Abandonment Issues: A Homeless Man As A House

I must preface this post by stating that I visited this house in Vancouver, BC, before identifying as an urban explorer and was still in full-on street art mode. These shots are from May/June 2010. I have since learned of a code that has changed the way I think about entering these abandoned locations, so as to preserve them for others enjoyment and to not heat off spots and in turn get them sealed up. That said, this place was slated for destruction when prolific Vancouver graffiti artist and dear homie Open5 and I hit it. I had no pasties, so while Ope was crushing a two floor beast, I sprayed up my jerm IX stencil on everything in sight. My photos reflect a time when street art was my primary focus, before I turned the camera on the buildings themselves earlier this year.

When I stumbled into this house's face, my immediate response was that of loud boisterous laughter - laughter so loud that it freaked out the tiny elderly woman walking behind me. The funniest thing was that this very house was my actual destination that morning because I needed to photograph the work that Open5 and I had done inside just a few days before. I was quite taken aback -- and as the laughing faded, the installation really spoke to me. I was reminded of a 19 year old jerm, standing in front of the duplex on Blank Street in the 'single parent projects', as they were dubbed. He was staring at the house where he was raised, only to feel the house was somehow looking back at him. The clash of past and present blended together seamlessly in that moment. I also had thoughts about perceived identity and how in today's society, many people see themselves through acquired possessions such as homes. At the intersection of Scotia & 4th, I stood as still as a mannequin in a boutique window on Robson street and stared at the house - and the house stared back at me, again. With our eyes locked, I asked aloud, who did this?!

Given that there was a demolition notice on the door and that the back half of the house had suffered severe fire damage, I was sure that life would never again show its face here. But Graeme Berglund had other ideas. Graeme is a local artist represented by the Douglas Udell Gallery in Western Canada. He works in various mediums and is very active in Vancouver's art community in several capacities - too many to name. He is also a founding member of The Cheaper Show. I asked Graeme for some insight into this installation, this was his response...

"I took a photo of Corey, a sweet guy that panhandles up by Brewery Creek in Mount Pleasant every night. Corey is from Newfoundland. I told him I wanted to paint an image of his face. He said yes. This house at Scotia and 4th is rather iconic for this hood. Zoe from Red Light Sting used to live here and make noise in the basement. Melissa Jeffers did a stint. It was infested with some bike couriers for a while (all rad dudes actually). Then one night the back half caught on fire. I've enjoyed watching this house sit and decay... and seeing artists slowly started bringing it back to life. Office Supplies Inc. did a couple of series back there that I was feeling a lot. There is demolition notice on it as of the other day, so I thought I'd do something as a little farewell. This is my painting of Corey. A homeless man as a house."

This response hit home with me. In my early teens, I spent a few years as an amateur couch surfer and was on many occasions homeless. I perfected living life in the alcoves at the top of staircases in high-rise apartment buildings. These are the memories that Graeme's response triggered in me. I'd love to hear your own thoughts and reactions to "A homeless man as a house."

This post was originally written for my old Vancouver Street Heart column on Beyond Robson.























A few weeks ago I returned to Vancouver to record the final four tracks for my upcoming album and to celebrate the release of my dear friend and renowned author Timothy Taylor's new novel The Blue Light Project. While back in my old turf I stopped at many of my favourite spots, and like many of them, this house was gone, nothing but a muddy parking lot remained. But surely enough, it was surrounded by Open5 and crew, making me feel at home in my old home.





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Abandonment Issues: La Grande Hermine

La Grande Hermine (The Big Weasel) is commonly referred to as a unique eyesore. The abandoned vessel rests along the western shore of Lake Ontario, beside the QEW highway between St. Catharines and Hamilton.

In 1535, Jacques Cartier sailed the original La Grande Hermine up the St. Lawrence River. In the 1960s, a replica vessel was built and operated as a floating restaurant during Expo 67 in Montreal, Quebec.

In the 1990s, a young entrepreneur purchased this unrelated replica of La Grande Hermine and sailed it down the St. Lawrence and moored it in its current location, intending to reopen it as a floating restaurant. The entrepreneur went bankrupt shortly thereafter and his dream was never realized.

In 2003, the ship was destroyed by what police called a suspicious fire.

I spent at least an hour pondering and testing the ice, considering boarding and exploring it stowaway style. As I got further out I noticed birds nests and plant life aboard the ship. The warm weather and newly visible cracks in the ice deterred me from risking it, and a discussion took place regarding a potential return in late spring or early summer. I hope to one day bring an inflatable raft out that way and board the ship with a disposable camera or two.

Ninjalicious, (R.I.P) widely regarded as the grandfather of urban exploration, captured La Grande Hermine in her newly abandoned glory, click here to check out his post.









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Abandonment Issues: Bata Shoe Factory

The concept of Disneytown, USA, or any other form of corporate community is a scary thought these days. Orwellian cookie cutter corporate suburbs consuming farmland, industrial and residential areas alike. It's not just Rogers Arena or Rogers Centre, it's the city of Rogers in the township of General Motors in the province of Starbucks in the country of Nike. Our flag is a red on white swoosh, and it's on every other billboard. In 2011, that's not just a scary thought, it's a foreseeable future.

In 1939 however, a young capitalist with a social conscience envisioned just such a place. A company run town that took care of it's employees and citizens like family. A country named Canada that he had read about as a child would be the perfect place to escape the escalating tension in his homeland of Czechoslovakia, and move the operations of his company, along with 250 employees and their families. Only 120 of what he hoped would be 250 employees and their families were allowed by the Canadian government, who were resistant at first but eventually realized what benefits he would be providing to the county 9 years after the depression forced the closure of the nearby Frankford Paper Mill.

Thomas J. Bata had inherited the Bata Shoe Company from his father years before an army of German Nazis under "that rascal, Hitler" began marching across Eastern Europe. And so Mr. Bata took "a great big plunge of faith" and settled on a small valley north of the Royal Canadian Air Force base in Trenton, Ontario. The town would be called Batawa. The Bata company built homes for the employees and affordable rent was deducted from pay cheques. Eventually employees were offered the opportunity to purchase the homes for a mere dollar. The new immigrant Czech workers were experienced executives and skilled electricians, engineers and machine operators. They were taught the English language as they were teaching newly hired locals the shoe-making process in the abandoned Paper Mill to the south in Frankford, as the factory was being constructed.



During the war, Mr. Bata offered the use of the factory and its employees to the Canadian government. It was mostly women working these shifts, the wives of R.C.A.F. officers. For the war efforts, more than 48 special items were produced here, including torpedo gyroscopes, primers for anti-tank shells and naval gun mountings. By 1944 the plant had over a thousand employees.

The Bata family has maintained this relationship with the Canadian military to this day, with Thomas J's widow Sonja Bata even allowing access of the abandoned factory to the military for training purposes. The police and local fire fighters also train here, and even have their own keys. The Batawa plant struggled through the 1990s, losing $32 million, and it closed in 1999. The Bata factory building is not abandoned, it is still active on a daily basis with a skeleton crew stripping materials down to a concrete shell, with plans to convert the plant into condominiums. With this project, Sonja Bata hopes to ensure a future for the town that bears the family name, that is as bright as it's past.

All information and access to the building was graciously provided by sources close to the Bata family.

In on the ground floor...

























The second floor...

















The third floor...







The fourth floor...









The fifth floor...













Extra special thanks to the friends of the Bata family that made this visit possible. I must reiterate that while future plans of converting the building into condominiums remains in limbo, this building is not abandoned, it is still owned and cared for by the widow Bata and her staff.

Put your best foot forward my friends, and if the shoe fits, wear it.

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UPDATE
October 7, 2013

I recently heard word that the Bata Shoe Factory was being demolished. Until this afternoon that was but an unsubstantiated rumour, as I had been informed last year by sources close to the Bata family that the widow Bata was determined to save the historic building and convert it into condominiums.

But alas, when I pulled into Batawa today, I encountered a demo crew actively demolishing the building. The majority of the outer walls of the ground floor had already been removed, exposing the wide open stripped interior. The sounds of demolition echoed loudly and got louder and louder as I stealthily made my way inside, narrowly avoiding the demo crew at every turn. I don't know how I managed to be so lucky so often here today. Workers repeatedly turned their heads or backs at the perfect moments, allowing me to actually traverse all 5 floors and even capture some work in progress shots before I was finally spotted on the top floor and asked to leave.



















Hopefully I will find the time to return once more before she is finally gone for good.

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UPDATE
February 2, 2014

After a day of exploring fails that saw us locked out of all three abandonments we attempted to enter yesterday, we made our way to Batawa to check the status of the demolition. We expected to come across an empty field, but much to our surprise the building was not completely gone. In fact a sign attached to the fence surrounding the remnants of the structure announced the terrific news that a restorative project is indeed under way, as was rumoured earlier.







Once again, we hope to keep checking in on the status of the project. Stay tuned.

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