Photos from abandoned clothing factory
Chris sez, "These photos were taken at the abandoned Lebow Clothing Factory in Baltimore, MD. Lebow Clothing manufactured fine suits and jackets at this factory. This building also housed a consumer outlet store. The site appears to have closed sometime in the 80's, but unfortunately, there isn't much information about why this factory was closed. Now the factory has been warped by the environment and time making for a very eerie (and interesting) location."
Lebow Clothing Factory (Thanks, Chris!)
Previously:
- Photos from Pripyat, abandoned Chernobyl workers' town - Boing Boing
- Photo gallery of Mike Tyson's abandoned house - Boing Boing
- Abandoned Prime Minister's mansion in Beirut -- infiltration ...
- Haunting photo-essay on rotting buildings in Detroit - Boing Boing
- Photos from abandoned 1901 hydroelectric power plant - Boing Boing
- Photos: Abandoned sattelite devoured by earth - Boing Boing
- Rotting ancient shipyard in Sydney Harbour: photos - Boing Boing
- Jeremy Harris's asylum photographs - Boing Boing
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I live less than 1 mile from this building. Given it's location and proximity to 'good' parts of Baltimore it will be redeveloped sooner rather than later. I'm really surprised it has sit empty for as long as it has.
I'm amazed they left behind all those jackets.
Wow. Just wow. How freaking wasteful is that? If I lived by there, I'd be renting a van and hauling all of that down to the local homeless shelter (or other charity).
Costanza's dad should go there and strike a deal with the local vintage suit guy in Florida.
The bottom fell out of the overcoat business when flatfoot dicks switched to facial hair and street clothes.
it was Gerry's dad, with Kramer as business partner... Costanza's dad had his Florida stuff sold by George
More pics here:
http://community.livejournal.com/urban_explorers/151912.html
Yeah, all I could think was "Seinfeld" when I saw this. I just saw that episode the other day!
"Who's off the street?? I'm in the raincoat business for 35 years!!"
—Morty Seinfeld
Second #3
Corporate 'efficiency' my ass -- how efficient is it to create that much extra product that can sit and rot for 20 years while other people go without? Heck, that stuff would be worth more as fuel for a barrel-fire (provided it would burn) than sitting there like that.
Rushkoff is right about our priorities -- how is it that no-one has appropriated this stuff for the needy, or even auctioned for cash?
I don't understand these abandoned buildings and businesses with inventory in them. It looks like someone just said 'put down your broom, we're locking the doors'. Why wouldn't the inventory and machinery be liquidated and auctioned off at the end? I own a business, and if we closed up shop I wouldn't just lock the door and walk away. I'd give the stuff away at the end if nothing else to clear out the building so it could be sold. There's still property taxes to be paid if you're sitting on a building, isn't there? It all just seems bizarre to me.
I am amazed that those coats are still there. They look like potentially nice coats...
But they're coats from the eighties! Would we be doing the needy a service by giving them comfortable, well-made, warm clothes that are less than the height of fashion? Come on, people - the lapels would be all wrong!
Dragonfrog, didn't you hear that retro-80s style stuff is in right now? It was all over style.com and twitter this past fashion week. It's the coming trend actually :)
The coats are probably dry rotted by now but I KNOW there are theatres in the area who would benefit from the racks and buttons, not to mention the slopers I saw hanging on the wall. Such a shame that it's all locked in there rotting away.
Luckily, nobody in this country needs clothes, or this would have been a real waste. . .
Oh, wait. . .
Sideline:
My brother in law works at a trash incinerator, and you would be HORRIFIED at the stuff that corporations and chain stores send to be burned. Brand new inventory from places like Home Depot, Sports Authority, Walmart (esp. Walmart,) etc.
There are strict rules about trying to take the stuff home-- instant termination.
Apparently, the deal is, the stuff "has" to be burned for tax reasons, because that means it is worthless, and can be written off as lost inventory or trash.
If it was donated to people in need, it would be considered worth something and a financial loss.
It's all about the profit.
Sighs
Jennybean42: Your explanation reminds me of one of the most heart breaking scenes you can see played out every morning near a Wal-Mart here in Phoenix.
Every morning there's a bunch of Mexicans hanging around the parking lot, waiting for some kind of work. And then the Wal-Mart employees throw out all this over stocked food, and everyone is begging for this food (there's nothing wrong with the food). The employees want to keep their jobs, so they can't give any of it out, and instead the food gets locked up in garbage bins.
Is that fuct up or what? So glad I don't live in that neighborhood anymore, but I'm sure it's still going on.
Stop taking photos of these coats, and pick some of them up to donate to Goodwill or something.
and thanks to publishing location names it'll be completely trashed like many of the historic factories, hospitals and asylums trashed before it.
Ahh to sit back and watch the cognitive dissonance increase....eyes are opening and will continue to...
So how'd you come up with the idea for the belt-less trench coat?
"The chocolate ration has been raised to 25 grams per week."
Yay...
Considering the amount of poverty and homelessness in Baltimore, I'm sure someone could find a way to use these coats.
Man, with that many abandoned and unclaimed coats, I could live and love like a king forever! Forever, I say!
We've been liberating them for a couple years.
i live next door to this place. its called the coat factory. It was easy to get in to for a while and many people took suits and coats. recently, they filmed an episode of the wire near the warehouse and the city came in and padlocked the place up. Its still possible to get in, but really difficult. The coats are not dry rotted. they are actually really nice. a little dusty, but nice. the suits ive gotten from there are the nicest suits i own... although, my belly is growing and the suits aren't. Also, a couple of homeless people used to live in there, but im not sure if they can get in anymore.
As #25 points out, the elusive Coat Liberation Front has been breaking in and freeing coats for distribution to the homeless for years. Last year, I believe this mysterious cabal evaded the police and made off with more than 500 fine Lebow coats, which can now be seen on the backs of Baltimore's dispossessed across the entire downtown region. These daring swashbucklers have never failed to infuriate Abraham Zion, the miserly owner of the factory, who has consistently thrown new fences, locks, and chains in their way, only to be foiled time and time again. The CLF leaves behind no trace but their eerie signature, faintly glowing in white spraypaint on every floor.
im in ur factory stealin ur coats
It's the American way...
(sigh)