Nature's Playground

That building would be better if it was abandoned. I’ve thought this to myself many times when catching sight of a particularly ugly structure. Another reason I love urban exploring so much is because I see how deterioration can make an ugly building beautiful again as it submits to nature’s elements. For example, the YMCA building: this sickeningly geometrical brick abomination sits on the block at the intersection of Walnut Street and Arch Street in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. It is an industrial scar on the landscape; the mark of an unimaginative architect. He was probably more prone to the mathematical side of his profession, and never excelled in any sort of creative or artistic endeavor.
They obviously never hired a landscaper; the area outside its doors is a green lawn dotted with a few puny looking trees and one picnic table situated in the least likely place a person would want to sit. There used to be two huge oak trees that loomed over the children’s play area, but they were torn down a few years ago, taking away any attraction it used to have. The playground is fenced in with chicken wire and is coated with woodchips, giving it the appearance of an animal pen. At night, the bare, unadorned windows of this building glows a sickly turquoise from the green tile and dim yellow lighting in its hallways. The basement smells like mold and dirt, the first floor smells like chlorine from the pool, the second floor smells like sweat and rubber from the basketball courts and fitness rooms, and the third floor smells like diapers and children’s snot. I used to go to daycare there; I hated it. It was a dirty building, and the simplicity of its structure made me uncomfortable; I felt like I was in a hospital, but with dirty carpets instead of clean marble floors. It scared me. It wasn’t aesthetically pleasing in any sense, and I used to spend my time waiting in the hallways picking the black circles of gum from the carpet (toddlers are always waiting in hallways in lines, and nobody ever knows why). If I got the edge of my fingernail under it just the right way, I could peel and stretch it enough to look underneath and see what color it was. Pink was strawberry, red was cinnamon, and green was usually some sort of mint. During naptime we slept on the same floor in our grimy, thin sleeping bags. I got in trouble during naptime because I was always found scooched up next to some other kid “keeping them awake” (none of us ever actually slept; toddlers are not tired at 11:00 AM). It was usually just because I didn’t want to be along, but apparently naptime was a solitary activity; no whispering or cuddling allowed. I remember crying a lot when my mother dropped me off; usually because I didn’t want to be left in such an ugly place with a bunch of kids with crusty yellow noses and teachers that wore denim jumpers and smelled like diaper rash ointment.
I hated this building as a child and I still hate it for many of the same reasons. It’s a horribly designed structure, with staircases leading to random hallways that end up at another staircase and rooms that seemingly have no purpose. The pool always has shit on the bottom; not just bandaids and hair ties, but literally, shit. The locker rooms are the perfect place to get athlete’s foot, as I and many other people have. The “youth room” consists of several ancient arcade games that steal your money, a few pathetically flickering computers and a scratched up pool table. Sometimes I see a few bored looking kids wandering about in the room, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone really excited to be there; it’s where mothers drop off their adolescent offspring while they go to their spinning classes.
Now if the YMCA were abandoned, it would be a much more interesting place. An empty pool is loads of fun to run around in, and exploring random hallways that seem to lead nowhere is always intriguing. The only reason a building like this is more fun when it’s abandoned is because the reason you’re there is not for exercise or community development, but to explore. Random hallways are frustrating when you’re actually there for a reason. Imagine trying to get to an appointment on time, and every hallway you take trying to get to that room 304B ends up taking you back to room 204A. When you’re exploring, hallways like this one are quirky and interesting, usually because you actually have the time to try and figure them out. Institutional community buildings are hotspots for explorers because of the amount of traffic that went through them; there are tons of clues left behind just waiting to be discovered and admired.
Looking at such an unattractive building like the YMCA makes me uneasy to see so many people enjoying walking inside, and I can’t wait for the day when I’ll be able to walk inside without a knot forming in the pit of my stomach. Buildings like these are twice as beautiful after surviving the elements; it’s as if nature decided to make it her playground. If I ever step across its concrete threshold, it will be when its marble hallways are full of leaves, mice have chewed through the carpets, birds are nesting in the boiler room, and vines are creeping in through its broken windows, because in the end, some buildings are just better off abandoned.