GRAFFITI GRAVEYARD: Allens Avenue, Providence, RI

The Graffiti Graveyard is a place where during the demolition of the historic Shepherd Warehouse building amazing graffiti art was exposed, demolished and then buried leaving piles of painted broken bricks that I started to call "bones". My vision was to preserve some of the best graffiti art in the area as it was revealed each day as the walls of the warehouse came down. The vision I first set down grew. I needed to capture the take down of this hundred year old historic building. I wanted to pay homage "for a job well done" through photography.

The Graffiti Graveyard Gallery is a collection of pictures I shot over the summer of 2013 to document the take down of this abandoned warehouse. The Shepherd Warehouse Building, built in the late 1800's and completed in 1913 by the Terminal Warehouse Company was one of two buildings built on this site along the Providence waterfront. Once a department store warehouse this five story flat roofed, brick, building with rows of small windows and tiers of freight doors made the perfect studio setting for graffiti artists. 

The second building, the Atlas Warehouse is scheduled for demolition during the summer of 2015. The security staff assures me that no one has been inside. All I know for sure is when it comes down I will be there with my trusty Nikon.

Art in Ruins has a great write up about the history and demolition of the Atlas and Terminal Warehouses.

"Atlas and Terminal Warehouses aka Shepard's Department Store Warehouse"