Liminal Spaces of the Abandoned Poughkeepsie Inn

The world is a grey wash, diffused by a smoke plume that has traveled thousands of miles to blot out the sun. Wildfires burn rampant in Canada, California, and Oregon as we walk across the cracked pavement of the shuttered Poughkeepsie Inn. It's quiet here, more so than usual. It's September 2020, and the COVID pandemic has people locked down, hiding, and fearful. The world had disconnected from itself, and the shrouded skies above matched the feeling here on the ground.
The passage of time allows one to gain new perspectives. Just a couple of years ago, an abandoned roadside inn could seem a rather bland place. However, in 2020, the social distancing measures, lockdowns, and crumbling societal norms cast a new light on places like the Poughkeepsie Inn. It had been less than a year since the pandemic began, and in that short amount of time, both vehicle and foot traffic across the country greatly declined and was not expected to return in any meaningful way for the foreseeable future. The property was in no way a historic one, originally opening as the 'Po'Keepsie Motor Inn' in the autumn of 1956, yet it seemed like a relic from a past world. A world we were unsure we would ever see again. The sign on the road greeted visitors with a final welcome - "Closed. Thanks for the memories". A message that had more meaning now than when it was written years prior. We stepped into the lobby through a smashed window pane, glass cracking under the tread of our boots.
The doors to the exterior bedrooms were all unlocked, most ajar, some kicked in, and others missing entirely. The states of the rooms varied greatly as well, from utterly destroyed to still clean and made up by the room service crew of years past. The annex buildings beyond the main inn had been recently torn down, in preparation for a redevelopment plan that the ongoing pandemic had halted. It was evident that the Poughkeepsie Inn was living on borrowed time.
Once inside we headed upstairs, to the rooms over the lobby and check-in counter. It was here we came across the most unusual discovery of the day. All the rooms were labeled with printed papers, stating things like 'Dallas' and 'Production Office'. Inside the 'Dallas' room nothing seemed all that unusual, just the typical toppled chairs and ripped window treatments we had seen all day. However, beyond the door labeled as the production office remnants of an unknown film project dotted the room. On a wall behind a desk hung a partial filming schedule, and adjacent to that was a spot for call sheets as well as a map of the property with some key locations highlighted. It wasn't much to go on, without a title or crew names our chances of finding the final product were slim. We explored the rest of the floor, with little to note aside from the endmost room on the far corridor, which was closed and draped in a shower curtain. It was clear that someone had taken up residence here, so we gave them their space and privacy and headed back toward the lobby stairs. It was then that we noticed a small door we had initially overlooked. Upon opening it led to a standard storeroom, small, with plywood shelving of old cleaning supplies. However, on the corner of a shelf, we noticed an unusual stack of papers. Upon closer investigation, we discovered these were entire bound scripts, left behind by some unknown production crew after wrapping an untitled film project. Though it was difficult to glean much information from the papers, we did uncover some sheets that credited writers and the director - Sonejuhi Sinha.
When we returned home for the evening we began looking into the names we saw credited on the draft script and in little time we discovered the final film - Stray Dolls. We found the film streaming and settled in for the evening. The film proved to be a well-crafted piece of cinema - A thriller/drama in spirit to a less bombastic Gregg Araki, filmed primarily on location at the inn during its vacancy. The use of color and lighting was a standout feature of the film for us, and it was surreal to see the now-deteriorated inn glowing in a blue and yellow ambiance throughout the night scenes.
Today the Poughkeepsie Inn no longer exists. Replaced by commercial and residential units after COVID restrictions waned and redevelopment work could resume. We visited one final time before the inn fell, to walk about the place in the sunlight. Though the skies were clear that day, a strange atmosphere still hung over the property, and we can only imagine it remaindered until the structure was no more.
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[@naturalcambion3747]

There is a strange beauty in the melancholy of decay. Wonderfully done!

[@AntiquityEchoes]

These places are like other worlds. Thank you very much.

[@naturalcambion3747]

@@AntiquityEchoes my pleasure and thank you for capturing them and sharing them.

[@joesneon]

As always,well done!

[@AntiquityEchoes]

Thank you!

[@ItsEban]

Guys!! Where are the long videos ?? I was recommending your channel to a friend and saw that you removed all the long videos of your visits :(

[@AntiquityEchoes]

What long videos are you talking about? We have a section which we recently started for longer form POV videos, but that's likely different than what you're referring to.

[@TeamUrbexDiscovery]

Top Video 🤜🏻🤛🏻

[@AntiquityEchoes]

Thank you 🙌

[@janetpersons7647]

Is that a huge pool???

[@AntiquityEchoes]

The open pit shown in the video is actually the foundation of a portion of the hotel that was demolished.