School’s Out
By Zoe Cassell
EERIE images show inside a rotting abandoned elementary school which was closed two decades ago due to budget cuts.
![Abandoned Southeast / mediadrumworld.com](https://mediadrumworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/MDRUM_Schools_Out-11.jpg)
These photographs show crumbling corridors and collapsed ceilings covered in thick grey dust witch graffiti adorned on every corner.
![Abandoned Southeast / mediadrumworld.com](https://mediadrumworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/MDRUM_Schools_Out-6.jpg)
The pictures were captured by the urban explorer known only as Abandoned Southeast (32) at the desolate F.D. McArthur Elementary School in Birmingham, Alabama in the States.
![Abandoned Southeast / mediadrumworld.com](https://mediadrumworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/MDRUM_Schools_Out-1.jpg)
“This abandoned school has been sitting empty and neglected for the last 20 years. Today it looks like a bomb has went off inside with the busted windows and crumbling brick,” said the urban explorer.
“The building was eerily quiet.”
![Abandoned Southeast / mediadrumworld.com](https://mediadrumworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/MDRUM_Schools_Out-9.jpg)
The school was originally built in 1910 and named the 17th Avenue School. It was later renamed after local attorney and Birmingham Board of Education president F.D. McArthur.
![Abandoned Southeast / mediadrumworld.com](https://mediadrumworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/MDRUM_Schools_Out-3.jpg)
Sadly the elementary closed in May 1997 after budget cuts and low numbers of new students enrolling meant it could no longer survive.
![Abandoned Southeast / mediadrumworld.com](https://mediadrumworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/MDRUM_Schools_Out-4.jpg)
It has since been up on the market but two deals have fallen through and the building stands derelict and destroyed.
![Abandoned Southeast / mediadrumworld.com](https://mediadrumworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/MDRUM_Schools_Out-2.jpg)
When asked about people’s reactions to Abandoned Southeast’s images he said: “They are amazed at the neglect and decline of the building.
“A once thriving city school has been left to rot.”
![Abandoned Southeast / mediadrumworld.com](https://mediadrumworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/MDRUM_Schools_Out-10.jpg)
He hopes his photography gives his audience a glimpse into the past.
![Abandoned Southeast / mediadrumworld.com](https://mediadrumworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/MDRUM_Schools_Out-7.jpg)
“I got involved in photography after exploring so many abandoned places and watching them get demolished or renovated,” Abandoned Southeast added.
“I wanted to capture the places I was visiting in photos and share them with others.”
![Abandoned Southeast / mediadrumworld.com](https://mediadrumworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/MDRUM_Schools_Out-8.jpg)
For more information, please visit Abandoned Southeast.