makes you wonder what he was in for! Great capture Tara!

How do you do it. I would walk right past that without a second glance. But you find the coolest things to take pics of.

I have some UrbEx (urban explorer) friend who'd be in a massive drool all over this. It would actually be a rather messy joint drool, and maybe some panting and fanning of the face as well. UrbEx people get all googly when they see stuff like this, but then so do I, which probably explains why I know urban explorer people with inhuman abilities at shimmying through stuff, climbing, contorting, and making sure not to allow their Hello Kitty carbon-monoxide proof gas masks to shadow their shots. Anyway, joint efforts are so much fun and you and Bill have been to a place I have to go...for photographs, mind you. What a shot this is. What a story it tells! WOW! And as for Nikolay, this is right up his alley!

When I first saw the thumbnail, I thought I was looking at shadows falling on an old building with rows of windows. Once again, you've captured a reality fragment that most would overlook & turned it into a fascinating photographic composition...

So many questions about him come to mind! It's the sort if thing that sends genealogists and archaeologists wild. Well seen: his namesake will be thrilled.

Superb capture Tara. God Bless.

This seems an outside shot so I'm guessing Nikolay jhad nothing to do with it, also I would doubt that stencil image would last very long, all of which raises more questions. Perhaps it is just a tagging, as many graffiti types use stencils for tagging. [added later] No wait, it isn't a stencil, perhaps just scratched into the surface...same paint color as shown to the right. Oh, I like your pic, and wouldn't that be a pleasant place to be kept for a few years?

Nice shot. I would hate to be in a place like that!

cool urbex shot

Very nice textures and dramatic mood

WOW he must have been in there for a lonnng time since he got his own sign. !

Looks like a very dismal place but a great pic Hugs Susan

Wonderfully inexplicable capture! I'd have done the same. I love these kind of finds!

Outstanding discovery. It does mirror one of his recent posts. These earlier prisons were grim for a reason. Having once been inside, the idea was that you didn't want to go back. Now days the inside is better than the outside for some.

Great photo. I would have missed this one. Nice work!

Excellent....

And on at least the second deck in an area completely barred off when we visited...suppose this could have been open to visitors sometime after 1973, but the number 1885 is a complete mystery since the building was built in 1889. Maybe poor Nikolay had served in the older territorial prison...we'll never know. Composition makes this for me:)

Thank you so much for remembering me, dear Tara and Bill! Can't remember if any of my life's period has been associated with the pen, especially in the 19th century, but as we say in Russia, " ot tyurmy i ot soumy ne zarekaysa" meaning "don’t count out the prison or a beggar’s bowl". Life is too long and too and abundant, so anything may cound the corner !