http://forgottenoh.com/page1.html
http://illicitohio.com/illicitohio/index.htm
So I'm fascinated with old buildings and abandoned buildings. I found these sites a few years ago and spent hours of downtime on them at work. The first two are from Ohio -- the guys who made the sites are buddies and like to do "urban spelunking," which basically translates to sneaking into abandoned buildings and checking them out. They take pictures, upload them, and actually do research on the places they check out. Some of my favorites: urban decay in the Rust Belt of Ohio, a partially-completed but never used subway system in Cincinnati, Mud House Mansion (an old farmhouse in the middle of Ohio) . . . and Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker's Heritage USA themepark (which has nothing to do with Ohio, but it's cool). I love that they actually document these places and post new information on whether they've been remodeled, demolished, if there are plans underway for restoration . . . I feel like many Americans undervalue these old buildings and sites, and I think these websites could draw useful attention to some of them.
A similar site, http://www.forgotten-ny.com/, includes a lot of New York buildings and places. I've had the chance to check some of them out myself -- maybe some of you have seen the site or been to some of these places, too. For those of you as obsessed as I am, this event looks interesting: an "open house" of buildings and places in New York. http://www.ohny.org/