Some time ago, while home visiting from KS, forum member Anne introduced me to a newly opened building in downtown Springfield, not far from some others we had previously explored. I had known about the place for a while, but couldn’t find a way in. Luckily, some civic-minded citizen had been kind enough to break the door down. We probed inside, and found it to be in a deplorable state. The walls and ceilings were crumbling all around us, and the building looked like it was ready to collapse. While 3-4 stories, there were no stairs, only a defunct elevator and a rickety wooden ladder.

Upon entering the elevator shaft I noticed the lift itself was stuck between the first floor and the basement, with a crude “stairway” made of discarded wooden pallets leading down. What we found at the bottom was a surprise, though it probably shouldn’t have been. Someone had basically turned the entire basement level into their own personal apartment

There was a bed, made from a foam mattress and a row of pallets, a bookshelf made from stacked tires and a board, two chairs, and several books and magazines. Now, I’ve come across places like this before, but the effort put into this one was especially impressive. There were even spotlights set up throughout the level, with extension cords running up the elevator shaft. They didn’t seem to work, but I assume they had at one time. Everything looked fresh at the time, and we feared the place might still be occupied, so we didn’t stick around long. Unfortunately we had both neglected to bring our cameras. I checked one of the upper levels on the way out, but found the floor too soft for my liking, and I didn’t trust the ladder enough to continue onward.

I finally got a chance to go back the weekend of the BBQ, after which I returned with Underdog to get a visual record of the place, and see if it was still inhabited. Fortunately, it seems to have been abandoned, but everything was much the same as we had left it. We took a few minutes to look around, and noticed a few oddities, like an October 1982 issue of Natl. Geographic, and a cassette, labeled “mix tape,” that I wanted very much to listen to. However, the building appeared to be in an even worse state than the time before, with the corkboard walls buckling and disintegrating all around us. As I stepped onto the elevator to leave it shook, and debris fell down into my hair.

We managed to get in and out without incident, and it being well after 2 am at this point, Underdog headed home. I started to leave, but realizing I had dropped my Maglite somewhere, I was forced to go back. I looked for a good half hour, returning to the building alone and combing the area outside, but to no avail.