Thread Number: 41250
Abandoned laundry room.....
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Post# 609865   7/12/2012 at 12:59 (4,277 days old) by statenislandgwm ()        

Floyd Bennett Field, Brooklyn NY.




Post# 609866 , Reply# 1   7/12/2012 at 13:02 (4,277 days old) by DaveAmKrayoGuy (Oak Park, MI)        
Now Playing: Daryl Hall & John Oates ABANDONED LUNCHEONETTE!

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Someone rescue & restore those precious artifacts, now!!!!!!


-- Dave


Post# 609867 , Reply# 2   7/12/2012 at 13:03 (4,277 days old) by revvinkevin (Tinseltown - Shakey Town - La-La Land)        
More information please..........

revvinkevin's profile picture

 

 

Hi!    Did you take this photo?   

 

If so what are the machines in there?  

 

The dryers look like whirlpool.  

 

What is to be done with it?  

 

Is it going to be demo'd or just sit and continue to rot?

 

Thanks!

 

Kevin 


Post# 609876 , Reply# 3   7/12/2012 at 13:50 (4,277 days old) by statenislandgwm ()        
I did not take this photo.....

I Found it on a NYC "urban explorers" blog....I'll provide the link, besides this pic there are tons of other interesting ones. The washers and dryers BOTH appear to be Whirlpool, notice the washer facing the camera, it appears to be push button/digital...one could try contacting Floyd Bennett Field directly, they might let someone haul them away...I will find the contact info for you guys.


CLICK HERE TO GO TO statenislandgwm's LINK


Post# 609877 , Reply# 4   7/12/2012 at 13:53 (4,277 days old) by statenislandgwm ()        
Contact info...

can be found here....

CLICK HERE TO GO TO statenislandgwm's LINK


Post# 609879 , Reply# 5   7/12/2012 at 13:59 (4,277 days old) by statenislandgwm ()        
If you notice on the blog...

The pictures were taking on July 4th, so most likely the machines are still there. You guys might want to contact the blog owner and ask him how he gained permission to access the buildings as I am sure they are not open to the public...just a thought.

Post# 609913 , Reply# 6   7/12/2012 at 17:26 (4,277 days old) by Tomturbomatic (Beltsville, MD)        

What in the hell make you think any of this is precious? TOL laundry appliances are not chosen for laundry rooms and TOL WP dryers did not have side opening plug doors. Look at the advanced rust on the cabinets; corners are missing. It is possible that the agitators are the only parts of this whole collection to still survive and that is more of a tribute to the durability of plastic than anything.

Post# 609925 , Reply# 7   7/12/2012 at 18:21 (4,277 days old) by washerman (cape town)        
Even So

there might be enough decent parts to construct one or two machines. Might be worthwhile to someone.



Post# 609929 , Reply# 8   7/12/2012 at 18:43 (4,277 days old) by KenmoreGuy64 (Charlotte, NC)        
Interesting machines...

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The dryers are new enough to have the side indents on the cabinets, so that puts them as 1980s models or newer, correct?

I count four dryers and I think six washers? The washer facing us looks like a 29-inch BD unit, as does the first one on the right (because the top is off-center, which is hard to do on a DD). The open lids though look very DD, with no plastic handles that you'd expect on an 80s belt-drive.

I don't know if these are precious or not - I suppose that is up to individual evaluation, however I know I would not address a member here as was done above.

Interesting picture indeed - I love abandoned properties and machines, and really enjoyed reading about the airfield where this building is located. There is a long write-up about the history of this field at an abandonded airfields website called www.airfields-freeman.com...

Gordon


Post# 609931 , Reply# 9   7/12/2012 at 19:05 (4,277 days old) by statenislandgwm ()        
Thank you KenmoreGuy64 for your post.

I posted this pic for fun, not to cause members to be chastized. I highly doubt anyone is going to "rescue" these machines. I thought maybe guys in the NYC area would maybe want to explore the site itself. The machines have to be at least MOL as they seem to be all push button, no dials.

Post# 609938 , Reply# 10   7/12/2012 at 20:49 (4,276 days old) by mickeyd (Hamburg NY)        
The instant I saw this,

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I thought: professional, artistic, evocative. It reminds me of the theme of "beauty in decaying decadence" like something out of "Grey Gardens" or that haunted yet beautiful mansion "Dana Sculley" lived in the PBS's recent version of "Great Expectations."

 

I love stuff like this, and thanks for bringing it forward. It's really gorgeous and a unique archive photo for Automatic Washer.


Post# 609940 , Reply# 11   7/12/2012 at 21:12 (4,276 days old) by Launderess (Quiet Please, There´s a Lady on Stage)        
NYC Urban Explorers & Forgotten New York

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Often go places that are either off limits and or shouldn't be trespassed upon for safety reasons.

Regarding Staten Island one of both have been to places like much of the abandoned Seaview Hospital complex, the old Staten Island Hospital (now demolished), and Howland Hook area where there is a vast boat/ship graveyard.

Other places have been abandoned, hospitals including a huge former psychiatric hospital complex in Long Island,railroad/subway tunnels, estates, and so forth.

While one does enjoy reading their exploits and seeing pictures you really have to becareful in such places. Not only is tresspassing illegal many of these places have become a refuge for the homeless, drug dealers, and other criminal elements. Then there are the scrappers..

Anything can happen from falling several floors through a hole or rotted floor to meeting up with a "Nightmare on Elm Street" situation. While today many are blessed with cell phones one must hope there is service and even if LE manage to find and rescue, you still may face charges for being there in the first place.


Post# 609945 , Reply# 12   7/12/2012 at 23:31 (4,276 days old) by arbilab (Ft Worth TX (Ridglea))        

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When New Yawk abandons something they REALLY abandon it.

Post# 609946 , Reply# 13   7/12/2012 at 23:34 (4,276 days old) by DADoES (TX, U.S. of A.)        

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These appear to be mechanical-control, on-premise/commercial machines.  Per this somewhat tweaked cut of the picture, the washers have three pusbuttons on the panel.



Post# 609951 , Reply# 14   7/13/2012 at 00:59 (4,276 days old) by whirlykenmore78 (Prior Lake MN (GMT-0500 CDT.))        
These machines

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Appear to be 1990's Whirlpools. They should be Direct drive OPL commercial machines along with matching dryers. I'm not sure where the oversized top panel came from on the one washer. However the washer in the centre of the room is for sure a DD due to the size of the lid outline(this can be confirmed in other washers by the size of the raised lids). The design of the control panels along with the destressing indents on the dryer panels tell me these were later model machines.
Nick WK78


Post# 609957 , Reply# 15   7/13/2012 at 04:19 (4,276 days old) by alr2903 (TN)        
I really appreciate urban exploration... from home.

Here is a link to Opacity this guy Mr. Motts  is an urban explorer and fascinating photographer.  He uses fictitous names to protect the properties from vandalism, or at least he tries.  In addition to everything Launderess pointed out remember these places are full of mold and unabated asbestos.  The property listed as "Rathen" state hospital has a cool old "westinghouse Laundromat" that looks to  be paired with an ancient huge commercial dryer.  Opacity is a great site to enjoy in  winter months with a nice cup of joe.  alr



CLICK HERE TO GO TO alr2903's LINK

Post# 609958 , Reply# 16   7/13/2012 at 05:40 (4,276 days old) by westyslantfront ()        

Originally from Bayside, Queens, New York, I remember Floyd Bennett Field. It is a piece of history and had it's hey day during WWII. It Is across Jamaica Bay from Kennedy International Airport. I am a former Lufthansa German Airlines employee and in the Lufthansa History Book that all the employees received in 1976 upon the 

50th anniversary of Lufthansa, was a picture of a 4 engined Focke Wulff propeller plane that flew

nonstop from Berlin to New York City landing at Floyd Bennett Field. Had WWII not have occurred, it would have meant non stop flights between Berlin and New York City.

 

Ross


Post# 609959 , Reply# 17   7/13/2012 at 05:43 (4,276 days old) by westyslantfront ()        

Here is a picture.

 

 

Ross



CLICK HERE TO GO TO westyslantfront's LINK

Post# 609964 , Reply# 18   7/13/2012 at 06:20 (4,276 days old) by DaveAmKrayoGuy (Oak Park, MI)        
Explorers of the local Abandoned Edifice:

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There are plenty of abandoned structures such as this around the Detroit are, too!

Somehow our old HUDSON building seems to be the only thing demolished, to date! (After all, if we were to eliminate more buildings, it would take years & money for replacing them & giving our increasingly dense population for someone to even move in there again!)

I have a friend, who, too, who goes into these places & somehow manages to come out w/o a scratch or a fine (& whatever treasures he can carry in his arms or his hand or fit in his truck!) while putting his photos on Facebook to boot!

Nice stuff in there, though...


-- Dave


Post# 609965 , Reply# 19   7/13/2012 at 06:30 (4,276 days old) by Launderess (Quiet Please, There´s a Lady on Stage)        
Methinks This Thread Drift Belongs In The Super Forum

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Or elsewhere, but since we are drifting....

CLICK HERE TO GO TO Launderess's LINK


Post# 609966 , Reply# 20   7/13/2012 at 06:35 (4,276 days old) by Launderess (Quiet Please, There´s a Lady on Stage)        

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You can find sites devoted to "forgotten" places in most every language for every country. Have seen such sites in German, French, and so forth.

There really is quite allot of abandoned property and or forgotten places out there, one only has to look.

Remember spending a long night looking at a site devoted to abandoned church yards, grave yards and other burial grounds located in England. Scary but none the less interesting.

Don't think many persons/governments intend for things to end up abandoned and or forgotten, just things happen, usually time. In all of our lives we can think of things that are supposed to be done, but we put them off for "tomorrow", then we die.


Post# 610000 , Reply# 21   7/13/2012 at 11:16 (4,276 days old) by statenislandgwm ()        
@Launderess

You are 100% correct, we drifted way off the topic here, perhaps start an "Urban Exploration" thread in the super forum?....Vinnie

Post# 610082 , Reply# 22   7/13/2012 at 17:03 (4,276 days old) by maytagman806s ()        
I think I have to agree with Gordon

Tom, I think the language you used was hardly appropriate when you responded to Dave's statement regarding these abandoned machines. To those of us who have been in the repair or restoration business for a number of years (for some of us, more then we would like to admit), what would be considered one man's trash in another one's treasure.

Post# 610092 , Reply# 23   7/13/2012 at 18:28 (4,276 days old) by Tomturbomatic (Beltsville, MD)        

I am sorry for the tender ears. If I left out the word "hell," what about the response is harsh? Do you see the rust? Do you see the depth of the organic material and ceiling material on the floor that these appliances are sitting in? Do you see the evidence of the wet environment that cannot do any part of these machines any good? What would you pick of these "precious artifacts" to restore? Would you exhort someone to go into this building without seeing any of the access points or paths to grab these machines in a situation that would be trespassing and without knowing how far away you would have to park? Would you, as a restorer, pick any of these rusted hulks as a prime subject for restoration? I would hope you are not so desperate for machines that you would risk life and health to go after these. They are pieces of crap. Dave's response was an emotional outcry couched in ignorance of the subject. All he saw were old laundry appliances.

John and his brother Jeff and I began restoring appliances together in 1981 and we were doing it separately before that. In 1969 I took apart and put back together a 1958 WP combo with the old style pump and lint filter so I know a bit about restoring appliances, but you have to pick your restoration projects with a little more discernment than Dave's cry and you really try to avoid middling machines like these in a dangerous environment with phyto-toxins & animal waste all over. Fortunately, these would not have the fiberglass insulation to get saturated with rodent urine like some stoves we have reconditioned.

I am very sorry if I disparaged what you consider to be treasure; it looks more like scrap metal in a toxic environment to me.


Post# 610149 , Reply# 24   7/13/2012 at 23:26 (4,275 days old) by qualin (Canada)        

Considering the age of these machines, I seriously doubt they would be worth restoring, even if you could get one good chassis out of these.

There is a lot of rot on those chassis. Even if you could find a good chassis, would you really want to restore an early-90's era machine?

Tom is right about one thing, the rust on the bottom of these machines looks horrendous. Who knows what the mechanicals look like on the inside. Chances are, these things have been sitting in a good six inches of water.

Look at how the ceiling has collapsed, these machines have been rained on. If you could get one of these working, it would be one heck of an investment. The wiring is probably quite delicate and fragile now.

It's a beautiful picture though.


Post# 610152 , Reply# 25   7/13/2012 at 23:50 (4,275 days old) by whirlcool (Just North Of Houston, Texas)        

When I was on the board of directors for the 1940 Air Terminal Museum in Houston at Hobby Airport we had to deal with a lot of these same kinds of issues. When our foundation acquired the building it looked very much the same way as the room pictured with the washer & dryers.

There is usually asbestos in these old types of buildings and you have to call in asbestos abatement contractors to remove all of it before you can. And they ain't cheap. It can take years of fundraising and work to restore something like that.
At the museum we had roof leaks where water would enter on the top of the building and leak all the way to the first floor through all the walls & floors. And rooms that look like this smell.

The room in the terminal that back in the 1940's was the nurse's office still to this day smells like iodine or merchurachrome even though the room hasn't been used in probably 40 years.



CLICK HERE TO GO TO whirlcool's LINK


Post# 610153 , Reply# 26   7/13/2012 at 23:51 (4,275 days old) by whirlcool (Just North Of Houston, Texas)        

This post has been removed by the member who posted it.



Post# 610383 , Reply# 27   7/15/2012 at 14:59 (4,274 days old) by tecnopolis (Ocala/Dunnellon, Florida 34481)        

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I added the first picture to my Wallpaper collection...real cool in a Steampunk-ish
' kinda way.


Post# 610779 , Reply# 28   7/17/2012 at 16:17 (4,272 days old) by matchboxpaul (U.K)        
Machines surrounded by dereliction can come good!

Hi guys.

A couple of years ago some photos were posted on an urban explorers website in the UK and were reposted on a Discuss o' Mat thread.

After a week or so of investigating and contacting the owner of the building, the machines were rescued by myself and another member.

The machines had resided in a derelict school in Plymouth, on the south west coast of England and are photographed in their old home below...


Post# 610782 , Reply# 29   7/17/2012 at 16:20 (4,272 days old) by matchboxpaul (U.K)        

The machines were purchased from the buildings owner and he was present when money changed hands, outside the building.

Would always suggest that permission is sought and gained, to prevent issues arising later. Plus its simply a lot safer - in my case the school had developed a reputation for being a bit of a drugs den and was in one of the less salubrious parts of Plymouth...


Post# 610784 , Reply# 30   7/17/2012 at 16:23 (4,272 days old) by matchboxpaul (U.K)        

and here is the Hoover 3236H Automatic De Luxe, as it looks now...

Post# 610785 , Reply# 31   7/17/2012 at 16:26 (4,272 days old) by matchboxpaul (U.K)        

and the Hotpoint 1509/05 Automatic De Luxe.

There is hope for derelict machines, just takes permission from the owner, a bit of money, time and patience.

Cheers
Paul


Post# 610787 , Reply# 32   7/17/2012 at 16:27 (4,272 days old) by matchboxpaul (U.K)        

Before and after for the 1509/05...

Post# 610819 , Reply# 33   7/17/2012 at 19:37 (4,272 days old) by redcarpetdrew (Fairfield, CA)        
Diamonds in the (very!) rough...

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The before and after pics are just stunning! I can't even imagine how much patience and work those two took to come back to glory. Bravo!

 

RCD


Post# 611017 , Reply# 34   7/18/2012 at 19:05 (4,271 days old) by bendixmark (Winchester Mass)        
outstanding

Nice restoratiom of the Hoovers I would not of thought it possible.I was fascinated with the abandoned laundryroom picture,the only thing that would have made it better would be if the machines were older.I think the room is alot older than the machines.Those are late 80s early 90s direct drives which have a certain charm I sold a few not long ago.I would not attempt restoring these as they are plentiful if you want one.

Post# 611402 , Reply# 35   7/20/2012 at 23:32 (4,268 days old) by electroluxxxx (Syracuse NY)        

I think that the machine in the center of the room at floyd bennett field is a Design 2000 I have one in my apartment building.
this commercial machine featured the DD tranny and boy is it a power house :)


Post# 611438 , Reply# 36   7/21/2012 at 10:40 (4,268 days old) by mysteryclock (Franklin, TN)        
Rust?

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For those restorations, how do you deal with all that rust? The end results look amazing!


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