Covington Street Scenes

A Cincinnati colony just south of the River in the Commonwealth.

In Memory of a Queen City Icon: Avtar Gill aka "Sign Guy"

On January 21, 2013 news broke that a longtime Cincinnati icon had passed away over the weekend. The announcement came five years to the day of when I first met Avtar Gill, sometimes better known as the "Sign Guy" or "Hat Man." Avtar was a downtown fixture who could frequently be found at events donning a handmade sign that read like a news headline. He posed for the first portrait I ever made on my first college journalism assignment. Over the years, I'd run into him in the city and occasionally we'd share in conversation.

Avtar and his sign's will be missed, he was a unique part of Cincinnati. The city won't be the same without him, but it's better because of him.

I recently shared my experiences with Avtar on the website known as "Hat Man Movement," which seeks to create a tribute to Avtar. You can read my story and others here. 

[Suburbia Lost] You Can Tell Area Businesses Used To Be Wendy's

- The greatest dish available on Wendy's menu.

Fast food architecture has become iconic along American interstate routes and in neighborhoods all across the country. Branding is important to corporations - it creates a recognizable image of your product. So while the design of fast food buildings has changed over time, the rapid expansion of these eateries into the suburban landscape has created easily recognizable buildings.

The Interurban Routes We Wander

On a recent urban exploration trip to Northeast, Ohio we came across some abandoned rail cars with a peculiar history. Where did they come from? Where were they used? Crumbling on a rail line near I-71in Seville, Ohio these cars offer a glimpse into the history of we used to get around.

[Suburbia Lost] Shell Station - Symmes Township

An abandoned Shell gasoline station off of Montgomery Rd. in Symmes Township, near Loveland and Mason.

Ohio Northeast Roadtrip

- Cody Jay Mode and Paule B on the frozen surface of Lake Chippewa.

Three friends who met working at an amusement park in search of an abandoned one.

Hamilton, Alive!

Hamilton, Ohio vs. Jefferton. 

Announcing: Suburbia Lost

A new photography project at Queen City Discovery documenting what's left behind in the sphere of suburbia. Details here.

Six Degrees of Abandoned Amusement Parks

Over the years, some of the most incredible abandoned places I've photographed have been defunct amusement parks. The six locations featured on this site all have a historical link to each other ...sort of.

It's like "six degrees of separation," except with abandoned amusement parks...

"Echoes of Ourselves:" An Abandoned Hillside Home

Its been nearly four years since I last looked at these photographs, having made them in 2009 and forgotten about them until this morning. On the hillside of Mt. Auburn, amongst the streets of homes and their impressive cityscape vistas, lies a hollowed out and windowless structure. Constructed 134 years before I even stepped foot in the building, it's incredible to think about the lives and people who passed through here in nearly one and half centuries.