The Ghost Neighborhood | Restoration Obscura

The Restoration Obscura Photo Feature:
The Ghost Neighborhood
Guilderland's Abandoned Residential District

For a period of time, this anonymous residential ruin read like a dystopian movie set dropped into the heart of one of Albany’s bedroom communities, sitting directly beside the largest mall in the Capital Region. Just beyond the tree line, Crossgates Mall drew roughly ten million visitors a year, while a few hundred feet away an entire neighborhood sat boarded, silent, and slowly dissolving. Homes once built for postwar families were held in corporate suspension, secured but unmaintained, waiting out failed expansion plans, delayed approvals, and the slow recalculation of land value.

This long-form photo essay documents that interval of limbo, when a functioning suburb briefly became something unrecognizable. Ice-laden roofs, unplowed streets, camouflaged plywood, and domestic infrastructure slipping back into landscape reveal how erasure often begins long before demolition. The images trace a form of abandonment driven not by collapse or disaster, but by patience, policy, and time.

You can access the feature on Restoration Obscura or listen in the Substack app.

© 2026 John Bulmer Photography, John Bulmer Media, Nor'easter Films, and Restoration Obscura
www.bulmerphotography.com | www.johnbulmermedia.com

www.noreasterfilms.com | www.restorationobscura.com

All Rights Reserved 

Night Ruins | 09.23.2025

Night Ruins | Saratoga County, New York

This 19th-century ruin likely served the canal economy, built of local stone and brick, with a chimney suggesting industrial use. Structures like this once lined canal corridors, supporting mills, warehouses, and workshops that moved goods through the interior.

The interior with concealed LED panels, a method I’ve used on barns, farmhouses, and abandoned roadside ice cream stands. The red light creates visual contrast, making it easier to read the structure’s layout and surface detail. It emphasizes openings, material changes, and what still holds together, while adding a degree of mystery to spaces no longer in use.

Remnants like this are part of the ghost infrastructure still found along the edges of historical industrial zones, structures left behind as canal routes shifted and economies moved on.

You can read more on my Substack Restoration Obscura.

© 2025 John Bulmer Photography, John Bulmer Media, Nor'easter Films, and Restoration Obscura
www.bulmerphotography.com | www.johnbulmermedia.com

www.noreasterfilms.com | www.restorationobscura.com

All Rights Reserved 

E-Comm Square, Infrared | 05.25.2025

E-Comm Square, Infrared | 05.25.2025
Albany, New York

This infrared black-and-white photo was taken today at the remains of E-Comm Square in downtown Albany.

The buildings along this stretch of Broadway date back to the mid-1800s, rebuilt after a devastating fire in 1848. For decades, this row was part of a thriving corridor of commerce and industry, warehouses, storefronts, and later, state offices. In the early 2000s, the property was acquired for a proposed convention center. When plans shifted elsewhere, the site was left behind.

Years of vacancy followed. Roof collapses. Red X placards. Emergency demolitions. Today, the block is mostly silent—its story told through fading signs and photos like this.

Infrared photography reveals what the eye doesn’t catch. Here, the green of spring foliage appears ghostly white, casting the scene in spectral contrast. It’s a reminder of how quickly nature begins to reclaim the built environment once we step away. Weeds rise through concrete. Roots settle in mortar. Decay isn’t dramatic, it’s patient.

The sign still reads “E-Comm Square,” but its function is long gone. All that remains is form, and nature, slowly taking it back.

Originally appeared on www.restorationobscura.com.

© 2025 John Bulmer Photography, John Bulmer Media, Restoration Obscura, and Nor'easter Films
www.bulmerphotography.com
www.johnbulmermedia.com
www.restorationobscura.com
www.noreasterfilms.com
All Rights Reserved

The Ruins of the Original Hoffman's Playland | 06.27.2024

 
The ruins of the original Hoffman’s Playland in Latham, New York | 06.27.2024
These were taken from outside the fence in the parking lot. The property is posted. Please don’t trespass.

© 2024 John Bulmer Photography + Nor'easter Films
www.bulmerphotography.com
www.johnbulmerart.com
www.noreasterfilms.com

All Rights Reserved    

Project Magic Lantern: Silent Farms Series 2

Project Magic Lantern: Silent Farms, Locations Undisclosed 

Abandoned farmhouses and their artifacts can evoke a sense of nostalgia for a simpler way of life, while also revealing the hardships and challenges of rural living. These old homes often found in remote locations, are often filled with remnants of a bygone era - rusted tools, peeling paint, and broken furniture. Some of these artifacts may have sentimental value to the families who lived there, while others may have historic significance. Exploring these abandoned structures provides a glimpse into the lives of those who lived there and the struggles they faced. 

All locations photographed with permission. 

Access details can not be disclosed.

© 2023 John Bulmer Photography + Nor'easter Films
www.bulmerphotography.com
www.johnbulmerart.com
www.noreasterfilms.com
All Rights Reserved   

Abandoned Theater | 11.12.2022

 Abandoned Theater | 11.12.2022

© 2022 John Bulmer Photography + Nor'easter Films
www.bulmerphotography.com
www.johnbulmerart.com
www.noreasterfilms.com
All Rights Reserved  

The Aircraft Boneyard

The Aircraft Boneyard Series
Undisclosed Location

© 2021 John Bulmer Photography + Nor'easter Films

www.bulmerphotography.com

www.noreasterfilms.com

All Rights Reserved

Night Climb

Night Climb
Undisclosed Location 

© 2021 John Bulmer Photography + Nor'easter Films

www.bulmerphotography.com

www.noreasterfilms.com

All Rights Reserved

Abandoned Farmhouse | 03.03.2021

Abandoned Farmhouse | 03.03.2021
Undisclosed Location 

© 2021 John Bulmer Photography + Nor'easter Films

www.bulmerphotography.com

www.noreasterfilms.com

All Rights Reserved

 

Abandoned Cemetery Office | 01.16.2021

Abandoned Cemetary Office | 01.16.2021
Saratoga County, New York 

© 2021 John Bulmer Photography + Nor'easter Films

www.bulmerphotography.com

www.noreasterfilms.com

All Rights Reserved

Adirondack Ghost Mine

Ghost Mine Series 

Tahawus, Newcomb, New York 

© 2019 John Bulmer Photography + Nor'easter Films
www.bulmerphotography.com
www.noreasterfilms.com

All Rights Reserved