"The Town that Was" Centralia, Pennsylvania

"The Town that Was" is an intriguing and thought provoking documentary on the small mining community of Centralia, Pennsylvania. A town that has lived and died with the coal industry. Centralia was once a bustling borough that thrived on the anthracite coal buried deep beneath the surface, but on the surface was a town of dedicated, hard working individuals. This film mainly pays it focus on them, instead of the fire that burns deep beneath the surface of this near ghost town.

Centralia was once a standard mining community. Row homes with well manicured lawns dotted the streets, while local churches and taverns served as meeting places, and homes away from home. But since a warm Summer day in 1962 the times have been a changing. A controlled trash burn on Labor Day weekend, escaped into an underground mine and ignited the slow burning coal. Since then the fires been spreading and the residents have been fleeing, but not all.

The documentary shares stories of past and present, from current and former residents. As well as their concerns and grievances about the town and the controversy that surrounds it. The picture mainly pays attention to Centralia's youngest resident, John Lokitis. The film follows him through his daily routines of helping to maintain the small town charm that still remains there. The passion he shows for his hometown shines through immensely. Being one of less than a dozen remaining citizens, John thrives to keep the "Town that Was", a town that's never forgotten.
Watch "The Town that Was" free on Hulu

Abandoned Route 61 in Centralia

The Route 61 highway traverses travelers approximately 81 miles north and southbound through the commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Though there's a small stretch of this road that hasn't been used for travel in over 15 years. Though it's still a hot spot... literally! In 1994 the department of transportation rerouted a mile long stretch of this road after being severely damaged by the underground mine fire in nearby Centralia.

Today the road is a popular destination for urban explorers and apparently aspiring graffiti artists,though I wouldn't call much of it art. The road has an extremely haunting appeal to it, I personally kept feeling as though someone was following behind me. Walking down this lost highway gives you a very eerie feeling, not sure if it's from the noxious fumes emanating from below the asphalt, or the buckling of the highway but I kept getting the feeling of vertigo. Seeing the man-made destruction that's taking place here is a sight to behold, both from the obscene graffiti, to the mammoth coal industry that helped to build a town and also destroy it!




Zine featuring Centralia & other nearby Outta the Way places.

Video of Route 61

Outta the Way! on Flickr

Outta the Way! on Flickr

Outta the Way! Goes to the Movies Part 2

A lot of residents of Pennsylvania may not even be aware that a movies been made about all the quirky characters living in the keystone state. From the good hearted, confused country boy to the Civil war buff a little too fascinated with Jennie Wade's butt. Throw in a few Amish who like television, and a quirky shop keeper with a fondness for elephants. The result is Route 30, a small budget independent comedy, filmed mainly along the famed route 30 also known as the Lincoln Highway.

But a lot more odder places in Pennsylvania have made it to the movies. The historic state hospital in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania played an important role in the film Girl, Interrupted. The imposing structure and the massive size of the place allowed it to be another character in the film.

Director M. Night Shyamalan has always been drawn to filming his movies in his home state. For his upcoming film The Last Airbender he found some Asian influence in the hills of Pennsylvania. Quite a few of the scenes were filmed at the pagoda, perching high on the hilltops overlooking the city of Reading.

There's a 12 mile stretch of abandoned turnpike in Pennsylvania completely desolate. So much so that the filmmakers of the movie The Road decided to use it for the post- apocalyptic thriller. With grass and trees fighting through the asphalt, and such a deserted sense of eerieness it's no wonder they were attracted to this lost highway.

The near ghost town of Centralia, Pennsylvania has been an inspiration for a few movie settings. The 1991 debacle Nothing but Trouble takes place in a rural Pennsylvania town that's on fire. Sound familiar? Even The Simpsons Trash of the Titans episode was loosely based on Centralia. When Homer becomes sanitation commissioner, he charges other towns to dump their trash into Springfield's abandoned mine, eventually causing the town to relocate.

The most famous movie inspired by Centralia was actually a video game first. Silent Hill tells of a mother searching for her lost daughter in a town full of smoke and fallen ash due to a prolonged mine fire. The film depicts characters wandering through fog and smoke wearing mining gear. It also depicts the mother battling monsters within the town. Of course if you wanna get a real look at Centralia without leaving the house, I'd recommend The Town that Was. This is a full length documentary focusing on the remaining residents, sharing what the town was like before and what's in store for it's future.

Centralia, Pennsylvania: The End

The already nearly abandoned town of Centralia is getting a little smaller. Since the underground mine fire started in 1962, the once prominent town of nearly 1500 has been slowly dwindling. Most residents moved out in the 1970's and 1980's. In 1991 the state bought all the remaining properties. Initially the townspeople were allowed to stay as long as they kept up on their property taxes. Now the state is forcing the few remaining citizens out.
On a recent visit to Centralia we saw only one home standing. A lot of the small town charm the town once held seems to be stripped away like the coal seams that brought the town to life.
Go Outta the Way and get a last look at this nearly abandoned ghost town sinking closer to it's demise.

Byrnesville

South of Centralia, lies a real abandoned town: no residents, no homes, not much sign of a town at all anymore. Brynesville was founded in 1856 and was named after the local Byrnes family. The town was used to house employees of the local coal mine that was nearby.

In 1865 homes started to be built in the area of upper Byrnesville. There wasn't much to the town other than an elementary school, which dissipated in the early 1930's. The nearby towns and Ashland and Centralia were much larger and used for shopping and church purposes.

During the 1980's, fire and gases from the Centralia mine fire spread to the town and the federal government relocated the townspeople. At the time there were 75 people and 29 houses. The last resident was moved out in 1996.

There are a few remains of the town. Most noticeably is a large wash house used by miners to clean up after work. The wash house is now overgrown with weeds and graffiti and the roof is collapsing, offering a grave reminder of a town that was started and destroyed by the coal industry.

Centralia, Pennsylvania

Wanna visit the real Silent Hill? The Pennsylvania town of Centralia is the inspiration for the town used in the video game Silent Hill. While visiting it's not difficult to see why.

This place is a modern-day ghost town and with only 7 people still living there and that number dwindling, it won't be long before it's abandoned.

The U.S. Government claimed eminent domain on the land as there is a fire burning under the town. You can see smoke and gases protruding out of openings in the ground. Even the main route through the town was rerouted because the macadam and asphalt split open, leaving large open seams with smoke billowing out between cracks in the graffiti-covered road.

You definitely feel eerie walking this scary stretch of road. You keep feeling like a car is going to come up behind you anytime. Also maybe it's the angle of the road or the smoke inhalation, but we all felt a little vertigo while walking this barren road through hell.

(For more information about visiting Centralia, check out Volume 5 of the Outta the Way Zine, available in our Etsy Shop.)

Centralia/Coal Country, Pennsylvania

Volume 5 of Outta the Way is now available! You can get it on Etsy or get it in person at BUiLDiNG CHARACTER-342 N. Queen St., Rear, Lancaster, Pennsylvania

We also have limited edition mini-zines available while they last!

We're on the Savvy Grouse again

We are on the Savvy Grouse again! See our post about Centralia!