Take A Walk Through The Most Incredible Abandoned Building In Pennsylvania Before It Was Demolished

The Elks are one of the oldest social clubs in the country, founded in 1868. One of the earlier lodges for its members was built in 1916 in New Castle, Pennsylvania and stood for almost 100 years.

Abandoned America photographer Matthew Christopher got these incredible shots of the interior of New Castle Elks Lodge in 2011, less than a month before the building was demolished. Though he came across the site accidentally, it’s almost as if fate drove him to capture the building’s glory before its destruction.

As with much of his work photographing abandoned structures, Matthew Christopher writes on his website that the most challenging parts of this shoot were unstable floors (his foot even went through the floor a few times!) and worrying about running into hostile squatters.

After you enjoy his photographs of New Castle Elks Lodge, you can see more of Matthew Christopher’s work on his website, Abandoned America or on his Facebook. He travels all over the country (especially the Northeast) and captures amazing photographic series of locations like the one below. He also has a book, Abandoned America: The Age of Consequences, which is available through most major booksellers.

Matthew Christopher/ Abandoned America

This is the exterior of the front of the lodge as Matthew Christopher found it. Beyond the boarded-up doors and windows and the orange mesh out front, you might not guess the extent of disrepair inside or that the building was to be demolished in less than a month.

Matthew Christopher/ Abandoned America

The crowning room of New Castle Elk Lodge is this giant oval room. On the far end, you can make out an elk head that became the subject of haunting close-up photos...

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Matthew Christopher/ Abandoned America

You can make out the inner mechanics of taxidermy in this barely recognizable mounted elk head.

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Matthew Christopher/ Abandoned America

Someone never moved this pitcher and bottle of beer, and it remained in place, caked with dust, years later.

Matthew Christopher/ Abandoned America

A hallway on the third floor. You can see the dilapidated mint-green paint of the interior in stark contrast to the red brick exterior. Even in decay, the building is vibrant.

Matthew Christopher/ Abandoned America

Years of slow unraveling have left the carpet on the stairs in complete disrepair.

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Matthew Christopher/ Abandoned America

We enter a meeting-room, hushed as it might be during a serious gathering... But empty.

Matthew Christopher/ Abandoned America

A fire seems to have stripped this room of its former luxury and replaced it with an austere elegance.

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Matthew Christopher/ Abandoned America

Even the bathrooms retain vestiges of the luxury and attention to detail that went into the original construction of New Castle Elk Lodge. The fine woodwork on the bathroom stalls appears almost untouched.

Matthew Christopher/ Abandoned America

You can almost imagine crowds of well-dressed men and women gathered here, drifting from room to room in two's and three's...

Abandoned America

This is a historical photograph of New Castle Elks Lodge. You can see what the outside of the building looked like in its heyday...

Matthew Christopher/ Abandoned America

And here is a photograph that Matthew Christopher returned to take after the building's demolition. You can see the interior of the grand oval room that now sits exposed to the sky. How sad to see such a gorgeous structure destroyed, even though it was disused.

Wow! These photographs are amazing. Thanks to Matthew Christopher for sharing his beautiful work. Check out his website, Abandoned America, Facebook, or his book, Abandoned America: The Age of Consequences, for more.

Have you ever explored an abandoned location? Share your story down below.