Filmmaker documents iconic Ann & Hope Mill

NORTH PROVIDENCE, RI, October 20, 2023 — The 2020 Conant Thread Mill fire in Pawtucket sparked an idea for David Lawlor. The 32-year-old filmmaker said the tragic event inspired him to explore and share the stories of some of Rhode Island’s historic sites while he can.

“When those mills burned down in March of 2020, I was gutted. There were eight buildings that burned down, and I had only gotten to go in a few of them, and it was in those mills where I really fell in love with old mills and their history. It was then where I was like, OK, I need to document these buildings before they’re all gone,” said Lawlor.

In spring of 2020, Lawlor quit his day job bagging groceries at Whole Foods, bought a drone and leaned into his part-time job for the Blackstone Valley Tourism Council, which allowed him to pursue the exploration of historical sites around Rhode Island.

In 2021, with the help of BVTC, Lawlor officially embarked on his quest to show and chronicle the beauty and history behind local mills, and in 2022, he founded his own company, appropriately titled Run of the Mill.

According to Lawlor, the mission of Run of the Mill is to help create “a world where the stories of iconic buildings and landmarks are not forgotten but cherished and celebrated.”

Run of the Mill’s most recent project was a documentary on the Ann & Hope Mill in Cumberland. Lawlor began creating the 30-minute video last year, just as the former mill and beloved department store was moving toward its future of modern housing and mixed-use space.

The film has been publicly screened several times, and was most recently shown at the Blackstone Valley Historical Society on Oct. 15.

“I’m extremely thankful and grateful that this work that I’m doing brings people a sense of nostalgia while also celebrating these really important pieces of history,” he said.

“Getting to explore such incredible places in a professional way is truly unbelievable, and I’m glad people are just as interested in seeing and learning about these beautiful mills as I am,” he added.

Lawlor said he’s excited to continue on this journey of exploring iconic landmarks and telling stories through digital media.

According to Lawlor, the mission of Run of the Mill is to help create “a world where the stories of iconic buildings and landmarks are not forgotten but cherished and celebrated.” Run of the Mill’s most recent project was a documentary on the Ann & Hope Mill in Cumberland. Lawlor began creating the 30-minute video last year, just as the former mill and beloved department store was moving toward its future of modern housing and mixed-use space.

To learn more about Run of the Mill, visit runofthemill.shop. To watch Lawlor’s Ann & Hope documentary click here.

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URBEX PHOTOGRAPHERS

January 5, 2023 — Stefano Perego is an architecture photographer based in Milan, Italy. His career started in 2006 exploring and photographing the abandoned industrial areas of Northern Italy and since then exploring hundreds of abandoned buildings in Europe. Stefano developed a strong interest in the architecture of the second half of the 20th century, focusing especially on modernism, brutalism and postmodernism. Stefano Perego has documented a great number of buildings in the countries of the former Soviet Union and in Eastern Europe, especially in the Caucasus, in Central Asia and in Former Yugoslavia.

Stefano’s work has been published on the most important architectural websites, like ArchDaily, Designboom, Domus, Architectural Digest and many others, as well as on printed magazines and books, like the Atlas of Brutalist Architecture published by Phaidon. He is a leading brutalist photographer in a category that includes Jason Woods, Roberto Conte, Xiao Yang, Jan Kempenaers, Simon Phipps, Nigel Green and Alessandra Chemollo.
Stephano is the co-author of the book “Soviet Asia” (Soviet Modernist Architecture in Central Asia), published by FUEL, object of consistent interest of several media, like the CNN and Wired.

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Ayr Station Hotel: Group Urbex Outlaws say they were stunned by the rapid deterioration of the Victorian hotel, with floorboards caving in and walls collapsing before them.

November 2, 2022 — Group Urbex Outlaws say they were stunned by the deterioration of the crumbling Victorian Hotel after breaking into the historic structure last week. A YouTube video has laid bare their hair-raising dive through the derelict building, as wires are spotted hanging from the ceiling.

The group spent 10 hours crawling through the towering relic, have told how they fear the sorry state of the hotel could be doomed for a tragic end – with the roof on the verge of collapsing. The building which dates to 1885 is riddled with asbestos tiling, with the group having to wear safety equipment to avoid breathing in the deadly dust.

The Urbex Outlaws leader, who asked to be anonymous, said: “Seeing what it was like was actually shocking. The state of disrepair and the deterioration of the building was the most alarming thing. Everywhere is just damp – you can smell it everywhere. The floorboards are non-existent, the only thing holding them up is the carpet. The floors have just sunk down.”

Inside ghostly Victorian Station Hotel as haunting images show state of crumbling venue “You can hear the building crumbling – were in there for 10 hours and you could hear it. There was bit of plaster falling onto the floor – it was unsettling. If it wasn’t for the scaffolding the roof would probably collapse in on itself.”

Despite capturing haunting pictures of the former rooms, bars and function suites of the once grand attraction, they group warned others to never enter, with the building a ‘danger to life’. When we got there, we turned to our right and nearly went through a floor. In fact, there’s not one of us who didn’t nearly fall through a floor. It was like a mission impossible scene; we were having to be very careful. We took a lot of risks.”

“We absolutely wouldn’t advise anyone going there. It’s one more step and you’re gone.” The group have admitted they would like to see the building saved but fear all that would be left is a ‘shell’. Their exploration comes as a pressure group seeks to see the historic building salvaged, as they call for talks on a ‘bright future’ for the Station Hotel.

Council chiefs have been locked in a battle with illusive Malaysian owner Eng Huat Ung since 2018.
Officials have covered the entire structure with a white protective sheeting and scaffolding to ward off collapse for the structurally unstable building. They are spending more than £60,000 per month to protect the hotel from both it and the public.

Two urban explorers find an abandoned underground bunker with rare cars worth over 1 million dollars

Urbex Youtubers, Lost Adventures with Ben and Eran had been wanting to explore a building in Surrey for some time, but it took them years to examine what was inside. Inside they found a Formula One race car, a Bentley, and a car that used to belong to the Malaysian Prime Minister. They also found prototype vehicles and wooden replicas, and a huge sign that read “Bristol Cars” and it’s now emerged that the vehicles were put in the bunker while they were prepared for auction.

Eran said, “I’d had my eye on it for a couple of years, as it looked so interesting. “We set out to explore the abandoned building with no idea what it was. We jumped down, only to find millions of pounds worth of cars underneath this place. You would never see these cars on the road, even if someone bought them. This was a one-chance glimpse of these cars, absolutely mental the amount of money those cars are worth. It’s just crazy.” Eran said that he didn’t recognize some of the cars as they were so incredibly rare, but later research showed that one was a Proton Perdana which belonged to Dr Mahathir Mohammad, the former Prime Minister of Malaysia.

David Fletcher, the auctioneer behind the sale, said the cars are projected to be worth around $1,120,000. He said that the bunker had been a storage facility for Bristol Cars, but it was ‘very sad’ because it represented the end of the car manufacturer. “I’m presiding over the demise of the last independently-owned British car manufacturer, which is a very poignant, historical moment.”