Scranton Lace Company, Scranton, PA
(a gigantic factory, now abandoned and broken)
The Scranton Lace Company opened in the late 1800’s and quickly became the worlds leading producer of Nottingham lace. The factory also produced curtains, napkins, tablecloths, and other lace items. The company thrived into the mid 1900’s and was still producing fabric in 2000. However, in 2002 the companies vice president made an announcement during the middle of the day that the facility is closing down, effective immediately. One of my pictures shows a calendar with the year 2003, which was never even used.
Exactly a decade later, in 2012, I entered the abandoned lace factory with my camera and tripod. The gigantic factory is made up of many large buildings all linked together. Inside are countless production rooms, a kitchen and dining hall, theater, bowling alley, and full gymnasium with locker rooms. Now with the addition of peeling paint, broken machines, and smashed glass. It was hard to believe this could happen to a building in only 10 years. For an artist, it was in a perfect state of silent chaos.