By Rebecca Drew
EERIE images look inside a massive naval complex which was built during WW1 and was used to help men get back on their feet after losing their homes during the Great Depression.
Haunting pictures show graffiti sprawled over the walls of the gigantic complex which spans across three six-storey buildings, weeds growing up the rusted outside gates and dusty chairs scattered across a meeting room.
One photograph shows cut out targets that were once used for SWAT training, whilst another shows a sticker promoting the base as an army recruiting battalion.
The spooky shots were taken at the buildings on the East Bank of the Mississippi River which made up the Naval Support Activity in New Orleans, Louisiana by an urban explorer known only as Abandoned Southeast. To take his pictures, Abandoned Southeast used a Canon DSLR equipped with a Tamron lens.
“This is a massive abandoned U.S. military base in New Orleans that sits along the Mississippi River,” said Abandoned Southeast.
“I read about this facility online in a news article and we were able to enter the facility through an unlocked door.
“The problem we had was when we encountered a homeless man and his dog living in one of the buildings that weren’t very friendly.”
The 1.5 million-square-foot centre spans across both sides of the Mississippi River and was built during WW1 by the US Army and was completed in 1919. The Bywater Facility was home to 3,900 active duty personnel and 2,700 civilian personnel.
In 1934, The Louisiana Emergency Relief Administration opened the complex as a transient camp, training and sheltering 25,000 New Orleans residents who had lost homes during the Great Depression. During WW2, it was in complete use by the military.
In the 1970s, it was renamed the F. Edward Hebert Defence Complex. The base closed in 2011.
“All abandoned places have a story to tell, I want to tell that story through photographs,” added Abandoned Southeast.
“I love to discover what could be left behind in these abandoned places.
“Most people enjoy abandoned photography and are fascinated at what is left behind in many of these places.”
