Abandoned America

A hall of mirrors in the abandoned Bell Labs complex in Holmdel, NJ Birthplace of more inventions than I can list here (follow the link for a rundown) and architect Eero Saarinen's swan song, it was saved from demolition and lives on as Bell Works.

Gallery/info: https://www.abandonedamerica.us/bell-labs

#science #abandoned #photography #history #art

Holmdel, New Jersey's Abandoned Bell Labs : The Idea Factory

One of the most innovative building designs where many of the 20th century's biggest scientific breakthroughs were made almost met the wrecking ball.

Dec 4, 2022 at 11:10pmMastodon for Android
Show threadMatt BlazeDec 4, 2022

@AbandonedAmerica I worked in that building for many years, and it is the place that gave me permission to despise a certain type of celebrated mid-century architecture.

Stunning from the outside and from the atrium, but utterly dehumanizing as a creative working environment. Alcatraz-style layout, with identical, windowless offices. The great work that was done there was done in spite of the place (or at other Labs locations).

The perfect set for "Severance", though.

Show threadJake OuelletteDec 4, 2022
@mattblaze @AbandonedAmerica have you been there recently? I went a couple years ago and they had converted it to a mall with office spaces for startups & cafes. A bit surreal, but interesting, renovation. They even used it for mass vaccinations with the first covid vaccines iirc
Show threadMatt BlazeDec 4, 2022
@Jakeout @AbandonedAmerica I've not. I do want to stop by there some day.
Show threadNorman WilsonDec 5, 2022
@mattblaze @Jakeout @AbandonedAmerica I've never been to HO. Haven't figured out how to get there on transit.
Show threadoddlettersDec 4, 2022
@mattblaze @AbandonedAmerica i knew i recognized it from somewhere!
Show threadBill BarolDec 4, 2022
@mattblaze @AbandonedAmerica Sorry to hear that. I've always been fascinated with Bell Labs -- as an entity, I guess, but also with the Holmdel campus. And yeah, it was perfect as the exterior for "Severance."
Show threadMatt BlazeDec 4, 2022
@billbarol @AbandonedAmerica I eventually moved to Murray Hill, a more properly chaotic research environment.
Show threadMarc JacobsDec 5, 2022
@mattblaze @billbarol @AbandonedAmerica When did you work at Murray Hill? My father spent most of his career in Allentown, but during the 70s was ~50% in Murray Hill. (Back when AT&T was intact and manufacturing was still Western Electric)
Show threadMatt BlazeDec 5, 2022
@billbarol @AbandonedAmerica @trollball mid-late 90’s, until the breakup (when the people who went to the AT&T side moved to Florham Park)
Show threadJeremy EpsteinDec 4, 2022
I worked in that building for several years, and don't have nearly the negative reaction you did. But before coming to Holmdel, I had worked in much worse facilities, including Burroughs Great Valley Labs, where even the exterior offices didn't have windows. @mattblaze @AbandonedAmerica
Show threadMatt BlazeDec 5, 2022
@jeremyepstein @AbandonedAmerica Don't get me wrong, I loved working there. But I found the physical environment almost comically hostile. And especially infuriating that the gave up WestBeth to move there!
Show threadSteve BellovinDec 5, 2022
@jeremyepstein @mattblaze @AbandonedAmerica What exterior offices at Holmdel? The only one there was for the president of Bell Labs, and that took special construction, because he didn't want the same working conditions as everyone else…
Show threadJeremy EpsteinDec 5, 2022
Steve, agree - I was referencing exterior offices at Burroughs, not at Bell Labs. @SteveBellovin @mattblaze @AbandonedAmerica
Show threadAbandoned AmericaDec 5, 2022
@jeremyepstein @SteveBellovin @mattblaze this is such an interesting thread, thanks! I love hearing from people that worked in places I photographed. At least they had a bunch of plants in the atrium, right?
Show threadSteve BellovinDec 5, 2022
@AbandonedAmerica @jeremyepstein @mattblaze Yes, they did. At one point, they also had plastic swans in the ponds, since these were actually part of the chiller system, and the goose droppings were clogging the intake filters…
Show threadJeremy EpsteinDec 5, 2022
Well it depends on when you visited. There were times when the atrium was filled with plants, and times when they covered it with cubicles. @SteveBellovin @AbandonedAmerica @mattblaze
Show threadMatt BlazeDec 5, 2022

@AbandonedAmerica @jeremyepstein @SteveBellovin The atrium and exterior was gorgeous, in that mid-century modernist way.

The problem was the office layout. All the office corridors were perpendicular to the outer glass walls. and ran maybe 10 offices deep between an outer (by the exterior wall) and inner (by the atrium) corridor.. So other than what spilled in from the transoms above each office door, there was almost no natural light in any workspace.

Show threadAbandoned AmericaDec 5, 2022
@mattblaze @jeremyepstein @SteveBellovin yeah, I totally get that based on my recollection of the place. Those exterior hallways kinda killed it
Show threadTony SalernoDec 6, 2022

@mattblaze
@AbandonedAmerica @jeremyepstein @SteveBellovin

I worked there as well long ago. I think due to the lack of office windows we got a lot more exercise doing laps using the outer (windowed) hallways. Or walking the outside circular road about the building.

It's turning into a nice social hub, although they did have some issues with rowdy teens in the common areas for a bit 😊

Here is the current web site
https://bell.works/new-jersey/explore/

Bell Works | New Jersey | Explore

Welcome to the Metroburb Bell Works is the reimagination of the historic former Bell Labs building in Holmdel, N.J. Today, the building is a one-of-a kind destination for business and […]

Work, Shop, Play | Inspired Real Estate
Show threadJoel PomalesDec 4, 2022
@AbandonedAmerica wasn't he also responsible for Dulles International?
Show threadAbandoned AmericaDec 5, 2022
@joelpomales I believe so. I know he did the St Louis Arch
Show threadJohn ClarkDec 4, 2022
@AbandonedAmerica so many exits… how do you know which to choose? 🤣
Show threadJennifreddy Glove HewittDec 4, 2022
@AbandonedAmerica crazy lookin!
Show threadMaggie Smith 👩🏼‍💻(she/her)Dec 5, 2022
@AbandonedAmerica I LOVE THIS! My grandfather worked there after WWII and ultimately retired from Bell. He was an electrical engineer.
Show threadAbandoned AmericaDec 5, 2022
@maggiesmithcybr oh, how cool! That's an awesome picture, btw!
Show threadMaggie Smith 👩🏼‍💻(she/her)Dec 5, 2022
@AbandonedAmerica it’s my fav of him. I knew a very different man than pictured here, but it’s fun to learn about what he was like as a young man before family and grandkids. He retired to Vermont and farmed alfalfa for a while and then turned fully to his workshop, mending fences and other wooden items for neighbors and the town. We’d spend summers there building things with him.
Show threadGeorge GoodmanDec 5, 2022

@AbandonedAmerica I was glad to see that Bell Labs Holmdel (at least the building) was saved from demolition. For me, it had good memories: my first interview w/ Bell Labs after grad school (in 1980) was at the Holmdel facility and I had many meetings there, though I ended up working in a different Bell Labs location in NJ. The external facade was impressive and the atrium was amazing.

I'm glad, though, I didn't end up working in the building. It was a maze of windowless cubby hole offices.

Show threadDave SpectorDec 5, 2022
@AbandonedAmerica I worked there in the late 90s as a consultant for SUN doing capacity planning and analysis supporting the various teams. It was an amazing place. So weird to see it empty.
Show threadAbandoned AmericaDec 5, 2022
@Dhmspector that's wild - any good stories?
Show threadDave SpectorDec 5, 2022
@AbandonedAmerica only one very techie one that comes to mind: the photonics group I supported needed so much compute power that they were ordering 1-2 fully configured Sun Enterprise 10K systems + massive raid arrays (these were $1-3MM each) every single week for the 2yrs (‘97/98) I worked there. That was a simply amazing amount of hardware let alone budget…
Show threadJ👀Dec 5, 2022

@AbandonedAmerica I also worked a few years in that building, which I found fascinating. Although it is true that the cubicles were a bit dehumanising, I loved walking around the circular corridors with outside views. And of course the atmosphere as one of the most important research facilities in history.

Anyway, I thought the local council was using the building recently to host startups?

Show threadMike WilliamsDec 5, 2022
@AbandonedAmerica The atrium was impressive. I visited the site as a consultant in the 80's.
Show threadRicardo B�nffyDec 5, 2022
@AbandonedAmerica I love how many buildings this design inspired.
Show threadJeffgodofbiscuitsDec 5, 2022
@AbandonedAmerica This is my favorite photo yet you’ve posted.
Show threadAbandoned AmericaDec 6, 2022
@Jeffgodofbiscuits thanks! It's always wild to see what people really connect with, I never know if something will hit or miss!
Show threadJeffgodofbiscuitsDec 7, 2022

@AbandonedAmerica I love abandoned buildings. I used to go to school near Kenilworth Castle which was so much fun to see.

Like I said I really enjoy your posts

Show threadJW prince of CPHDec 5, 2022
@AbandonedAmerica How this building hasn't been featured as basically all the supervillain/evil organization headquarters ever is beyond me 😂
Show threadJos BellDec 6, 2022
@AbandonedAmerica it looks like a Squid Games set....
Show threadShield MaidenDec 8, 2022
@AbandonedAmerica Fabulous picture...makes me want to paint it but time's running out...
Show threadAbandoned AmericaDec 8, 2022
@Judeet88 thank you!