Mr. P.'s Tales from the Road

Hey all! Welcome to another episode of Mr. P.'s Tales from the Road! In this edition, we take a look at the history of what was once one of Michigan’s most modern mental health facilities; the gloomy and overgrown property that is/was Northville Psychiatric Center in the suburbs of Detroit. We’ll talk about its downfall, our own experiences exploring its sprawling, decaying campus and all about it...

Hey all! Welcome to another episode of Mr. P.'s Tales from the Road! In this edition, I tell a tale of unwanted attention in an abandoned factory, toss out a few vignettes from a recent trip to Buffalo, NY and have an in depth discussion on the glories of shopping malls, including a story about the first abandoned mall I ever had the pleasure to explore. Tales and history abound, so grab a cold, c...

Hey all! Welcome to another episode of Mr. P.'s Tales from the Road! In this edition, I almost die (again), discuss thoughts on WHY we document these old buildings (focusing on old factories) and toss out some musings on a wintery day adventure to the slowly dwindling ruins of Detroit’s Packard Automotive Plant. Some philosophy, a tales or two, and (of course) some history abound, so grab a stein...

Hey all! Welcome to another episode of Mr. P.'s Tales from the Road! In this edition, we go back to the questions asked by listeners over the last few weeks and drop some answers and stories in return! Q and A has become one of my favorite types of episodes as your questions always jog loose stories and memories that I’ve completely forgotten about! Tales, answers and, of course, some history abou...

Hey all! Welcome to another episode of Mr. P.'s Tales from the Road! In this edition, we trek out to the wilds of Western Pennsylvania in search of a few forgotten rusting and decommissioned train trestles, abandoned and foreboding tunnels and a few unexpected stops along the way, including a massive and ornate psychiatric hospital in the middle of nowhere! As always, tales and history abound, so...

Hey all! Welcome to another episode of Mr. P.'s Tales from the Road! In this edition, we’ll talk a bit about a grand old Detroit, Michigan high school that we recently found out is getting the ax to make way for yet another drab prefab industrial building. Demolition is going on as we speak, and so I’ll talk some history on the place and reminisce about my first adventure here, the first large sch...

Hey all! HAPPY NEW YEAR and welcome to a new season of Mr. P.'s Tales from the Road! In the first episode of 2023, we’re going to do something a bit different; taking a look at ten handpicked songs that capture some of the essence of the Rust Belt many of us call home. Each song has some history, a story or two and some observations to go with it, as well as an entire playlist linked to Spotify so...

Hey all! Welcome to this week's installment of Mr. P.'s Tales from the Road, where we brave the winter wastes of Northern Michigan to visit a palace of icy memories in the form of a famous ski resort that was the place to be (and ski) in the 1970’s. On a cold January weekend in 2021, we traveled north through increasingly worse winter weather to explore and document Sugar Loaf Ski Resort near Trav...

Hey all! Welcome to this week's installment of Mr. P.'s Tales from the Road, where we'll discuss the history and the recent blitzkrieg demolition begun on one of Detroit, Michigan's iconic abandoned automobile factories; the American Motors Corporation Headquarters. Once a booming, bustling and massive complex that built refrigerators, airplane parts and AMC Pacers across its nearly 100 years of o...

Hey all! Welcome to this week's installment of Mr. P.'s Tales from the Road! This week, we undertake another special question and answer episode, where I answer listener questions submitted to the Mr. P. Explores main Facebook page and from the Instagram account. Random questions equals a few stories and some insight into the adventures we undertake at home and abroad, including thoughts on a tour...

Hey all! Welcome to this week's installment of Mr. P.'s Tales from the Road, wherein we head to the banks of the Mahoning River for some history of and some tales told upon the Rust Belt city of Youngstown, Ohio. The first concrete apartment complex built and slowly lost under the groan of corporate greed, an apocalyptic day known as “Black Monday, and an abandoned factory used as a launching poin...

HAPPY THANKSGIVING, ALL! Welcome to this week's installment of Mr. P.'s Tales from the Road! In this Turkey Day edition, we tell some tales from several years of exploration inside the boundaries of a vast and crumbling World War II ordnance works in rural Pennsylvania, where 80+ years ago, the United States manufactured bombs, bullets and TNT to help defeat the Nazis and the Japanese Empire. So,...

Hey all! Welcome to this week's installment of Mr. P.'s Tales from the Road,an extra-special and extended episode in which we dive into one of my favorite stories of supernatural weirdness! 56 years ago, a strange cryptid creature terrorized a small Ohio Valley town, kicking off a legend unlike any other; the MOTHMAN OF POINT PLEASANT, WEST VIRGINIA. This bizarre story has captivated me since the...

Hey all! Welcome to this week's installment of Mr. P.'s Tales from the Road! This week we dive back into the final of my top three favorite industrial ruins in Cleveland, Ohio, finishing off the trifecta with some history on and stories about National ACME, a massive abandoned pieces-parts factory NOT related to anything even remotely Wile E. Coyote. Rust, grime, EPA violations, rats the size of r...

Hey all! Welcome to this week's installment of Mr. P.'s Tales from the Road! This week we head back to the Empire State to talk about two islands; the mob-history-shrouded Staten Island and the deceptively...well...long...Long Island , and a few of the adventures experienced on each. Abandoned and decaying yet still expansive and majestic psychiatric hospitals, an old military base on Long Island...

Hey all! Welcome to this week's installment of Mr. P.'s Tales from the Road! Halloween is a few short days away and that means its time to dust off a few weird and somewhat creepy tales from up the road. Abandoned buildings often yield strange happenings and high strangeness, and I've gathered a few from adventures over the last few years. Nothing insanely terrifying, but a mixed bag or oddness an...

Hey all! Welcome to this week's installment of Mr. P.'s Tales from the Road! In this episode, we continue looking into a few of Cleveland, Ohio's best known and well-loved abandoned locations; the quiet bulk of the Warner-Swasey Factory and the geometrical genius and hidden nooks and crannies of the old Westinghouse Factory. Stories abound, so grab a seat, pick up something to nosh on and a secure...

Hey all! Welcome to this week's installment of Mr. P.'s Tales from the Road! In this episode, I present a "love letter" to my home city of Cleveland, Ohio, and tell the tale of what Cleveland was like when I was only a few years old, based on the memories I have from a time long gone. I also talk about how the things I saw forty years ago have influenced the exploration and photography I do today....

Hey all! Welcome to this week's installment of Mr. P.'s Tales from the Road! In this episode, we take some listener/FB questions and answer 'em! Sort of a mixed bag of things in this episode, some of which lead to some short stories of strangeness out on the road!  Favorite explores, dead bodies (maybe) and weird energy vibes in West Virginia amongst other things! So, grab a seat, some tasty...

Hey all! Welcome to this week's installment of Mr. P.'s Tales from the Road! In this episode, its down to the other side of my home state, down to the Queen City, Cincinnati, Ohio, for some exploration tales from years past! Thousands of playing cards, the silent echoes of radios and forgotten chemical experiments, as well as chopped cars, a creepy, warpo doll and a near serious brush with death f...

Hey all! Welcome to this week's installment of Mr. P.'s Tales from the Road! In this episode, we travel back in time to the summer of 2021, on our first excursion down to St. Louis, Missouri, where we were in for a whirlwind adventure on the banks of the mighty Mississippi (and at the mercy of the extreme heat and humidity that one encounters down there in August!). A run-in with the local law in...

Hey all! Welcome to this week's installment of Mr. P.'s Tales from the Road! In this episode, we talk about the rather unpleasant final destruction of Detroit, Michigan's iconic and infamous Packard Automotive Plant (now confirmed and begun), and discuss why so many people are sad to see her go the way she is. A few stories from inside the Packard over the last few years to be had, and an explanat...

Hey all! Welcome to another installment of Mr. P.'s Tales from the Road! In this episode we take a look at the world of the urban artist via a friendship formed back in 2019 between yours truly and an amazing individual from Philadelphia, PA, as well as some of our adventures in the City of Brotherly Love. Talk of Brutalist architecture, the life and times of Graffiti Pier, the biggest factory I h...

Hey all! Welcome to another installment of Mr. P.'s Tales from the Road! In this episode we reminisce about three big abandoned locations that are "off the market" for exploration, so to speak; two buildings that have been erased from existence but not from our hearts, and one place that has been sealed up beyond all hope to re-enter. All "Albert Khan-designed old beauties that rendered a great ma...

Hey all! Welcome to another installment of Mr. P.'s Tales from the Road! In this episode we take a jaunt or two to the Mountain State of West Virginia, home to mountain mamas, country roads, abandoned coal mining towns and mysterious and elusive cryptids. A few adventures among many exploring the hollers and rural ruins of this decidedly unique state this week!  So, take a seat, relax, snag a...