Desolation Row

Richelle Forsey

Straight out of a scary teen novel is the abandoned Canada Linseed Mills. Built in 1910, it's been sitting abandoned on Wabash Avenue, about a minute's walk from my house, since the late 1960s.
Despite passing here with the dog every day, I've never been inside. It's locked, fenced and barb-wired off from the public. But obviously some people have made it inside, armed with spray cans, cameras or sorry tales.
There is a strong move afoot to have it turned into a community center as it sits next to a very active park and playing field whose clubhouse was also recently rescued from dereliction.
Apparently it couldn't be a creepier locale. What the brochures don't tell you about this guano heaven is that one is greeted by a snapshot of a nude man tacked on the wall by the hidden entrance. There's a trough in the basement filled with 6 feet of murky, stagnant water with an ominous block and tackle pulley overhead. There's one room filled with candles. And a room containing home made sex dolls and foam rubber spray- painted with anatomical features. The pigeons shuffle and waffle overhead thinking you hear others whispering.
Some excellent photos have been taken by people braver than I. A good curator should let the pictures do the talking...