Related resources on the Web, arranged by place
Russia
Leningradskaja Oblast'
- Journalist Tatyana Hmelnik’s site, with many interesting articles about the St. Petersburg area.Ru
- Between 1987 and 1992 two researchers worked to document the remains of all the estates in the Petersburg area. Although the project ran out of funding when the USSR collapsed (see Hmelnik’s story), some results they were able to publish can be found here.Ru
- An excellent and very comprehensive site about the areas around St. Petersburg. History, geography, maps, essays, the works.Ru
- Northern Fortress: a fascinating site dedicated to the fortresses of northwest Russia. Photographs, commentaries, texts, maps...EnRu
- The former Leningrad Speleostological Party’s new Regionautics site — a valuable catalog of just about every historical pile of bricks left in Lenoblast'; links to related articles.Ru
- Architectural Landmarks of Leningradskaja Oblast' is a nicely designed site with some info and photos of a wide range of places in the area.Ru
- History and photos of several minor estates in the Lomonosovskij Region. Most of the texts and maps were lovingly stolen from Murashova/Myslina.Ru
- Some nice winter photos of Gostilitsy.EnRu
General
- A large photograph collection of historical architecture all over Russia.EnRu
- Proselki is a wonderful site, a catalog of car trips around central Russia, with an emphasis on historical and neglected architecture.Ru
- See Prokudin-Gorskij’s tremendous color photographs of the Russian Empire circa 1909–1915. For more, here’s the complete database of his work.EnRu
- A wealth of information on Petersburg area palaces, Nicholas II and life during his reign.En
- A large catalog of estates, by region.Ru
- William Craft Brumfield’s site, with photographs and essays about church architecture of the Russian north.En
- The Wandering Camera. This guy’s got pictures of virtually every inch of Petersburg and environs. If you don’t believe that, note the not one, but three sections on manhole covers alone. Especially relevant are sections on Stone Island and Utkina dacha.EnRu
- Cityscan.ru — another nice catalog of the city’s architecture in photographs, with calendars and postcards available.Ru
- What’s in store for the Kleinmichael dacha? Here’s an architectural firm’s proposal.Ru
- An architectural description and 2 pictures of Utkina dacha.Ru
- Some of Michael Kenna’s marvelous photographs of the city.En
- If you’re ever interesting in visiting the city and need a place to stay, you’ll be very happy with this place, run by an old and close friend of mine.EnDe
- The Wandering Camera goes to the Znamenka estate. Here you can see not only more of the ruined stables, but also the large estate house, which is now a hotel of sorts. Also see the sections on His Imperial Dacha and Sergievka.EnRu
- A couple articles | 1 | 2 | on architecture along the Peterhof Road. Both have photographs.Ru
- A very detailed history of Marino, plus a few more photos.Ru
- A newspaper article explaining why the estate is in the shape it is. (If you’re wondering, the accompanying photo is a montage; in actuality that structure in the foreground is a good ways from Belogorka)Ru
- See what used to be the Belogorka estate’s church.Ru
- The Proselki web site makes a visit.Ru
- A good article on what cultural objects the estate contained and where they are now.Ru
- See pictures of the estate’s masoleum and church, which have been recently restored. Slow.Ru
- Semyonovskoe facts and figuresRu
- Photos from Eduard Gorjanskij’s visit.Ru
- Tsarskoe Selo at the Turn of the 20th Century — a wonderful site with a huge collection of historical documents, photographs, family memoirs.Ru
- An English translation of the 1910 Vil'chkovskij guidebook, plus a wealth of other information on Nicholas II and the last years of the Romanov dynasty.En
- An Internet portal for the city, with a bunch of information, including archives of the local paper. Annoyingly, the site only works properly with IE on Windows.EnRu
- Northern Fortress’s sections on Castle Bip and Fort Alexander I (with many pictures of the inside). This is a really great site, by the way.EnRu
- Two histories of Castle Bip. | 1 | 2 | Both have various depictions of how it once looked.Ru
- The Institute of Experimental Medicine’s page on the history of the anti-plague laboratory at Alexander I.Ru
United States
- Glass, Steel, & Stone has a little section with the text of the historical marker out front.
- Read how the courthouse was stormed by Army Special Forces in 1999.
- The Corpus Christi Landmark Commission has a comprehensive list of historic places in town, with brief histories and a photo gallery.
- The official website.
- Ghost stories and history from TexasEscapes, a great site about the state.
- Old postcards from Mineral Wells and the Baker.
- ‘Boppin at the Baker’—the record shop on the hotel’s ground floor—sells 3 videos. They aren’t exactly cheap, about $20 each I think. Vol 1 is fairly interesting; Vol 2 appears to be the raw footage for Vol 1, unedited and largely without sound. You may consider its purchase either a donation to the local economy, or just a good old-fashioned fleecing. Vol 3 is “Shadows on the Wall,” a film shot there in 1985. I’ll let somebody else buy that one and tell me how bad it is. Write or call (940-327-8777) Jim Buie to purchase.
- Mercantile haiku from Noah Vale.
Urban Exploration
general
photography
- Abandoned Places is a great site; many strong photographs from all over Europe.
- The Fabulous Ruins of Detroit - If you like urban ruins, spend at least an hour or two looking through this site. Detroit is unquestionably the capitol of urban decay, and this is an amazing site.
- Some really gorgeous photos of drains and other structures: Siologen.net | Sleepy City. As far as subterranean photography goes, this is really the best.
- Modern Ruins — Another large site on the subject, with excellent photography.
- Ruins of Japan from Keizou Maekita. Subtle imagery and ephemeral texts.
- Lost & Least — a photographic and literary approach to abandoned spaces in Italy. Definitely see the Villa Grosso, a superb location.
- Here is some more nice work from Italy.
- A new collection of great black & white work of NY area urban decay.
- Friched.net — a French site with some great locations and stunning photography. Be sure and see the «Varia» Cinema. The same author, along with a friend, has a new site, which I also recommend.
