Taiwan 2024 - Northeast Coast, Abandoned Structure #1 / Exploring Sea-Arama

Now THIS is something that'll get me going, and ticks several boxes:  high color contrast with the figures against a dull background; an old abandoned structure; vegetation proving that wherever life can exist it will; artfully placed Chinese writing; and a juxtaposition between the old and the new.  Because the others in the group weren't quite as excited as I was, they moved on while I hovered around this guy, "clack clack clack"ing away.

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I touched on the business of photographing abandoned structures in the first paragraph of this post from 2021.  The first time I had an opportunity to engage in this kind of photography, however, was during my work as Criminal Justice Planner for Harris and twelve other counties here in Southeast Texas, including Galveston County.

When going out in the field for a meeting, it was my habit to leave early enough to explore the environs for an hour or so to get a feel for the place.  This gained familiarity made it easier to break the ice as a good way to start a meeting, and earned credibility, as the stakeholders generally appreciated my efforts to know their communities better.  Before one such meeting on the island in Galveston County I was driving along on Seawall Boulevard when, on a lark, I decided to check out what was left of Sea-Arama.  As a family we went there on day trips from Orange at least once a year.  I knew it had closed, so was curious whether anything was still there.

Much to my surprise, a lot was still there.  And much to my greater surprise, I was able to go down the long drive and just walk into the place, as if it were still open for business!  What a bonanza this was for someone that has a weakness for nostalgia and loves to explore old abandoned places!

It was evident that the kids in the area - teens most likely - had discovered this bonanza as well, as there were tire marks where someone in a car had spun a few donuts right in the lobby area.  But amazingly everything was just the same as I'd remembered it, except old, rundown, and in many cases outright falling apart, and there was a moderate amount of graffiti in places.  The pools where the dolphins performed were still there, though empty and dry of course; in some, enough dirt accumulated on the bottom to grow a small tree or two.  From memory I was able to go directly to all the places where we'd seen shows more than three decades before:  the alligator and cobra show arena, the small lake where they'd performed the ski shows, the giant central aquarium surrounded by small ones along the edge, even the small cafeteria and snack kiosks.

I happened to have an Instamatic 110 in the car, so retrieved it and took probably a hundred pictures, which were printed and which I hope one day to scan and post a few for this blog.  As one who already liked exploring old and abandoned places, this was the first time I was able to indulge in photographing such, planting the seed for a hobby that, obviously, has lasted to this day.

As a postcript, later that day I was meeting with Sheriff Leonard, and told him I was amazed that just anyone could go onto that property and do whatever they wanted.  With those big empty pools and the precariousness of the structures that were literally falling down, I wondered if it was a huge liability for the county.  Don't know if my conversation with the Sheriff had anything to do with it, but as I drove by a few months later while there for another meeting, noticed that a tall chain-link fence had been installed around the property, the gate at the entrance of which was closed with a padlock.