Lonely Farmhouse

This little house is both charming and creepy. When I photograph most of these places, I use the buddy system for safety.  My friend that accompanied me to this house called me during our visit to ask if I was talking to someone inside.  She had heard conversation in an entirely different part of the house, so I searched for signs of other explorers.  We didn't find anyone else in with us, which made for a slightly unnerved rest of the excursion.  I fell in love with one of the rooms here.

Pilgrim Psychiatric Center

Pilgrim Psychiatric Center, located on Long Island, was built to accommodate the overflowing psychiatric hospitals in New York.  Designed in the "farm colony" style, Pilgrim State Hospital was entirely self-sufficient and focused live-and-work therapies for the patients when it opened it's doors 1931.  At its peak, the campus hosted it's own fire/police personnel, post office, power plant, and church.  With the advent of anti-psychotic medications, the hospital started to discharge patients and over time.  Deinstitutionalization and a focus on community care led the closure of the other major state psychiatric hospitals, and the last of those patients arrived at Pilgrim State Hospital, now called Pilgrim Psychiatric Center, in 1996.
Pilgrim itself was not exempt from closures, as some buildings were closed during the 1970's and 1980's.  Parts of the property have been sold off for redevelopment and the buildings demolished.  A much smaller version of the psychiatric hospital still remains operational today, with a few buildings standing vacant while they await the wrecking ball.: a testament to a darker time in mental health history.

EDIT: Now demolished.

Aeroflex

Right next to a small, operational airport is the Aeroflex Hangar: a relic of time past.  Crawling through a hole in a wall, I was greeted by slanted light pouring in through the roof.  The building has not weathered the passing years gracefully, with some of the wooden supports no longer supporting.

New Jersey Zinc, Franklin Mine

Once upon a time Franklin, NJ was a booming center of industry.  The 1700's saw the discovery and subsequent mining of zinc and iron ore, attracting immigrant families looking to make a good living.  The mine was operational until the 1950's. After the mine was closed, a hydrogen plant was established on part of the property and ran until a massive explosion shut it down in 1976.  The 1970's also saw changes in environmental laws, leading up to the bankruptcy of the parent zinc company and abandonment of the site.
Today, the remaining buildings are closed to the public and the grounds are fenced off.  As a rambunctious teen, I remember skateboarding in a building that is now bricked up and crawling through a tunnel that connected another building the smokestacks.  There isn't much left of this operation besides crumbling cement foundations.

makeshift ladder.

crawlspace.