Follow The Leader #13944

The Story

Viewed from above, an old and empty high school auditorium stands silent with the seating empty. Time is at a standstill here, but this time capsule you can actually briefly enter. Students and teachers stopped coming here in 1980 when the doors were locked. The school was built in 1917 and the abandoned baby grand piano was new then too.

Shot from the balcony, the abandoned baby grand piano sits in front of the stage. Like a drum major, it seems to lead a herd of worn wooden seats marching in unison across the wooden floor. It’s all wood here. It’s an auditorium full of dusty, faded, and unpolished wood in the colors of honey. Likewise, all the old applause became dusty and faded away long ago too, along with the old sweet songs once heard here.

The ranks are even, but there’s a gap in the seats leaving a hole where the projector was placed during an assembly. There is nothing more to see here and the formerly captive audience is long gone and escaped into the world.

Here’s another view of this empty high school auditorium that’s full of character as Ghost Concert #13942. You will see the balcony I stood on in that picture, a perch a little perilous from the lack of railings! The Unassembled #13945 shows a floor view and all the faded pastel colors around this room.

Location: Shenandoah, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania. Picture and story © Andrew Dierks