Inside the Late Edison High School, Philadelphia’s Forgotten Castle

(Photos by Ruin Porn)

I recently stumbled across my potentially greatest Instagram find ever – @RuinPorn, a stunning array of Urbex pictures of abandoned Philadelphia. (Urbex stands for ‘urban exploration,’ if you were wondering!)

Over the 2 plus years I’ve been running this blog, I’ve been lucky enough to take a few such adventures myself, so this was right up my alley (and yours too, probably.)

After my excitement wore down a bit I reached out to the creator of the account (who would for obvious reasons like to remain nameless, and who I will refer to simply as Ruin Porn) only to find out that she was a huge fan of my blog too!

Long story short, I asked her if she would like to submit any of her photos to Streets Dept – and she said yes. Leaving us where we are today, with these incredible shots from inside the late Edison High School, whose 4-alarm fire on August 3rd, 2011 saw the dramatic final chapter of this near century-old building.

Check out some more thoughts from Ruin Porn on why so many people are into these sorts of explorations, and what it was like inside Edison…

Streets Dept: What do you think it is that attracts you, and so many people on your Instagram, to urban adventuring?

Ruin Porn: I’ve lived in Philly since 1988 and I have always loved Philly’s abandoned buildings. I would ride my bike past all these architecturally beautiful, decaying buildings and imagine how they looked when then were new. Now, 20-some years later, I stopped admiring them just from the outside and explore the interiors.

I get a visual high after I slip into a building and see it in an advanced state of ruin. I think many people are fascinated by, it which is why me, and other Urbex Instagrammers, get a lot of followers.

Ultimately, I am motivated by love for these buildings. I wish they could all be mindfully renovated for adaptive reuse. I want everyone else to love them, too, so we can fight for them when developers come to demo and turn them into strip malls.

SD: What was your sense inside Edison? Did anything in particular stick out to you?

RP: I love how Edison High is like a castle in the middle of Fairhill, it is such a unique structure. Fire and neglect had really taken a toll on the building.

The adventure was tense, because there were scrappers (or maybe taggers) inside who were shouting and throwing stuff. I have to admit I was a little scared, but toughed it out. The auditorium, remains to this day, the most amazing UE sight I have ever seen. It was so massive and beautiful and completely overwhelming.

I shot these photos a little while ago, so I am sad I will never get a chance to shoot the inside again as it is currently being torn down to make way for a Save-A-Lot supermarket, Burger King and Family Dollar. I think this is such a loss for Fairhill, they are losing their castle. I can only imagine how amazing it could have been if it was renovated.