Ontario Abandoned Places will be rebranded as Ominous Abandoned Places

Winchester Mystery House

Demolished House in Fort Erie, Ontario, Canada

Feb 03 2014

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Recent status Demolished
Location # 10094

... the Ontario version, anyway. Not quite as grand and mysterious as the San Jose, California original, but what did you expect out Ridgeway?

Crazily, against all odds, this house has somehow escaped. It has stood right in the middle of the downtown core of Ridgeway, fully furnished, completely open to the elements, since the late 80s. It is truly amazing that, in a town with a population that barely broke 2000 just this year, local youth bored out of their skulls haven't totaled it. In 2013, a group of Ridgeway youth were even arrested for various arsons around town. And yet, by all indications, this decaying gem has never even been entered by vandals, explorers, or anyone else.

Making things even more mysterious (or perhaps having something to do with why it has been left virtually alone), the interior is filled with target shooting paraphernalia - empty shell casings wait in piles to be refilled. There are marksman trophies and even a handsome full-wall gun cabinet. This combined with a nicely accelerated level of decay make it surely the best location Ridgeway has to offer.

The challenge though, is finding it. The mystique of this location is how interesting it is that it remains JUST hidden enough to escape the casual comings and goings around it. Strictly speaking, if we cut off Crystal Beach to the south, the Ridgeway core is only a 0.8 km X 0.6 km rectangle with just two main streets running north and south. LOCATION IS NOT AT THE POSTED COORDINATES. The map marks the centre of town just so you can see how small the geographical area is. Surely that kind of area is worth the challenge? Explorers... work your magic!

Comments

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7 years ago

This has been demolished.

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10 years ago

I don't know how you keep finding these GS, but you never fail to impress.

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10 years ago

Brilliant shots boys, well done.

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10 years ago

Terrific galleries guys!!

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10 years ago

Strange that a place like this could be virtually untouched.

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10 years ago

No the furnace and water heater and breaker panel was in that first room so I don't think there was one.

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10 years ago

DM do you remember seeing a basement door? I'm with you on the noise in photos. Mine had far too much as well. On a side note, I just learned I've made a critical error - using a tripod with image stabilization still turned on actually introduces noise and blur into photos. Huh!

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10 years ago

a few shots are a little noisy but it was getting very dark and the photo's I got with the flash I didn't really like as much as the ones without, hope you all still enjoy and if not there is alway's GS's gallery ;)

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10 years ago

Awesome find gs!! Great level of decay. Love the lived in decayed look, lots to look at here. Can't help but wonder what might be left in the basement too. Did you make it to the basement or no? wasn't safe enough?..