"Photographers that find her/histories in their lenses insure that others will see what they saw."

- Sharon Farmer, former Director of the White House Photography office

---

Gary native and resident Tyrell Anderson started the Decay Devils as a photography group that conducted urban explorations to other cities to take pictures.  It was during a trip to New Orleans and Savanna that he began to change the scope of the group from “taking pictures, to taking action,” he recalled in the Port of Harlem ten article series:  “Cast Down Your Bucket Where You Are:  Renovating IN Gary, IN.”  It was his witnessing the preservation of buildings that aroused his desire to return home to preserve her pass.

---

So, how did I become a Decay Devil? The simple answer is Facebook.

After taking some time to consider the reasons I was interested in joining the Decay Devils, I realized it all started when I was a kid. So, the full story goes back to my childhood in New York City where my lifelong love of neglected buildings, photography and street art began.

Neglected Buildings

I grew up in New York City (NYC) during the 1970s. Like most major industrial cities in America at that time, NYC was falling apart. But that is not what I remember about my early teenage years. My fondest childhood memories are taking the M train from the Fresh Pond Road station in Queens and traveling all over New York City.

My grandfather, who lived his whole life in the city, would take me to Coney Island in Brooklyn and Rockaway Beach in Queens. But we spent the most time in Manhattan. We would spend the whole day walking from Central Park down Broadway to Battery Park. As we walked past the drug dealers and porn shops in Times Square, my grandfather would tell me how beautiful these old, crumbling buildings were back in his younger days.

He told me how the sidewalks were crowded with people all dressed up going to see a play and how all the theater marquees lit up the streets and made you feel like something special was happening inside each of those buildings. As he continued to enthusiastically describe his memories of Times Square for me, I started to see the craftsmanship and beauty of these old stone buildings and I began to see them as he described them not as I saw them. This continued as we walked past the abandoned factories downtown on Broadway.

Even in their neglected condition, I was fascinated with the craftsmanship of the ornate cornices and the meticulous details around the high arched windows. I didn’t know the architectural terms as a kid, but I would stop at each building and look at the distinctive artwork on each building. While I was taking photographs, my grandfather would tell me the history of the buildings, the companies that used to occupy them, the products that were manufactured in them and sometimes the buildings where he had worked.

Eventually, I began to realize that the new steel and glass buildings did not appeal to me as much as the classic old stone buildings did. Sure, they were newer and taller but something was missing. Over the years, I found myself photographing the older buildings while everyone else was taking pictures of the new buildings. The older buildings seemed to have so many beautiful features that made them seem more personal and unique. Since most were built by immigrants, there was an old-world quality and character to them. I felt like these buildings had a soul. Now as an old man, I still agree with my younger self. The new buildings rarely have any soul.

Photography and Street Art

The one thing I took with me on all these walks in the city was a camera. I started with a Sears Instamatic 110 film camera and upgraded to a better camera a few times over the years. I would take pictures while my grandfather told me the history of the impressive buildings we passed. Besides the buildings, I liked to take pictures of graffiti. New York City in the 1970s had graffiti everywhere. I considered it street art. My grandfather did not. He would always ask me, “Why are you taking pictures of that?” Then he would roll his eyes and wave off any answer I gave him. The subway cars were also covered with graffiti, and I would start taking pictures of something I liked and forget about getting on the train. Then I would hear my grandfather yelling at me to get on the train while holding the closing doors open for me. Over the years my photography improved, and my grandfather began to enjoy the street art I photographed.

Trains

My Grandfather and two of his sons, including my father, all worked for the New York Transit Authority which runs the city’s subway system. Like most kids, I loved trains, but I had the advantage of my family teaching me about how the subway worked. My grandfather and I would ride in the front car of the train, and he would explain to me how the signal system worked and what the signage meant. By the time I was 15 I knew more about the subway system than most New Yorkers.

When I was a teenager, my father got a job with Amtrak, and we moved to Chicago. I loved taking the train from Chicago to New York City. I did not realize at the time that Amtrak’s Broadway Limited passed through the Rust Belt (Gary, Toledo, Cleveland, Youngstown, and Pittsburgh). Since the train tracks always ran through the industrial corridors of these cities, I would find an open window and take pictures. I was awestruck by the size and magnificence of these grand old factories even though most were either abandoned or nearing the end of their usefulness. Once again, I found myself taking photographs of buildings that no one else seemed to care about.

Fast forward to the summer of 2016, I still carry a camera with me most days. But now I take photographs digitally. I met Wayne Thomas Abell while taking photographs at the Hammond Art Walk in Hammond, Indiana. I loved him and his art instantly. He has a wonderfully rough and uniquely wild way about him, but he was very passionate about the things that matter to him. Our paths have crossed several times since then and he is always willing to hang out and talk about music, politics, and art.

In the Summer of 2017, Abell posted on Facebook that he was going to paint a mural at the abandoned Union Station in Gary for the Decay Devils. Curiously, I checked out the Decay Devils’ Facebook page and website.

I quickly learned that they are a group of artists, writers, and photographers who enjoy Urban Exploring (Urbex). Their love of exploring abandoned buildings led them to form a nonprofit charity, the Decay Devils, to try and save these historic buildings.

Their current project was cleaning up the grounds at the old train station to turn it into a park for the people of Gary to enjoy. I immediately filled out the online application to join the group. A few hours later, Lori Gonzalez with the Decay Devils called me to introduce herself and see if I could help at Union Station. The next day I was helping lay bricks and clean up the grounds around Union Station. I had no idea what I was getting into, but I knew right away I wanted to be a part of it.

Without consciously knowing at the time, my decision to join the Decay Devils came from life events that occurred while I was a teenager. As an adult, I found myself choosing to drive past the forgotten industrial areas of Chicago and Northwest Indiana so I could see the decaying factories, some abandoned, some still in use.

I always said it was because I love the historical aspect of these areas. Maybe I did it to relive childhood memories or to take photographs to memorialize them before they are gone forever. I understand that cities like Gary, Detroit, Cleveland, Youngstown, and Pittsburgh helped build America into a world power in the first half of the 1900s. By the 1980's we abandoned these so-called Rust Belt cities.

Since then, I've been fascinated by what I have called "beautiful destruction" in these places. I understand there was a huge human toll with the closing of these places. I am not discounting that at all. While I have long been fascinated by decaying sections of our cities, it is nice to now be part of the solution. That is how I view the Decay Devils and their mission to their hometown and beyond. I like becoming part of saving some of those buildings.

---

From I Still Play in Abandoned Buildings, a collection of autobiographical stories ...($20)

---

Gary
Ice Cream Social: Scoops for the Union Station Fundraiser Decay Devils
Marquette Pavilion
1 North Grand Blvd., Aug 22, 11a-1p