abandoned richmond

Great question!

Here’s what we do:

Actually, before I begin this, I want to note that Abandoned Richmond does not endorse trespassing or illegal activities of any kind, and that urban exploration is inherently kind of a dangerous and stupid thing to do.

We love it anyway.

Okay, with THAT out of the way…

We find places through word of mouth, driving around, and on Google Maps. Sometimes friends, usually our friends who are into photography and urbex already, will tell us about cool spots to check out. We also drive around the area frequently, checking out industrial areas and places that we know to have high rates of vacancy and abandonment.

Our Google Maps technique is a little more specialized… We Google an area, zoom in on the satellite view, and just kinda… look around. We look for places with large empty parking lots, little or no equipment around, overgrown foliage, and collapsing roofs or structural elements. We note where they are, and do a drive-by or two to check on them.

You should always do a drive-by or two before exploring a location. “Case” it, if you will. Check to see how high foot-traffic is in the area, if there’s noticeable populations of indigents, whether your target location is currently under construction or not, etc. You also want to take note of the structural condition of the location - if it seems too ramshackle and like it’s about to fall down with the next big wind, you might want to skip it since it’s more dangerous to explore.

What makes a good place, in our opinion, is history and condition. We like to explore places that are unique and interesting of their own accord - an abandoned movie theater is more interesting to us than an abandoned warehouse. Of course, the beauty of urbexing is that every location is different and even places that might seem like they’d be boring can have some beautiful and unexpected thing inside. We’ve found gorgeous works of graffiti art, strange and melancholy scenes of homelessness, etc., etc. So, in general, look for buildings and places that have some sort of cool history, but don’t be picky about exploring anything and everything.

Another thing to do when you’re casing a place is to try and find a point of entry. You want to have a plan for how to get in quickly, quietly, and safely before actually making the attempt.

Once you’ve decided on a location and have an idea of how to get in, you should get together a small kit of things to take with you. Some things that we always take on an exploration with us are: camera (with a decent flash), flashlight, a knife, a multitool, a small first aid kit, and a cell phone. You also might want a tripod to take longer-exposure photos. Make sure to wear durable clothes that you won’t mind getting torn or dirty - long sleeves and long pants are better, abandoned places are gross! Same with shoes. We both have some hiking shoes with that waterproof stuff, Gortex or whatever it’s called, in them that we always wear urbexing. Plan to do a lot of walking and climbing through nasty dirty places.

We tend to urbex more in the late fall, winter, and early springtime. This is just a personal preference, and also we’ve found that we tend to encounter fewer homeless persons when we explore during those times of year. The places we explore tend to be somewhat open to the elements and unsheltered, so during colder times of the year they’re used less as a place to live by the homeless.

When you’re urbexing, always be aware of safety first. If a structure looks unstable or unsafe, DO NOT enter it. If you get a bad feeling about a place, DO NOT enter it. Be especially careful on upper levels of places, as floors can rot out and you can fall through without warning.

At all times be aware of your surroundings. Be aware that you may be poking around in someone’s living space! If you do encounter someone living in the space you’re exploring, be polite and leave as quickly as you safely can.

Also, never vandalize, break, or remove anything from the locations you’re exploring. That’s sort of one of the unspoken rules of the urbexing community: “Take only photographs, leave only footprints.” And it’s a good idea to minimize the amount of illegal things you’re doing all at once, haha.

If you do encounter law enforcement officers, be polite and calm and follow their orders. As always, know your rights and what they can and cannot ask you to do. The best thing to say you’re doing, in our opinion, is that you’re working on an art project. Having a camera on you helps with that. :)

Anyway, this got a lot longer than planned, but hopefully it helps! The bottom line is to have fun and be safe and smart about your exploration. All of this information is by no means a set of rules or anything, this is just what we’ve learned through our own personal experience. Use your best judgment about all of it, of course.

And send us your pictures, once you get out there! :)