Our journey perhaps had a failed start, but it did continue in much happier ways. Once again thanks to an urban exploration site I had found. There was a mention about a workers’ house in the suburb of Kello just north of my home town.
Quite a lot of work with old maps was needed to find the building. By researching Google Maps I learned, that brand new housing had been built right on the opposite side of the road from the house, which was located in the outsikirts of the residential area. That’s why we decided to approach the building from the back through a forest.
To reach it we had to push trough waist high trees, grass and burning nettles, but the trek was succesful. One back window was open and somebody had built a makeshift ladder to enter.
We jumped right in the heart of the house, the assembly hall. There had been quite a number of intruders, who hadn’t been very friendly. A lot of things had been thrown around and smashed.
Another look back towards the window we entered through. It required some agility to climb the narrow ladder and turn to reach the table. After that it was peanuts.
The view from the front of the stage towards the back of the hall. The “real” entrance can be seen on the right.
By the entrance was a small cloakroom, where people left their coats when coming to events. This small corner of the building had probably seen hundreds of thousands of coats, as the building was built in 1917 and closed down for good in 2010 because it posed a safety hazard.
Originally the place was heated with big ovens, which were in every room. A central heating system was later installed, but we’ll get to that a bit later.
At this point we realized that the trek through the woods had been unnecessary. The front door had been open all along. It was visible from nearby buildings, so maybe it was better to be safe than sorry anyway.
A door led from the cloakroom to a dark backroom. Most of the building’s windows had been covered by boards, so there was very little light inside. Two of us had the flashlights in their mobiles turned on while one of us was taking photos.
In the backroom we found a cabinet containing prize cups and banners of other organizations.
Now here’s a hint why the authorities deemed the building unsafe. The floor boards were completely rotten and the floor had collapsed. The poor stuffed dinosaur seems a bit lost here.
The workers’ association who owned the house had a name in the region. They were very well known for their gymnastics teams, but were also still active in football and volleyball.
A door at the back of the back room led to another room.
This room was also accessible from the main hall, and here was a small canteen. I suppose people coming to events could buy small snacks and coffee here.
In this area were also the public toilets of the house. The urinals were growing something, which looks like mould.
Here’s a closer look at the facilites in the canteen. The old and new stoves sit hire side by side.
The space under the new stove contained several issues of a magazine aimed at retirees. The recepient was a local lady, who died in 2009 and didn’t have to witness the final downfall of the building.
We also found a box containing a miscellanoux set of textiles.
Another look at the old and new stoves.
There was also a back door, which was nailed shut and a small hall with a few cupboards. There was a strong smell of oil around here, and we believe it originated from the tank of the central heating system, which was either open or leaking.
This was where the stairs to the second floor were located. For a while we considered if it was safe to go up, but we decided anyway. The findings upstairs are covered in the second post from this location.