What do serial killers and arsonists have in common?
They might commit single crimes at first, but then one day they enter a more active phase and go out on a spree. They kill and burn, kill and burn until somebody catches them.
My spring with abandoned houses had so far been much more active than the previous ones. I had succesfully revisited the modernist villa in Toppila and by sheer luck gained access to the partly demolished mail truck depot. My first urban exploration spree was about to begin.
It was now five days since my trip to the mail truck depot, when the friend I had taken to the villa told me, she wanted to explore more. I then remembered another place I had visiter briefly and had longed to further explore for almost two years.
We decided to bike the 25 kilometres to the workers’ institute in the small village by the river. Last time it was getting dark, this time it was a bright summer evening. Last time I was armed with my camera, now I had just my phone. And this time I wanted to explore the place thoroughly.
Both ends of the building had a staircase. The entrance to the lobby is to the right of the picture.
A vief from the lobby towards the main entrance. The doors were ajar, but I didn’t want to use them. They opened up straight to the village road, and there were loads of houses on the opposite side. The side doors felt much safer, as you could approach from behind the buildings.
The view towards the river from the lobby was as beautiful as ever. The scenery needed just a little trimming of bushes.
As I had explored the ground floor during my previous visit, we headed straight up to save time. The building was in a pretty rough condition.
The second floor corridor. Paint and floor tiles were coming off on their own.
There was a small lobby in the middle of the corridor. And there this cute little fireplace.
This really would have been a peaceful place to paint. Nobody cared about keeping unauthorized people out anymore.
The floors had been removed in some of the rooms, the radiators were missing in almost every one of them. Had somebody started renovations or demolition, or had somebody stolen everything and sold them as scrap metal?
A close up of the handrail in the staircase. I think I’ve said several times, that the emphasis they used to put on stairs in old buildings was amazing.
The main building featured no basement and no attic. The roof was not symmetrical, so the other side of the top floor was a full floor and the other side was closed by the roof.
A view towards one of the two annexes from the top floor corridor.
Top floor windows towards the street.
The floors in every room were covered in slices of paint from the roof and the walls.
The decoration on the wall. I’ve seen similar ones in 50’s buildings, so apparently the walls had never been painted.
The rooms on the top floor were all pretty similar.
All stuff in the main building had been removed. There was absolutely nothing left from the academy times.
The top floor corridor. Even all doorhandles and locks were gone.
The main building was quickly explored.
An odd detail was, that the east wing staircase wasn’t accessible from the lobby. It had its own entrance, and you had to go through several classrooms to reach the lobby.
The annexes weren’t connected with the main building. Instead a covered corridor was built between them to cover people from the weather.
The door visible on the opposite side was as far as I got the last time I was here. Maybe this time I’ll get further.