Once upon a time, four explorers happen to find themselves sailing the high seas towards mainland Europe, and they’re all deciding what they want to see. Priority 7 is desperate to see Chateau Lumiere, as it has (so far) been quite exclusive with only a handful of people having been there. It’s a lovely building, and he got some amazing photographs of it here: [ame]http://www.derelictplaces.co.uk/main/showthread.php?t=24391[/ame] but I was more excited about this bad boy:
The Chambre De commerce has been a stock exchange of one form or another, on this site for hundreds and hundreds of years. Its also been burnt down more times than James Cordens had hot dinners. Luckily this last one has stood the test of time and been up well over a hundred years now. With literally no sleep we drive straight to the city. The city is quiet, the sun hasn’t even risen, and newspapers blow silently down the street.
Access isn’t noisy per-se, but at this time of morning every little noise is exaggerated. We carefully time it with passing cars etc. and were quickly in. Even though it was still really dark we used our torches as little as we could, allowing our retinas to adjust naturally to the darkness. It was worth it. The moment you wander into the main chamber, it takes your breath away.
We all kind of split up around the main hall and sat in silence, taking photographs occasionally. Maybe it was the tiredness, or the almost ecclesiastical architecture, but I found that time alone meditative, almost spiritual. We sat for around half an hour, watching the sunrise slowly begin to pierce through the roof lights.
Rooflight detailing:
Another Selfie:
First floor:
Secondary chambres. Rooms like this completely surrounded the main hall on all floors. All of them had a fireplace, all different.
From above:
Keys:
By the time we bowled out of the access it was mid morning. There were delivery men moving furniture from an adjacent building only feet away from our access. There was no way around it we’d just have to go for it! We smiled politely, they gave us a knowing smile. When one of the burly men saw my camera he struck a really camp pose! Love it.
Time for one quick group shot!
Thanks to all who came, and also to a new explorer who wrote me a fantastic pm with what to look for in the building. Made even more generous as English isn’t his mother tongue.
Cheers for looking.
[ame]http://youtu.be/P8kuUoGbawg[/ame]
The Chambre De commerce has been a stock exchange of one form or another, on this site for hundreds and hundreds of years. Its also been burnt down more times than James Cordens had hot dinners. Luckily this last one has stood the test of time and been up well over a hundred years now. With literally no sleep we drive straight to the city. The city is quiet, the sun hasn’t even risen, and newspapers blow silently down the street.
Access isn’t noisy per-se, but at this time of morning every little noise is exaggerated. We carefully time it with passing cars etc. and were quickly in. Even though it was still really dark we used our torches as little as we could, allowing our retinas to adjust naturally to the darkness. It was worth it. The moment you wander into the main chamber, it takes your breath away.
We all kind of split up around the main hall and sat in silence, taking photographs occasionally. Maybe it was the tiredness, or the almost ecclesiastical architecture, but I found that time alone meditative, almost spiritual. We sat for around half an hour, watching the sunrise slowly begin to pierce through the roof lights.
Rooflight detailing:
Another Selfie:
First floor:
Secondary chambres. Rooms like this completely surrounded the main hall on all floors. All of them had a fireplace, all different.
From above:
Keys:
By the time we bowled out of the access it was mid morning. There were delivery men moving furniture from an adjacent building only feet away from our access. There was no way around it we’d just have to go for it! We smiled politely, they gave us a knowing smile. When one of the burly men saw my camera he struck a really camp pose! Love it.
Time for one quick group shot!
Thanks to all who came, and also to a new explorer who wrote me a fantastic pm with what to look for in the building. Made even more generous as English isn’t his mother tongue.
Cheers for looking.
[ame]http://youtu.be/P8kuUoGbawg[/ame]
