Some SWEET UEing

I've posted before that UEing is Urban Exploring, the hobby of looking at abandoned buildings as works of art, not nuisances to society. I truly believe abandoned building are photographs waiting to happen. Here in Utah there is not a lot of UEing to be had. Many of our old buildings are torn down, secure, or remodeled into something new.

However, within the last week I've had two mini UE experiences that I'd like to share-

Wednesday was a really hard day for E's entire family, it was the day of Baggie's funeral. We started at a downtown mortuary, and ended in Fairview at the cemetery. It was exhausting. However, while at the mortuary, I did some exploring. The mortuary is in an extremely old mansion in downtown Salt Lake, and the first floor and basement are in use. I could tell from the outside, there had to be at least three floors to the building, so while everyone else was "viewing" the deceased, I slipped away. Upstairs there were abandoned apartments with broken windows and scattered trash. I couldn't find any way to the third story, so I re-joined the funeral downstairs. Then, I got talking to the mortician, and somehow convinced him to give me a tour of the third story. He told me no one is allowed up there anymore, and promptly brought me up! Sweet!

On the third story there were some more abandoned rooms, a freight elevator and an old embalmment room! Inside the large room there were embalming tables and tools. There was even a gas mask hung against the far wall, because of toxic fumes. Note to self – a gas mask makes a good subject for creepy mortuary photos.


Then, today on the way up to Golden Spike National Historic site, we drove through Brigham. In Brigham there is a huge complex of old school buildings, left abandoned and open. I decided to peek inside while E waited (he hates when I UE, he is afraid that I’ll get caught). Well a little peek wasn’t enough because this complex of buildings is enormous. I must go back, but E and I decided legally, because we can’t afford a trespassing ticket at the moment.