel, and ate lunch when we arrived at the far end. All the ventilation rooms were the same, aside from the graffiti.
From there, it wasn’t far to the old travel plaza that once was the site of a Howard Johnson’s Restaurant, and the turnaround point.
Passed this guy along the way. My first thought was- hey- let’s get them off the highway. Then I realized where I was.
Rib & Sirloin Restaurant / Sandwich Shoppe – Pulaski, VA
Driving down the highway outside of Pulaski, VA, we spotted the big neon for this place poking through the trees. I couldn’t get the camera out fast enough to snap it, so we took the exit and drove around a bit, until we found it. The motel is still there, though it’s closed. The restaurant isn’t visible from the road, and it’s on private property, so please don’t go searching for it
The motel was once the Days Inn. The last review of it is dated September, 2008, so it closed fairly recently. The restaurant, however, has been closed and abandoned for a bit longer. It is currently condemned. Going by a class of 1963 35th reunion banner still hanging in the restaurant, it’s safe to say that the place closed in 1998 or so.
It’s a great ’60s colonial Howard Johnson’s type place, with avocado green stools and a great rooftop neon.
Shots of the interior. Sorry about the glare, they’re through the windows.
Inside dining room. The “Forever Young” DHS class of 1963 35th Reunion. Possibly Dublin High School?
Candles and coffee mugs still on the tables. Ceiling is caving in.