abandoned: The All-American Ruins Podcast

All-aboard as Blake guides you to an abandoned double-decker passenger train in the middle of the California desert. While wandering the ruins of the great American railway industry, join Blake as he reflects the evolution of transportation, the unraveling of corporate greed, and his lifelong love of trains, deserts, and making music. This episode features: Omen Sade “American Train” written and p...

A last-minute decision to peek into the abandoned Irish Centre of Pittsburgh transforms into a daydream of a haunted heads-up penny and the assassination of JFK. Nestled among the City of Steel’s rolling hills, join Blake as he guides you through a forgotten cinder block sanctuary of the past, where he reflects on the death of his first love and how the grief from the loss helped him survive. This...

What do Blake’s sister, a giant, and a very bad dream have in common? Find out as Blake guides you through the abandoned Tillson Elementary School where he ponders his relationship with his sister and a recurring nightmare he had as a child. This episode features: Megan Pfeil Ryan Pfeil (Note: For the best immersive experience, we strongly suggest you wear headphones 🎧 for every episode of abando...

Once upon a time, there was an active Nazi compound situated in a Los Angeles canyon. After it was emptied of its filth in 1948, Murphy Ranch sat abandoned for years before the city transformed it into a public park, where, over time, the architectural remnants of evil slowly faded away, reclaimed by the dirt and stone of the canyon. (Note: For the best immersive experience, we strongly suggest yo...

The art of urban exploration often includes evading the authorities, but every once in a while, an adventurer gets caught. In the season 3 premiere, join Blake as he wanders the abandoned summer camp at the Delmar Inn, hidden away off a Catskill Mountain highway in New York. This episode features: Julie Novak The Caretaker (Note: For the best immersive experience, we strongly suggest you wear head...

Welcome to season 3 of the Ambie-nominated abandoned: The All-American Ruins Podcast. Join host Blake Pfeil as he guides listeners through immersive audio fantasies, recreating his experiences exploring abandoned spaces across the United States and around the world. Along the way, abandoned asks critical questions about American history, culture, community, economics, the environment, and collecti...

On Saturday, August 31, 2024, All-American Ruins lost its biggest fan, and host Blake Pfeil lost his greatest urbex buddy: Julie Novak. In this special re-release of season 2, episode 4, “Julie is a Homo[wack],” join Blake for this audio memorial of a beloved community leader, queer mentor, and dear friend. (Note: For the best immersive experience, we strongly suggest you wear headphones 🎧 for ev...

In this special bonus episode, Blake returns to the abandoned Nevele Grande Hotel where he says goodbye to one of his All-American Ruins muses, Shelley Duvall. To read the transcript of this episode, click here: https://www.blakepfeil.com/aar-podcast.html To learn more, visit: http://www.allamericanruins.com You can join the All-American Ruins Expedition Club now: https://plus.acast.com/s/abandone...

Sometimes, it’s not possible to get inside an abandoned space, but the ghosts that may still linger among the ruins of George’s Music in Orlando, FL activate Blake’s imagination just the same. Join him for this special bonus episode as he daydreams the insides of the abandoned music store, surrounded on all sides by the echoes of America’s Disney-stained future. (Note: For the best immersive exper...

Urban explorers Louis Inghilterra and Fletcher Petrucci met in the unlikeliest of places: an abandoned hospital in Denver, CO. Celebrate Pride 2024 with this bonus episode of abandoned: The All-American Ruins Podcast as host Blake Pfeil profiles Louis and Fletcher’s unique journey to finding queer companionship and love inside the ruins of America. This episode was featured in People Magazine. To...

Transmedia storyteller Alex Leff is the host of Human Nature Odyssey, a podcast that takes a unique look at humanity, civilization, and the fate of the world. In this bonus episode (which originally aired as a bonus episode for Human Nature Odyssey Patreon subscribers), join Alex as he interviews Blake where they discuss, what else? Abandoned spaces.  Special thanks to Alex for letting us use this...

Blake explores a passage about ruins from The Book of Exeter, the oldest known and largest collection of Old English literature. Join him as he revisits a poetic, 10th century urbex perspective while reflecting on his gratitude for the reception of season 2-- and listen in for some exciting news about what’s next for abandoned: The All-American Ruins Podcast. Catch All-American Ruins in the wild:...

In the season 2 finale of abandoned: The All-American Ruins Podcast, join Blake as he reflects on his journey to sobriety while wandering the ruins of the Neuweiler Brewery, where he narrowly escapes a run-in with security. This episode features: Isabel Wilder Nik Magill (Note: For the best immersive experience, we strongly suggest you wear headphones 🎧 for every episode of abandoned: The All-Ame...

Overlooking the dusty trijunction of Port Jervis, NY sits the ruins of the AFI Packaging Plant. Join Blake on his triumphant return to the abandoned space in the middle of summer 2022 as he reflects on the pandemic and loneliness, against the backdrop of a zombie apocalypse fantasy. (Note: For the best immersive experience, we strongly suggest you wear headphones 🎧 for every episode of abandoned:...

The accidental discovery of a curious abandoned space leads Blake to a chance encounter -- with a man named Steez. Join Blake as he explores the ruins of Pass Creek Market in Curtin, OR, a casualty of the 2008 housing crisis. And meet Steez, an off-the-grid hippy with an unusual appetite for deep conversation about capitalism, imagination and ghosts. This episode features: Jeremiah Wenutu (Note: F...

Welcome to Painter, Virginia, home of the abandoned Central Middle-High School. Wander its ghostly hallways with Blake as he reflects on the American education system, explores class warfare, and has a brief encounter with death... and possibly Elizabeth Warren. (Note: For the best immersive experience, we strongly suggest you wear headphones 🎧 for every episode of abandoned: The All-American Rui...

Sometimes, an abandoned space can summon a ghost - or maybe it’s just a figment of the imagination. Either way, join Blake as he accompanies you to the ruins of a seaside shanty, standing proudly on the edge of a graveyard overlooking the mighty Atlantic Ocean in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. (And don’t be surprised if you both run into a ghost named Mrs. Dalby.) This episode features: Elisab...

Follow Blake to the ruins of Rodanthe, on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, where he guides you through the abandoned Waterfall Park and reflects on his childhood dreams, being single again, and a long-awaited one-night stand. This episode features: Tiernan Pfeil (Note: For the best immersive experience, we strongly suggest you wear headphones 🎧 for every episode of abandoned: The All-American R...

On the banks of the Hudson River near Catskill, NY sits the abandoned Universal Atlas Cement Plant. Shut down between 1976-77, Blake wanders among the smokestacks and echoes of days gone by, reflecting on the end of a relationship, telling the truth, and ultimately, the act of forgiving oneself. (Note: For the best immersive experience, we strongly suggest you wear headphones 🎧 for every episode...

Cleveland’s Hough Bakery was once the largest multiple-unit bakery with locations across Ohio-- but in 1992, the company filed for bankruptcy and closed all 32 locations. Join Blake as he guides you through the ruins of the Hough Bakery on Lakeview Road, alongside one of his favorite humans on the planet. This episode features: Jacob Yarian (Note: For the best immersive experience, we strongly sug...

On our first venture to an international location, join Blake atop a hill overlooking the vibrant city of Lisbon, Portugal, as he guides you through an abandoned restaurant while daydreaming of his Ukrainian friend and brother, artist Daniel Skripnik. This episode features: Daniel Skripnik This episode features the song “Freedom” by Oleg Fedak. Music Info: Freedom - by SoulProdMusic. Music Link: h...

Julie navigates the ruins of America in the same way she faces stage IV breast cancer: with a rambunctious and determined heart. At least, on the surface. Join Blake as he explores the architectural remains of the Homowack Lodge, alongside his fierce compatriot Julie, a compassionate and sensitive queer community leader in Hudson Valley, NY. While they wander through the abandoned Catskillian reso...

While reflecting on what makes an ideal friendship with his pal Shannon, Blake pokes about the ruins of an abandoned gas station in the California desert. Join him as he time warps back to 1979, when gas lines were long, Coca Cola was 45 cents a bottle, and President Jimmy Carter warned Americans about the Crisis of Confidence. This episode features: Shannon Borden Lacey Keane Nik Magill (Note: Fo...

Featuring its cornerstone horse race track and grandstand, the Great Barrington Fairgrounds has sat abandoned since 1998. Join Blake as he wanders among the ghosts of fairs-gone-by while reflecting the hidden truth of his relationship with his lover Eric. This episode features: Jeremiah Wenutu Krista Buccellato Adam Machart (Note: For the best immersive experience, we strongly suggest you wear hea...

Just over an hour east of Denver is a small ghost town called Last Chance. Upon first glance, it might look like just a clump of tiny abandoned houses. But look closer with Blake as he guides you through the ruins of Last Chance, Colorado, and together, uncover the mystery of why the remains of this widely unknown, defunct American geographical icon have continued to haunt passersby for decades af...