Name: Physical Culture Hotel Location: Dansville, New York Status: Abandoned Accessibility: Easy Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Our Home on the Hillside Our car pulls off the highway making its way through a quaint little town in a valley. As we make our way through town we see lawn chairs littering the side of the roads and children’s laughter filling the air, a parade route seems to be established and the festivities begin, this isn’t why we’re here but it’s an unexpected surprise and welcome distraction. We drive past the local festivities and up a hill promptly leaving the valley before Logan tells us to pull off to the gravel shoulder and park the car, we’re close. After a short walk along the road we quickly turn off into the nearby woods, brushing branches away and carefully stepping over small creeks and deep pits of mud. The first building along the property makes an appearance, a small collapsed garage with obvious signs of fire damage. We press on past the garage and towards a power plant, the stack reaching up above the surrounding trees, nature gripping the building tightly through every nook and cranny. Ihatesnow, Taco, Logan and I all pull out our cameras and start documenting, at first we’re above the power plant shooting down through the missing roof but it isn’t long before we walk down to the base of the building and make our way inside. The floors are littered with branches, plant matter, dirt, pools of stagnant water and debris of the roof. We exit the powerhouse and follow Logan down a hill and across a creek toward a tall brick building looming over the power plant, the Physical Culture Hotel. The Hotel We hike around the perimeter making our way to the front of the huge 120 year old brick building; the grass in the front has been recently manicured mimicking the old paved roads for a once grand hotel. The side of the hotel has been severely damaged by botched demolition or arson but the front retains some of its majesty, wrought iron balconies along the windows and small details along the brickwork that make the building look so imposing. It's obvious nature is slowly reclaiming the building with a hint of trees and plant life sprawling across the rooftop, but that's to be expected being abandoned for nearly 40 years. Logan points out some finer details of the security in the area, a nearby neighbouring house not far from the property, he then begins checking for entrances and it isn’t long before we all find our selves inside the cool basement of the former Jackson Sanitarium. Everyone pulls out their flashlights and begins to peer around the fire damaged interiors of the basement, a few rooms stand out above the rest, spa related items and records littering the rooms, lounge chairs, patio furniture, and cabinets are scattered throughout. After poking around a bit we make our way up a dilapidated staircase leading to the first storey. Entering the main reception area we are greeted with an impressive set of archways, plaster columns, checkered tiled floors and an impressive grand staircase reaching up throughout the hotel. Logan points out where the old safe was kept, the large iron safe stands with the door blasted off its hinges, apparently Macfadden who converted the original Jackson Sanitarium into a famous spa hotel is rumored to have left hidden treasure on the property (worth some thirty-thousand dollars). Beyond the destroyed safe we begin to notice damages from thieves and scrappers entering the building, ladders propped against walls, various carefully placed holes and all remnants of copper missing. Our group walks through the former dining hall of the hotel, a room lined with plaster columns, boarded windows and poorly done scribbles of graffiti. Past the dining hall is the kitchen, and to my surprise the kitchen is still fully equipped with stainless steal appliances and an industrial dish washer. Ascending a staircase located in the back of the kitchen we reach the second floor, with the windows now wide open we are free to navigate with out the assistance of our flashlights. Most of the rooms are empty and uninteresting and it isn’t long before we head to the third floor, which to no ones surprise looks just like the 2nd storey, albeit in better condition. Finally we reach the rooftop; the roof is lined with brick and weeds, along with a few trees and shrubs. The view of the valley proves to be incredible, the sounds of the local festivities echo throughout the valley and towards the hotel, we are surrounded by the distant noises of cheering and laughter from below. After peering into some severely fire damaged side rooms along the rooftop we make our way out of the hotel and towards the derelict houses that also litter the property. Making a sudden exit Some new security measures make entering the first home a little trickier than we expected but fitting through a tight squeeze in a wall proves to be not that difficult. The house is filled with furniture, beds, cupboards, drawers, desks, and not to mention piles and piles of books. As we begin to plan our exit we hear nearby voices chit chatting back and forth, it would seem the residents of the nearby neighbouring active house are out and about and we sit tight for a few minutes before heading out of the property through a somewhat different path through the woods. Making our retreat through the woods, we pass old fieldstone foundations and an unknown animal den before reaching our car still parked off to the gravel shoulder. It’s about time we make our exit and head back toward Rochester. May 20th, 2007 BACK