 |
|||||||||
|
|||||||||
|
|||||||||
Rin and Gahein had each been photographers for some time, traveling to all sorts of parks and places around the Twin Cities area, exploring the uses of the camera in capturing all sorts of things outside and in. One warm day in early fall, the two of them were driving around Minneapolis looking for something to do, many months earlier they had each passed a large abandoned Mill on the way to one of their treks and they had vowed to return to it one day and check it out further. It was on this warm autumn day of '07 that Gahein mentioned they ought to return to the Mill, as they were reaching a dead end with places to visit.
Fifteen minutes later they were there, the thrill simply of entering the presense of this great building tinged their nerves. Then, as if a sign from above that they were meant to move into this new world of Urban Exploration, they found a large garage door on the side of the building had been left wide open. They entered and we're immediatly struck. It was beautiful, and the feeling that the Mill produced was so incredibly eery. There were sounds of something caught in the wind, but to them, as they frantically cleared the memory cards on their cameras of as many pictures as the could, the sound was no more than footsteps of the unknown around the corner. Cautiously, with adrenaline coursing through their veins, they pushed forward, enjoying every minute of it. The Mill was the starting line and after a few more trips they took off. Still maintaining an interest in other photography, conceptual, natural, and the like, Rin and Gahein did not yet concieve the wonder of Urban Exploration that they had only begun to experience. So, as the turned to winter they began looking for new places to visit and stumbled upon the Hydro and the Apartments. Word got out around school that the two of them had begun this new hobby and Rin and Gahein began leading trips to their new-found places with others. In the early winter days of 2007, after a cold trip to the Hydro, friend Averna, Rin and Gahein got to talking and the idea to actually create a group was made. The next day, the three of them officially declared the group the Municipal Heroes using synonyms of 'Urban Exploration.'  Here's a look at official founders
(from left to right) Rin, Averna, and Socrates after a cold winter visit to The "Hydro". After that, everything started coming together, this site was created along with the Pink Duct Tape Logo by Gahein. Most of the pictures were taken and compiled on the Flickr Account for Municipal Heroes by Rin, with additional pictures added by other members. The name Municipal Heroes suddenly started to grow and grow.
Today, they still find new places to explore with a list that keeps on getting longer. As for the Mill and the other places, they continue to explore them and are always finding new rooms and new things that they hadn't seen before. So that's how it all began, and, put in Rin's words, "the reason we even first visited the Mill was that the structure was an available photographic gold mine, and this proved to be true." And it truly is the art that carries the Municipal Heroes into every building, every room, every corridor. It is the art and the beauty that keeps them going. |
|||||||||