Pokey
@junkyardcrawler.bsky.social
architecture, dead mall, train, car enthusiast
Chicago-based
takes too many photos
non-binary but like it's complicated and I'm working on it, I swear
Website/Blog: https://etaoin-shrdlu.net/
RIP COHOST - EGGBUG FOREVER - KEEP EM POSTING IN OUR HEARTS
Chicago-based
takes too many photos
non-binary but like it's complicated and I'm working on it, I swear
Website/Blog: https://etaoin-shrdlu.net/
RIP COHOST - EGGBUG FOREVER - KEEP EM POSTING IN OUR HEARTS
in the undefined area just outside River West and sometimes called Goose Island by people with no idea of what the word "island" means (1120 W Chestnut), only neatly stacked pallets of salvage brick remain of a 1880s 2-story workers cottage. A 3-flat with basement parking is permitted to replace it
November 27, 2025 at 5:39 AM
in the undefined area just outside River West and sometimes called Goose Island by people with no idea of what the word "island" means (1120 W Chestnut), only neatly stacked pallets of salvage brick remain of a 1880s 2-story workers cottage. A 3-flat with basement parking is permitted to replace it
The excavators have largely managed to hollow out the church now, tearing out most of the roof as well. A friend tells me these sorts of old wooden beams are usually salvaged for resale, but I guess not in this instance. No salvage for the stained glass, either.
November 27, 2025 at 5:32 AM
The excavators have largely managed to hollow out the church now, tearing out most of the roof as well. A friend tells me these sorts of old wooden beams are usually salvaged for resale, but I guess not in this instance. No salvage for the stained glass, either.
fooling around with some cardboard & old negatives and I think this cheap thrift store scanner passes the cromulent test. I'll get an actual film holder on order but for now here's $CheapLabScans vs $CheapHomeScanner. Hoping having the actual holder will fix a lot of the softness.
November 27, 2025 at 5:28 AM
fooling around with some cardboard & old negatives and I think this cheap thrift store scanner passes the cromulent test. I'll get an actual film holder on order but for now here's $CheapLabScans vs $CheapHomeScanner. Hoping having the actual holder will fix a lot of the softness.
the whole ecosystem of second and third tier but still officially licensed products is very funny. this is just a cat. But with a little bit of cheap licensing, it's not just a cat, it's The Cat from Stray (2022) (brand new product for 2025)
November 24, 2025 at 2:14 AM
the whole ecosystem of second and third tier but still officially licensed products is very funny. this is just a cat. But with a little bit of cheap licensing, it's not just a cat, it's The Cat from Stray (2022) (brand new product for 2025)
the Royal George Theater (1641 N Halsted) and a semi-attached 4-story building (1633 N Halsted) have also gained demolition fencing, with the wrecking starting with the small 1-story addition that sat between them. The theater is only from the mid 1980s, but the 4-story is an early 1900s structure.
November 24, 2025 at 2:03 AM
the Royal George Theater (1641 N Halsted) and a semi-attached 4-story building (1633 N Halsted) have also gained demolition fencing, with the wrecking starting with the small 1-story addition that sat between them. The theater is only from the mid 1980s, but the 4-story is an early 1900s structure.
Demolition has begun on the former Christ Lutheran (Missouri Synod) Church and school at 2028 N Richmond. The school building has been almost entirely demolished, with the church building so far only grazed at the point where it connected to the school.
November 24, 2025 at 1:55 AM
Demolition has begun on the former Christ Lutheran (Missouri Synod) Church and school at 2028 N Richmond. The school building has been almost entirely demolished, with the church building so far only grazed at the point where it connected to the school.
this information board they have near the Halsted St entrance contains some of the most stomach churningly saccharine developer-speak it actually made me mad to read
November 23, 2025 at 11:54 PM
this information board they have near the Halsted St entrance contains some of the most stomach churningly saccharine developer-speak it actually made me mad to read
Like okay maybe any given strip mall is more boring but they lack that "puppeteering the skin of something you loved" quality. I'm glad some facades were preserved though, id be interested to learn what's original and what's modern
November 23, 2025 at 9:46 PM
Like okay maybe any given strip mall is more boring but they lack that "puppeteering the skin of something you loved" quality. I'm glad some facades were preserved though, id be interested to learn what's original and what's modern
elsewhere on Goose Island I found a nice Crown Victoria Police Interceptor, complete with a mirror spotlight, and later down the Blue Line found a tastefully beat-to-hell Ford with a bed full of firewood
November 22, 2025 at 2:30 AM
elsewhere on Goose Island I found a nice Crown Victoria Police Interceptor, complete with a mirror spotlight, and later down the Blue Line found a tastefully beat-to-hell Ford with a bed full of firewood
a varied set of busted rides moldering inside a boatyard-turned-storage-lot on Goose Island, Chicago.
#weirdcarbs
#weirdcarbs
November 22, 2025 at 2:15 AM
a varied set of busted rides moldering inside a boatyard-turned-storage-lot on Goose Island, Chicago.
#weirdcarbs
#weirdcarbs
I think at this point the majority of my visits to Lincoln Park are to photograph shit getting torn down. For fucking shame DePaul, fucking universities and their fucking sports programs
November 20, 2025 at 10:53 PM
I think at this point the majority of my visits to Lincoln Park are to photograph shit getting torn down. For fucking shame DePaul, fucking universities and their fucking sports programs
they're also pulling down Ravenswood Presbyterian for around 6 single family homes, and it's not even two full blocks off the Montrose Brown Line stop.
November 13, 2025 at 2:56 AM
they're also pulling down Ravenswood Presbyterian for around 6 single family homes, and it's not even two full blocks off the Montrose Brown Line stop.
I thrifted some fancy floor lamps 😁
I can't find these exact ones for sale, but they're made by a German company called Holtkotter, who do not seem to make cheap things. These ones are older ("vintage"?) and so are halogen, not LED, but still.
I can't find these exact ones for sale, but they're made by a German company called Holtkotter, who do not seem to make cheap things. These ones are older ("vintage"?) and so are halogen, not LED, but still.
November 12, 2025 at 1:02 AM
I thrifted some fancy floor lamps 😁
I can't find these exact ones for sale, but they're made by a German company called Holtkotter, who do not seem to make cheap things. These ones are older ("vintage"?) and so are halogen, not LED, but still.
I can't find these exact ones for sale, but they're made by a German company called Holtkotter, who do not seem to make cheap things. These ones are older ("vintage"?) and so are halogen, not LED, but still.
from today's outing; two different sets of former Illinois Central locomotives, affectionately known as "deathstars" due to the late railroad's final logo. Photographed from the 211th St Metra Station.
November 10, 2025 at 2:20 AM
from today's outing; two different sets of former Illinois Central locomotives, affectionately known as "deathstars" due to the late railroad's final logo. Photographed from the 211th St Metra Station.
one of the fascists pointing guns at journalists seems like hes specifically a christo-fascist, unsurprising I know but I wanted to make note of it
November 9, 2025 at 7:13 AM
one of the fascists pointing guns at journalists seems like hes specifically a christo-fascist, unsurprising I know but I wanted to make note of it
for want of a sticker printer
November 9, 2025 at 1:45 AM
for want of a sticker printer
Gradalls are the doohickiest machines of all time and I love them
November 7, 2025 at 1:17 AM
Gradalls are the doohickiest machines of all time and I love them
I just had a great-terrible idea
(though I feel like counting that IHOP is a stretch? Idk)
(though I feel like counting that IHOP is a stretch? Idk)
November 4, 2025 at 1:59 AM
I just had a great-terrible idea
(though I feel like counting that IHOP is a stretch? Idk)
(though I feel like counting that IHOP is a stretch? Idk)
stumbled into a photo from Alex V. Hernandez for Block Club Chicago from just over a year ago, makes an interesting comparison.
November 2, 2025 at 4:27 AM
stumbled into a photo from Alex V. Hernandez for Block Club Chicago from just over a year ago, makes an interesting comparison.
rolls of carpet and clumsily stacked pews decorate an empty church on Chicago's north side, set to be demolished in the coming months.
November 1, 2025 at 10:56 PM
rolls of carpet and clumsily stacked pews decorate an empty church on Chicago's north side, set to be demolished in the coming months.
Urbex is a really funny hobby because when you think about it, it's basically this
November 1, 2025 at 6:00 PM
Urbex is a really funny hobby because when you think about it, it's basically this
why is this random chunk of street exempt from streetview
November 1, 2025 at 2:12 PM
why is this random chunk of street exempt from streetview
I DID buy this pair of vintage pepper mills
October 31, 2025 at 2:53 AM
I DID buy this pair of vintage pepper mills
things i didnt buy at the thrift store
October 31, 2025 at 2:33 AM
things i didnt buy at the thrift store