This was a case of somewhere being all about that one 'money shot', so to speak, but the rest of the location was pretty decent all told anyway so I'm not going to complain.
Wonder Bread is a major bread brand in the USA. First produced in 1921 by the Taggart Baking Company it was later the first bread to be sold pre-sliced, giving rise to the phrase 'the best thing since sliced bread'. In the 1940s under ownership of Continental Baking, vitamins and minerals were first added to the bread under a government scheme to enrich white bread products. In 1995 Continental Baking was bought out by Interstate Foods, latterly known as Hostess (manufacturers of Twinkies and all sorts), who then subsequently went bankrupt for the first time in 2004. In 2009, Hostess emerged out of bankruptcy and began producing products again, but went under for a second time in 2012 after which the rights to produce Wonder Bread were bought by Flowers Foods who still produce it to this day.
This factory was one of the spate of closures after the initial 2004 bankruptcy, and has sat derelict ever since. During my first ever trip to the States me and my local friend checked it out but it was sealed - he told me he'd only ever seen it open once, and it was sealed the very next day. However at the start of 2016 I began to see photos from the roof pop up on Instagram and knew that somehow it had been opened up, and that I needed to get it done.
To say it was 'open' is a bit of a glossing over how utterly ridiculous the way in was - to put it mildly it was probably the riskiest way into a building I have ever used. But it was a case of being there, with it in front of you, and knowing you have to trust your instincts and do it. It got quite amusing actually because after a while the owner got wind that people had been getting inside the factory and according to my friends he was maniacally trying to find out the way people had been getting in but simply couldn't work it out no matter how much he boarded the building up.
The roof with the massive Wonder Bread - minus the N and the B, really is the iconic shot here. The rest is pretty empty but nicely decayed if a little tagged up. The cable you can see tied to the sign in the first shot was put there to hold the rooftop door open which provided a bit of cover as there is a very active factory situated right next door with a clear view straight onto the roof.
And finally....
Yes I did wear it (excuse the crappy cropped phone photo)
Thanks for looking
Wonder Bread is a major bread brand in the USA. First produced in 1921 by the Taggart Baking Company it was later the first bread to be sold pre-sliced, giving rise to the phrase 'the best thing since sliced bread'. In the 1940s under ownership of Continental Baking, vitamins and minerals were first added to the bread under a government scheme to enrich white bread products. In 1995 Continental Baking was bought out by Interstate Foods, latterly known as Hostess (manufacturers of Twinkies and all sorts), who then subsequently went bankrupt for the first time in 2004. In 2009, Hostess emerged out of bankruptcy and began producing products again, but went under for a second time in 2012 after which the rights to produce Wonder Bread were bought by Flowers Foods who still produce it to this day.
This factory was one of the spate of closures after the initial 2004 bankruptcy, and has sat derelict ever since. During my first ever trip to the States me and my local friend checked it out but it was sealed - he told me he'd only ever seen it open once, and it was sealed the very next day. However at the start of 2016 I began to see photos from the roof pop up on Instagram and knew that somehow it had been opened up, and that I needed to get it done.
To say it was 'open' is a bit of a glossing over how utterly ridiculous the way in was - to put it mildly it was probably the riskiest way into a building I have ever used. But it was a case of being there, with it in front of you, and knowing you have to trust your instincts and do it. It got quite amusing actually because after a while the owner got wind that people had been getting inside the factory and according to my friends he was maniacally trying to find out the way people had been getting in but simply couldn't work it out no matter how much he boarded the building up.
The roof with the massive Wonder Bread - minus the N and the B, really is the iconic shot here. The rest is pretty empty but nicely decayed if a little tagged up. The cable you can see tied to the sign in the first shot was put there to hold the rooftop door open which provided a bit of cover as there is a very active factory situated right next door with a clear view straight onto the roof.
And finally....
Yes I did wear it (excuse the crappy cropped phone photo)
Thanks for looking
hahaha quality!
