Thursday, July 10, 2014

Abandonment Issues: Wellington Destructor

IMG_0405

This is a true story, sad as it is. Such is life.

Our protagonist is a homeless man, a hoarder, that has amassed a mind boggling collection of garbage in the form of all the unwanted stuff and things you can imagine, and littered the old abandoned Wellington Destructor with it. The same building that used to house and burn Toronto's garbage is once again filled with trash.

The Wellington Destructor was constructed in 1925 in Toronto's Liberty Village and immediately began burning the cities residentially collected garbage. It was one of several local incinerators responsible for decades of immense and repulsive levels of air pollution.

Now closed for several decades, the once empty Destructor is home to our protagonist and his ironic garbage collection. Even in the chaos though, everything is seemingly in it's rightful place.

The odour is more pungent and disgusting than anything I have ever encountered at any abandoned building. And trust me that is saying something. You wouldn't believe it, unlike anything I'd ever experienced. Pigeon shit covers everything in certain areas and the smell of decomposition is truly overpowering, causing a burning sensation in my nose and eyes.

The stench stayed with us all day, never letting up.

Sadly, numerous stray cats and kittens are living amidst the nastiness.

Needless to say, we didn't stay inside for long and I didn't stop to take many photographs. I was so taken aback by the odour that I just couldn't shoot. I froze up and wanted to just see it all and get the fuck out.

Organized chaos is the best way to describe it. But the photos tell the story much better than I can.

IMG_0404

IMG_0452

IMG_0410

IMG_0408

IMG_0424

IMG_0422

IMG_0423

One Man's Trash

IMG_0439

IMG_0432

IMG_0429

Fresh air never tasted so good.

IMG_0464

This is definitely one of the saddest stories I've ever told. My heart goes out to our protagonist, as well as the kitties, and I'm sure yours does as well.

But I can't just leave you on a sad note again, so come on a road trip to Montreal, Quebec, with us and explore another abandoned incinerator, Incinérateur Dickson.

click here to check out all of jerm & ninja IX's ABANDONMENT ISSUES

1 comment:

Mel Lights said...

I have a feeling my cat was one of these......I was only told she was from a huge colony in an incinerator and kept as a pet by a squatter. The police removed said squatter and a rescue group captured the cat.
But perhaps this is just a man with a similar story.