traveling to the poconos during the seventies meant you were either on your honeymoon, entertaining business guests, or you were a ‘swinger.’

 

traveling to the poconos in 2017 means you’re either a youtube urban explorer out for the next great video shoot of an abandoned resort, or you’re a family headed to the big indoor waterpark/hotel/human petri dish.

this past week my daughter and I headed to the poconos in hopes of being able to sneak a peek into the past. I plotted out several abandoned places along our route, with the intent of photographing and exploring as many as we could along the way. our first stop in scranton was a bust (torn down and replaced with new homes) our second stop, scranton lace factory, was not conducive to interior exploration but we did take a few exterior shots.

when we arrived in the poconos and couldn’t get into the summit resort we proceeded to our main destination; penn hills.

if you know anything about abandoned poconos, you’re familiar with penn hills. let’s just say there’s not much stopping just about anyone from exploring the 85+ acres of pure 70’s honeymoon kitsch (or what’s left of it)

 

the blend of modernist architecture, mixed with graffiti, broken glass, and the force of nature kept stopping me in my tracks.

 

at times it was overwhelming.

human damages far exceeding the unrelenting force of nature.

 

we only saw a fraction of the property, but it was simply amazing.

I would have loved to have seen this place kept intact, the bones of the architecture are so fantastic, and it could have been brilliantly returned to it’s glory as a vintage throwback (hipsters would’ve loved overpaying to sleep in a round bed!)

but back taxes and bad business decisions have left it to rot, and it appears that it will most likely be bulldozed rather than restored.

it made for a wonderful adventure, one we won’t soon forget.

All images © 2013-2017 Jeannie M. Starks / two daisies life