I Hate Vandals

anwmn1

I went to shoot some sunset pictures of one of my favorite local spots only to find it had been destroyed by vandals.

The building was a ruin of an old church on an Indian Reservation and had bullet holes and graffiti when I first found it but last night really bummed me out.

A few months ago-







Last Night

SitterS

What a shame. Can't they just leave sh$& alone. Very nice pictures by the way.

Shane

DJ-S1

That 3rd shot is SWEET! Too bad it fell, but how do you know it was vandals? Seemed to be pretty precarious as it was. Could have been knocked down, but it could have just fallen too?

Either way, it's great that you documented it so wonderfully before it disappeared.

loi

really great shots...
that is one of the beauties of photography, in that one can still find beauty in the negative...and you captured it; very cool...

saurora

That's a shame, though I agree with the crack already there, it looked pretty inevitable that it would topple eventually. The tagging...well, that's another story. Glad you captured those beautiful images before it's end. Your lastest image, in spite of the damage, is awesome as well!

anwmn1

DJ-S1 wrote:

That 3rd shot is SWEET! Too bad it fell, but how do you know it was vandals? Seemed to be pretty precarious as it was. Could have been knocked down, but it could have just fallen too?

Either way, it's great that you documented it so wonderfully before it disappeared.

Thanks for the comments.

I have been here several times in the past two years and that structure is actually secure.
I am pretty sure it was vandalized. There were a large number of bullet holes in the walls that were not there just a month ago as wells as some additional large holes.

There is another wall that had a window area that now the entire top section has been brought down as well.

anwmn1

loi wrote:

really great shots...
that is one of the beauties of photography, in that one can still find beauty in the negative...and you captured it; very cool...

Thank you Loi

anwmn1

saurora wrote:

That's a shame, though I agree with the crack already there, it looked pretty inevitable that it would topple eventually. The tagging...well, that's another story. Glad you captured those beautiful images before it's end. Your lastest image, in spite of the damage, is awesome as well!

Thank you Saurora.

Just bummed because I had planned to get some additional shoots in there with the upcoming monsoon season here in the desert.

Thanks again

Nikolai

Aaron,
While I do condole your feeling and I do hate vandals, this one looks like a deed of time and wind...
I do remember this structure from your old posts and I couldn't help but wonder what keeps it stable. I guess it was only a matter of time, and the time has actually come. :cry
At least you still have the pictures of its prior state...

schmoo

anwmn,

You have some gorgeous photos of that place. I agree that tagging and vandalism are a sad thing, but I think it is a hard line to draw (no pun intended). Perhaps leaving your mark is a part of human nature, and the destruction by vandals is simply speeding up the natural entropy of things. That tower was obviously on it's way out, as are many old constructions.

At the same time I always wonder why those folks who take the initiative are so special as to get the "right" to take matters into their own hands. After all is said and done I get angry just like you - because I wanted to take more photos and didn't get the chance!

IMO, the bottom line is that you got some great shots of the place before it fell and had a chance to experience it before it was gone for good.

z_28

Looks as biggest vandals was Time and Arizona Weather :cry

Anyway great story and pictures, thanks Aaron !