My godson was turning six, so it was time for my yearly visit to my old home town in mid-November. As usual the weather was cold, windy and didn’t really encourage to outside activities. Yet we always went somewhere with the family.
And this time it was to be a very disputed place right in the heart of my childhood memories.
This is an old grain mill. The mill itself is to the left, the grain silos are right up front. They were built in several phases between 1958 and 1963. There was a dispute already before they were built, as the silos blocked the road to the harbour right behind them. The town gave permission to build them as the company was one of the biggest employers in town.
The mill operated until 1992. After that the buildings were hired to small businesses and the silo capacity was rented out to another operator, who stored grain there. This is where my childhood comes into the picture. I lived two blocks away and we hired a garage in the building to the left for some years until we got one from our own house. My family actually worked for one organization, which was headquartered in one of these buildings.
Most of the buildings were sold to a foundation, who renovated them and a Swedish speaking university moved in. The silos were sold to a student apartment organization, who wanted to convert them into student apartments. The plans were ready and the whole complex got protection status.
There were leadership changes and the plan to convert the silos was axed. They have stood empty since the late 1990’s and a plan to demolish the silos and replace them with a block of flats was approved by the courts just before this picture was taken.
Demolition started last summer. As I’m publishing this, they are already down and the last cleaning work is being done on the lot.
This is why urbex photography is so important — things you would think could stand the test of time are suddenly gone and replaced by blocks of flats…
I agree, urbex photography is extremely important to document vanishing architecture and ways of life.
I don’t know how the US works, but in Finland city planning and building is so regulated, that nothing vanishes very suddenly. To build something new, you need a detail plan and this can only be done by the authorities. They are subjected to political decision making and a transcript is made public from all the meetings. Even the permit to demolish something is subject to official decision making. The magazines and the national broadcasting company often cover these topics, and so the potential demolition of a building is known at the very start of the process, which often takes months or years.
These news and transcripts are an important sources of finding locations for me. I have a lot to thank them for.
It works the same way here too. So many buildings lie in ruin because of red tape. At least there it’s brought up to be more publicized and here it’s often they auction to a property to a private buyer who lets it decay further. It’s wonderful…