The Lost Academy
On a Maryland hilltop, among thick
forest and sprawling under-wood, sits the long disused campus of a
once-illustrious private academy. Every passing year finds these
grounds sinking further beneath the tide of nature and time, like
some beautiful ship slowly disappearing into the murky waters of the
sea. Even now, with the severe decay and overgrowth, this campus
retains a kind of elegance not often seen. An elegance now more
broken than not.
The primary focus of our time here was
the main hall, which even after all it has been through still proudly
stands at the far end of the Italian Gardens. A garden now full of
nothing more than weeds and thistles. Constructed between the years
of 1898 and 1902, this campus operated upon some 300+ acres and
contained many building finely cut and formed from the local granite
supply. The school grounds were designed in a Beaux-Arts style, with
heavy influences of Georgian architecture. A perfect example of this
is the aforementioned main hall. The grand lobby and beautiful
stairways are prime examples of Beaux-Arts, while its outward
stretching wings of classrooms very much echo the more subdued, but
still beautifully trimmed Georgian tones. Needless to say; the youths
privileged enough to walk these halls were almost exclusively the
offspring of affluent families from the region.
Though considered an upstanding
institution, by 1942 dwindling enrollment forced the school to
relocate back to it's pre-1902 campus and facilities. This was good
news for the US military though, as they were eyeing the grounds for
use as a training facility. In 1942 the campus was acquired for use
as such, and several hundred (far less elegant) buildings were
erected on the campus and surrounding grounds. The military base
operated until 1976, graduating more than 500,000 recruits before it
closed. After vacating the property the military leveled and removed
most all of the buildings they had constructed, leaving the campus
more-or-less as it was before they had arrived. For a time after the
demilitarization the grounds had come to be utilized as a job
training center. The center eventually closed in 1990, marking the
end of service for the old school and grounds.
Gazing upward at the vaulted ceilings,
it is hard to fathom this collection of rotting wood and blackened
plaster was once a distinguished school for privileged youths. The
natural world cares not of classes and hierarchy, for all are equal
when turning to dirt.
The old gardens are now more a jungle.
Unfortunately much of this building was lost to fire in 2014.
The lower level of this building was filled with dead birds, mostly buzzards.
This is an older video of ours. When watching, you may notice that it has a different "feel" to it than our current-day films. This is because the style of our cinematography has progressed over time, and our equipment has changed and improved throughout the years. We have chosen to leave our older videos available for viewing online to illustrate the evolution of our work.