September 2009
In 2009, I traveled to New Jersey to visit my family. Between family visits, I found myself drawn to something entirely different — searching for abandoned and neglected places, hidden from plain sight, yet possessing an aesthetic beauty of their own.
As a devoted urbex (urban exploration) enthusiast, I have always been attracted to abandoned spaces: decaying structures, broken windows, and natural light finding its way into places no longer meant to be used. That search led me to Letchworth Village.
Letchworth Village was a large psychiatric institution that operated in New York during the early 20th century. Originally built with progressive therapeutic ideals for its time, the facility gradually became a symbol of neglect, overcrowding, and harsh living conditions. The buildings were eventually abandoned, but their stories remained.
Today, Letchworth Village is considered one of the most well-known and frequently photographed urbex sites in the United States. It attracts urban explorers, photographers, and history researchers who seek to document not only abandoned architecture, but also forgotten eras, ideologies, and lives.
Walking through Letchworth Village, I felt that I wasn’t just photographing buildings — I was listening. The walls, corridors, and empty rooms carried silent testimony to the lives that once existed there, for better and for worse.
For me, photography is a way to slow down, observe, and give visibility to what is often overlooked. Urbex is not only about dramatic visuals; it is about preserving memory, even when that memory is uncomfortable or far from conventionally beautiful.
Letchworth Village clarified why I am drawn to this world: the desire to find beauty in places others choose to forget, and to tell their stories through visual language.
Since that visit, my connection to urbex has only deepened. Every abandoned structure is a reminder of impermanence — of architecture, ideologies, and human presence. Urban exploration allows me to bridge design, photography, and history, creating a dialogue between past and present.
Letchworth Village was far more than a photography location for me.
It was a turning point.
