Jumping jack station (M.R and Rudolph)

Abandoned Brooklyn jumping jack station

(Coal pump house)

 

The atmosphere of this abandoned pump house is extremely Gothic due to the fact of this being an abandoned dark and decrepit industrial site. When inside you get this unshakable sublime feeling with all this heavy rusty sharp dangerous machinery all around you and above your head. All while standing on piles of decades old coal while exposed to all of the elements of the outside world. Especially, while walking on wobbly rusty metal walkway suspended two stories in the air.

It’s dark and spooky with all the rusty and heavy machinery all over the place. On one hand you feel like a tiny pawn in the whole factory. On the other hand, you feel like such an advanced human being because you feel as if you are so much more advanced than the previous past human beings that were reduced to using coal for electricity. And thus relates to Frankenstein, for Victor Frankenstein tries to surpass the old with the new, trying to create progress for humanity in his own egotistical way.

 

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Lowest accessible area of the pump house is the basement. Nearly all of the basement is submerged under this foggy unclear contaminated water. its a bit nightmarish to an extent which relates to the Gothic feature of anxiety. the anxieties being dirty for some or for others the anxiety of fear of drowning.

 

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There is an isolated boxed in car for no apparent reason on the first floor, which was used as a chop-shop after the coal house was shutdown. This is post-apocalyptic looking, to an extent and thus brings a fear of immersing ones-self to an unknown environment, where anything can happen. There is no opening for the remains of the car to get out and thus invokes the fear of claustrophobia or of being trapped. plus, a more recent picture of the entombed car.

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The center main piece of resistance of the whole pump house is a part which resembles a man doing a jumping jack. which brings the sublime into mind for it resembles a man and yet its not a man, but brings a familiar image of a man doing jumping jacks. Another thing to note is that the jumping-jack figure makes people feel inferior and small.

 

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These are some of the decayed, rusted, broken stairs which lead upstairs to more ruins of the abandoned jumping jack station. Another thing to note, is that many of the things in this jumping-jack station are falling apart. Much like Victor Frankenstein throughout the whole story. An example of this, is as soon as the monster was created and brought to life by Frankenstein. The monster decides its creator is its enemy, but that’s not where everything starts to go downhill. It’s when the monster kill Victor’s younger brother, William Frankenstein, that everything starts to go down crashing. For Victor did not intend this to happen, much like how the building is falling apart. chapter 16(pg. 153) is where the murder is committed and starts the unraveling of many events that eventually lead to Frankenstein going insane for revenge.

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This is the doorway leading to locker room/bathroom…

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Locker room/Bathroom covered in graffiti, desecrated and lockers are piled on one another as well. And well it brought light on a thought of the queer that lies within the Gothic genre. So, men worked in these places up until 1963. This invokes the idea of homosexuality.

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This is a pile of forgotten, smashed-up coal in front of a giant metal container, but this coal is not only here, it’s everywhere!

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Broken dial left in ruins after the abandonment of the factory

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This is that window we saw cemented up from the outside.

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The inside from the window

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These are the another set of decayed, rusted, broken stairs which lead upstairs to more ruins of the abandoned jumping jack station. It looks desecrated and destroyed as if someone or a bunch of people tried to disrespect the place or just didn’t care anymore about it. Forgotten and falling apart. To be forgotten is another strong fear that exists within many people. For certain people seek recognition and to be remembered. One such example of this was Victor Frankenstein. In chapter 2(pg.39), Victor states, “Wealth was an inferior object, but what glory would attend to the discovery if I could banish disease from human frame and render man invulnerable to any but a violent death!”, which therefore shows he would rather have glory or in other words, be remembered and be recognized by his peers (the rest of humanity), than to be wealthy and thus, does not want to be forgotten.

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Another metallic container… its strange to be in here.

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Picture of inside the building itself as proof.

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Area that is only accessible from a rooftop box like room, where coal was stored in piles up still to this very day. And also invokes a fear of heights and even a fear of falling from that height.

 

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Picture from the outside…


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Another picture of the top from below

 

 

 

 
We were in the industrial side of Brooklyn. Although the buildings around it looked very abandoned. We believe some of these place were still active, well at least some to an extent. while others looked

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somewhat abandoned by tragedy. a perfect example is a cafe or restaurant that we had seen nearby…

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Another place was what we now know as “The Abandoned Grain Factory”…

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This abandoned grain factory reminded us to an extent of a prison or a citadel. And the atmosphere of entrapment is strong near this factory. For you even see a gate and a wall as shown and even seems hard to get in or even out to an extent much like a real prison. It even looks like a ship crashed on the side of it or  a part of the structure fell off over time.

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