Centralia, Pennsylvania is a town renowned for its disaster. Now largely abandoned, with the highway re-routed around it, it is a nearly-ghost town, with its zip code revoked and every piece of property taken by governmental use of eminent domain. Why? Well, an underground coal-mine-fire has been slowly burning underground since 1962! This town is now used as a environmental parable similar to the Cuyahoga River Fire. I like to think about how this image shows the abandonment of man-made infrastructure, with natural regrowth, but also has the presence of humankind with visitor’s graffitti.
Special thanks to the Darwins for introducing me to the location and encouraging me to explore it. (Photograph taken August 2015)
Film and Camera:
Canon EOS 40D - Digital RAW
