Polaroid Photos Capture ‘Decaying Landmarks’ Of North Jersey

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — One of North Jersey’s most intrepid urban explorers is releasing a new book that captures the “grittiness” of several local landmarks in a series of black and white Polaroid photos.

“Wheeleroidz” from Wheeler Antabanez (Abandoned Books) releases via Amazon on Tuesday, May 20. An accompanying video will be released on YouTube (see below).

The collection of photos captures the Montclair resident’s exploration of decaying landmarks, lost cemeteries and industrial ruins: all through the ghostly lens of Polaroid film.

The “Gates of Heck” – a hazardous “no-trespassing” maze of pipes and culverts carrying stormwater and the subterranean Toney’s Brook beneath Montclair – makes an appearance in the book.

“Polaroid film loves light, so shooting underground in the Gates of Heck wasn’t exactly easy,” Antabanez said. “I had two powerful flashlights with me, but even still, most of the photos turned out completely black. The few Polaroids from the tunnels that did manage to develop are the ones that made it into the book.”

Other photos include Montclair’s abandoned bank, a flood-ravaged Caldwell Library, a decommissioned dam on the Whippany River, Lower Passaic River crossings, North Newark, Mount Pleasant Cemetery, and the Riverside Industrial Superfund Site.

Antabanez, who has written for Weird NJ, has explored other unusual sites in Essex County, including the under-construction Essex-Hudson Greenway and the now-defunct Overbrook Asylum, which was demolished several years ago. The “beautiful decay” of once-bustling landmarks has been a hallmark of his work.

• See Related: Poetry Amid Decay: NJ Photographer Explores Abandoned Railway
• See Related: NJ's Giant Weird Kitty: Essex County Urban Explorer Tells Its Story
• See Related: Documentary Captures Saga Of Overbrook Asylum (WATCH)

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