The greenhouses at the old Candler Mansion

Atlanta Photographer Mourns Closed Opportunities

It's been six years since I took the above photo of the old greenhouses at the Candler Mansion. I can't believe it's been that long. 

I was thinking about these photos because my friend Sabrina wanted to see the mansion and greenhouses, and I told her I'd take her over there to get photos. We went this weekend only to find a security guard stationed at the entrance and big No Trespassing signs posted. 

Another place photographers can't go anymore. 

I can't blame the owners - in this case Emory University.

Since the former Georgia Mental Health Institute on Emory's campus was used as Hawkins National Lab in Stranger Things, I'm sure the area has been overrun with fans. Unfortunately, so many people who go to check out these old places don't know how to leave things the way they found them. 

There's so much looting, vandalism, and tagging in almost every old building I've checked out around the city. It's a bummer that people can't leave things alone. I'm sure liability plays a part as well in our uber-litigious society. 

Sadly, a young man died at Pullman Yards back in 2016 after climbing a ladder on one of the old buildings and falling through a fiberglass skylight in the roof. 

At this point, I don't try exploring most of these old buildings anymore because people have gotten serious about the penalties, and I don't need to add jail time or hefty trespassing fines to my resume.

In talking to out-of-town photographers, I hear lots of complaints about Atlanta. In Chicago, New York, and out West, photographers don't get called out as much for exploring. 

I was excited about getting some updated photos of the Candler Mansion, the Old Georgia Mental Health Institute, and the greenhouses since I've read that they're going to tear a lot of it down and renovate the mansion into an assisted-living facility.

On the other hand, who knows? In Atlanta, I read about plans for properties all the time, but then nothing happens.

Cruising around the internet, I noticed that Emory appears to be in the business of renting out a lot of the facilities for filmmaking now, so maybe they won't be tearing it all down. I guess we'll see!

So...pardon me while I mourn the lost opportunities of all the places I'd love to explore and photograph that I can't get into anymore! At the same time, I'll celebrate all the cool places I've managed to get photos of before they became off-limits.

Hope you have a great rest of your week, and see you between the raindrops!

xoxo,
Susan