Empty Farmhouse and Packing Plant

I think I have saved the best for last.  This was the last stop on a quick tour of three, easily accessible, derelict farmhouses in and around the Upper Valley in El Paso.  This last property is not far from the Gato Road House.  It’s along Highway 28, on the way to La Union New Mexico.

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I hesitate to call this property abandoned.  There is a house on the plot that while it’s empty at the moment, has been maintained and even has a security system visible from the front porch window.  All of its doors and windows are intact with no signs of vandalism or forced entry.

To the left of the house is a storage shed. It contains a lot of old supplies and stuff you would expect to see on a farm. There was a pile of old Glidden paint cans and a cool old oil lantern that was missing its glass.

The next building on the property is the largest.  It looks like it was some sort warehouse or packing facility. Old refrigerators, stacks of flat cardboard boxes and other assorted junk are scattered all around.  The roof looks to have been removed save for a few pieces of corrugated metal left in a few spots.

This building could have started life as some sort of feeding place for livestock.  On each side of the building a concrete trough ran the length of the building.  There was one neat find in here, some old hubcaps.

Outside on a large concrete slab a old tracker trailer sits.  It won’t be going anywhere fast, all of the tires are rotted to the hub.

The last building on the property is the oldest.  Its an adobe structure that has lost it roof and all the wall plaster.  Slowly its returning back to the earth.

This collection of buildings was the most interesting and really shows the range of how long it had been in use. It could have easily spanned two or three generations and been an important player in the areas farming past.  I took a bunch of pictures that I could not include in this post so if you want to browse the full set on Flickr click below:

Abandoned in the Upper Valley

The previous two abandoned properties I vistited are here:
Abandoned Farmhouses (pt. 2)
Abandoned Farmhouses (pt. 1)

The Gato House

After moving on from the shell of a house, I traveled down Westside drive turning left on Gato road to the next structure.  This one is a bit more traditional, It even looks like somebody at some point was trying to revive it but for some reason their plans had been cut short.

View House on Gato in a larger map

The adobe construction looks to have stood the test of time and it may have been a comfortable home in its heyday.  Its a single story dwelling with a storage shed in the back.

Inside the house is gutted and what remains leaves little to be desired.  The original construction looks pretty rough and the fix up attempts don’t get past the basic stage.

I’m not real sure how salvageable the structure is.  The condition of the house may have been what derailed the reconstruction. Not much is left save for a few doors and some old cabinetry. The fireplace is a real wood-burning one complete with an old school chimney.

Out back in a gated area is a storage shed.  Whats interesting is how this area is fenced in with the house on the outside. There is a clothes line and in the shed is either a hot water heater or well storage tank.

Not much else is on the property so I packed it in and headed on down the road to the final abandoned property.  If you missed part 1 you can find it here:
Abandoned Farmhouses (pt. 1)

The forever advancing suburban sprawl has snaked its way through the upper valley, turning farmland into shiny new homes.  Most of the time when a field gets bought, it’s quickly subdivided with ease. Occasionally a relic to the areas agricultural past gets left behind.  Many of the older established farms had very big houses that were well maintained and will continue to live on well past their previous life.  Often the less successful ones wind up forgotten and left to the elements.  There are 3 good examples of this not far from where I live.  I went and and captured them because at some point their land will be bought and they will most likely get razed.

Topless in the Valley

The closest one to me is in the worst shape.  It is not far from the intersection at Borderland and Westside drive, a short drive down a dirt road gets you there.

View Topless in the Valley in a larger map

The first building on the property is the farmhouse.  It has no roof and has been exposed to nature for some time.

Given it’s close proximity to the new neighborhoods, It has it share of graffiti from local kids. The graffiti isn’t that remarkable most likely because its easy to be seen with all the windows and roof opened up.  A couple of the interior rooms have some more detailed pieces but again its just a grade above regular tagging.

The structure also houses a large assortment of shipping pallets. Most were wood, but there were a few plastic ones.  The other odd thing is there is no sign of any part of the roof in the structure or on the grounds nearby. It may have been a simple flat roof that has long been scavenged for something else.  Nearby is a small pump house, storage shed and large metal awning.

The storage shed had been opened but nothing interesting remained.  The pump house has been left alone with no obvious attempts at forced entry.

The size of the property and collection of buildings is pretty interesting. It would appear that it did OK at some point in the past, maybe some sort of onion or cotton processing. However in its current state it won’t be returning to its farming roots anytime soon.  Next I stopped at a more traditional structure not far away. Stay tuned.

Several months back (July) I went to a weird site at 3670 Doniphan.

View Abandoned Terminal in a larger map

There are a few scattered buildings and a single sign that displays “Terminal” at its top.

Terminal, that way

The few buildings at the back are the only remnants of industrial activity and they don’t match the age of the other foundation bits and pieces scattered around.  There are these weird blocks that seem to be marking some sort of station locations set next to train tracks that snake through the property.

Six

The last time I was here the main “office” building had been locked up with entry accessible only through a hole in the wall. A side storage area was broken in to but not very interesting.

Open for business

This time around the front door had been pried open and the second story graffiti was new, overlapping the older tagging.   Once inside I noticed something kind of weird, the walls had sections broken out in seemingly random spots.  I also noticed some exposed ceiling tiles and cut sections of pipe insulation on the floor and then it hit me… copper scavengers.

Plastic fantastic!

A couple of fake plants and a desk was all that had been left behind. The drawers had been rifled through, though I wager there wasn’t anything to begin with. After walking back out I headed over to the electric station were it was obvious that nothing is going to be going on here for a while.

All Off

At about this time a white Jeep Liberty with a flatbed trailer drove up behind the building.  I continued to take pictures, waiting for some sort of acknowledgement for the driver.  Eventually I got a nervous “¿Qué Pasa?” from the driver who was holding some very large bolt cutters.  I approached him with a “Hey what’s up?” trying to explain that I was taking pictures because well you know… abandoned stuff is cool.  Confused, he clearly had no idea what I was taking about and asked if I understood Spanish. I went with “No” to make things nice and simple and continued take pictures but not of him fearing I would spook him further. There wasn’t much was left around to look at except for this nice canister:

RUST!

I headed out leaving the scavenger behind, I guess there was still some copper to be had that he wanted. Recycling is all the rage right now, so I guess he can be considered to be doing his part for the environment??? The full Flicker set can be viewed here: Abandoned Terminal Pt. 2, for comparison here’s part 1: Abandoned Terminal. My very first view of the site from next door with my Holga can be viewed here: 2008 Graffiti

This weekend downtown El Paso held the 4th annual Chalk the Block event.  The organizers bring together artists, artist teams and other performers for a free event that turns the sidewalks around the plaza and museum into temporary art installations.  With the recent removal of the fences around San Jacinto Plaza the downtown park makes for a great place for artists to create chalk and pastel works on the concrete.

We arrived early Saturday morning so many of the artists were still working on their pieces. There was still a bunch of other things to see as we wandered around. Poetic Kinetics was on hand displaying one of their Holding Flame sculptures:

Jack was mesmerized by it but Shaun was a little afraid.  The flame visuals created by the burner at the top really can hypnotize you.  The heat kicked by the flames keeps you mindful of the danger overhead but the distance keeps you safe. Fiat of El Paso was also using this a showcase event for their just launched 500, with artists creating works around and on the spry little hatch.

Fiat 500 Art Car

There was a large selection of food trucks on hand hawking all sorts of nacho-churro-relleno-on-a-stick concoctions. We opted for a stop at Kipps Cheesesteaks for their awesome hot sandwiches.

I guess no outdoor event is complete without some sort of protests.  The Occupy Wallstreet protests that are currently sweeping the globe have even spawned a local group who were standing out in front of the Cortez Building.  They had wanted the center of the Plaza but were supplanted by the arts this weekend. Go Arts!

Occupy Mesa Street?

Main street had been turned into an informal gallery space with several booths set up and artists displaying their wares. Local El Paso artists David “Grave” Herrera  and Mitsu Overstreet of “Border Youth” were on hand laying down some paint on a Sun Metro bus:

The kids were about done at this point and we had seen everything that was worth checking out.  This years event was well organized and looks to be something that will continue and only get better.  My full Flickr set can be viewed here: Chalk the Block