Location
To those of you who are not aware New York is a state slightly larger than England and there are lots of Urbex spots outside the city. One of them is the The Glenwood Power Plant, also known as the Yonkers Power Station, a historic but abandoned structure located on the banks of the Hudson River in Yonkers, New York. Yonkers is the third largest city in the state and is incredibly close to the city. If you are in Midtown Manhattan and you take the Metro-North Railroad from Grand Central Terminal to Glenwood Station the total journey is 30-35 minutes - the power plant is right next to the station.
History
The plant was completed in 1906 by the New York Central and Hudson River Railroad. It was designed to generate electricity to power the electrified railroad system for trains along the Hudson Line, part of what is now the Metro-North Railroad. This made rail transport more efficient and environmentally cleaner compared to coal-powered locomotives. However, following advancements in technology and the shift to newer power plants, the Glenwood Power Plant became obsolete and was decommissioned in 1963. Since then it has been abandoned and has fallen into disrepair. Many proposals have been made to revitalise the site but none of them have materialised, and it remains private property owned by the Lela Goren Group. In the past 60 years the roof has partially collapsed and interiors exposed to the elements. Yet the building's industrial beauty—with towering steel beams, rusted machinery, and broken windows remains hence why it is incredibly popular for Urbexers.
In the image on the right you can see the New York skyline across the Hudson River
The plant was designed in the Beaux-Arts style, featuring red brick facades, large arched windows, and intricate detailing. The architect, Charles Reed, created a structure that was not only functional but aesthetically impressive.
Over here you see the extensive graffiti throughout the plant - it is common to encounter graffiti artists whilst exploring Glenwood
The Climb
Now for the difficult part. Most Urbexers just like to explore. I personally like to climb. To get to the towers you need to make use of the ladders and whatnot inside the plant and then you're onto the broken roof.
The towers are around 150 feet (46 meters) tall. They're made of brick and steel and likely served as smokestacks or for housing operational equipment related to the power generation process. It's a marvellous thing to look at.
Some things to be aware of is that the railings have been corroded. As I mentioned before the tower is very tall. There's also no places to stop and the drop goes right down to the floor below the building. Essentially, if you fall even form low down on the tower you die, so only do it if you have good climbing ability and gloves.
Once you're at the top
Sadly my images at the top weren't great my friend and I only took videos. This first image here is from a different Urbexer I'm including it because it's important to see how narrow the top is. The feeling once you've gotten to the top is amazing tbh. Your immediate surroundings are Yonkers (the neighbourhood Nepperhan isn't the best tbh but it's still cool to be on top of it) and you also have a great view of the Manhattan skyline from up there
Overall, I'd say the Glenwood Power Plant was probably better than any Urbex we have in the UK. The pictures you saw at the start of this report were really cool, the climb is also a great character building experience. It was also incredibly accessible like I said at the start, it's so easy to get there from Grand Central and it's right next to the train station with no fence involved.
Hope this helps
To those of you who are not aware New York is a state slightly larger than England and there are lots of Urbex spots outside the city. One of them is the The Glenwood Power Plant, also known as the Yonkers Power Station, a historic but abandoned structure located on the banks of the Hudson River in Yonkers, New York. Yonkers is the third largest city in the state and is incredibly close to the city. If you are in Midtown Manhattan and you take the Metro-North Railroad from Grand Central Terminal to Glenwood Station the total journey is 30-35 minutes - the power plant is right next to the station.
History
The plant was completed in 1906 by the New York Central and Hudson River Railroad. It was designed to generate electricity to power the electrified railroad system for trains along the Hudson Line, part of what is now the Metro-North Railroad. This made rail transport more efficient and environmentally cleaner compared to coal-powered locomotives. However, following advancements in technology and the shift to newer power plants, the Glenwood Power Plant became obsolete and was decommissioned in 1963. Since then it has been abandoned and has fallen into disrepair. Many proposals have been made to revitalise the site but none of them have materialised, and it remains private property owned by the Lela Goren Group. In the past 60 years the roof has partially collapsed and interiors exposed to the elements. Yet the building's industrial beauty—with towering steel beams, rusted machinery, and broken windows remains hence why it is incredibly popular for Urbexers.
In the image on the right you can see the New York skyline across the Hudson River
The plant was designed in the Beaux-Arts style, featuring red brick facades, large arched windows, and intricate detailing. The architect, Charles Reed, created a structure that was not only functional but aesthetically impressive.
Over here you see the extensive graffiti throughout the plant - it is common to encounter graffiti artists whilst exploring Glenwood
The Climb
Now for the difficult part. Most Urbexers just like to explore. I personally like to climb. To get to the towers you need to make use of the ladders and whatnot inside the plant and then you're onto the broken roof.
The towers are around 150 feet (46 meters) tall. They're made of brick and steel and likely served as smokestacks or for housing operational equipment related to the power generation process. It's a marvellous thing to look at.
Some things to be aware of is that the railings have been corroded. As I mentioned before the tower is very tall. There's also no places to stop and the drop goes right down to the floor below the building. Essentially, if you fall even form low down on the tower you die, so only do it if you have good climbing ability and gloves.
Once you're at the top
Sadly my images at the top weren't great my friend and I only took videos. This first image here is from a different Urbexer I'm including it because it's important to see how narrow the top is. The feeling once you've gotten to the top is amazing tbh. Your immediate surroundings are Yonkers (the neighbourhood Nepperhan isn't the best tbh but it's still cool to be on top of it) and you also have a great view of the Manhattan skyline from up there
Overall, I'd say the Glenwood Power Plant was probably better than any Urbex we have in the UK. The pictures you saw at the start of this report were really cool, the climb is also a great character building experience. It was also incredibly accessible like I said at the start, it's so easy to get there from Grand Central and it's right next to the train station with no fence involved.
Hope this helps
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