New York is filled with forsaken buildings, each ravaged by the exploits of modernization, each having fascinating histories. This photographic essay explores over 40 of the most evocative abandoned sites in the Empire State and puts their individual stories in the larger context of New Yorks historical legacy. Photographer and author John Lazzaro traveled the state, capturing what’s left of such places before they are inevitably swept away by time. Divided by region, these sites, ranging from the Catskills’ once-vibrant vacation destinations to Long Islands melancholy psychiatric centers, reveal deeper social, cultural, and political changes that led to their decay. These abandoned hospitals, schools, churches, railways, and estates offer us a view into a past rapidly dissolving before it disappears completely. With a foreword by architectural historian and author Thomas Mellins, this is a valuable meditation on the nature of decay and progress, remembrance and forgetfulness, past and present.By John Lazzaro and Foreword by Thomas MellinsJohn Lazzaro is a documentary filmmaker and documentary photographer based on Long Island, New York. His main focus is capturing abandoned buildings and vanishing architecture throughout New England. Lazzaro is a member of the Firefly Gallery in Northport, New York, and fotofoto gallery in Huntington, New York.
Thomas Mellins is the coauthor ofNew York 1880,New York 1930, andNew York 1960 and the curator ofnumerous exhibitions, including The New York Public Library: Celebrating 100 Years. In 1999 he was designated a Centennial Historian of New York City.174 color and b/w imagesRuins Across the Empire State174 color and b/w images