Chile, Atacama Desert, June-July 2011: The Abandoned Ghost Town of Humberstone and Santa Laura, Casino Español
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Humberstone was once abuzz with energy and culture, particularly in the 1940s, before the development of synthetic nitrates did them in, forcing its closure in 1960. Humberstone now is a fascinating ghost town, abandoned and derelict, but beautiful in its decay. And anyone who has spent any time on this Eleven Shadows site knows how much I love to wander and photograph abandoned buildings. ~~~ Rust, ruins and debris Ivo Serge |
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Santa Laura: Because I had taken public transportation from Iquique to Humberstone, it was easier for me to walk 30 minutes uphill to Santa Laura. I wanted to see the monstrous machinery. There, by the manager's house, was this abandoned kitchen, the years creating an interesting textural patina. |
 Moon over Santa Laura's enormous refinery, otherwise known as the Salitrera Santa Laura. This building would break up the saltpeter into smaller pieces, which would be placed on a conveyer belt and eventually be transferred by chute into a second building to be placed in gigantic receptacles, called nitrate pans, or cachuchos, in Spanish. And at the cachuchos, the minerals and water were heated. |
 The exquisite decay of the Santa Laura refinery. Like Humberstone, Santa Laura was also declared a historical monument in 1970, and then in 2005 declared a UNESCO World Heritage site. |
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And this shirt would know. It had accompanied me to the infamous Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum in Weston, West Virginia. The Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum (later named Weston State Hospital), constructed between 1858 and 1881, is the largest hand-cut stone masonry building in North America, and is the second largest in the world, next to the Kremlin. And is, I might point out, an amazing abandoned building. As a bonus, it may be haunted. Here, check out photos of the abandoned asylum on my website. |
 This is the inside of Casino Español in the coastal town of Iquique in North Chile, a flurry of Moorish geometric patterns, stained glass, and tile imported from South Spain to build this over-the-top homage to Moorish-Muslim-North Moroccan-South Spanish architecture. Oh, yes, and they serve food here too. |
Iquique was closing down early. It was off-season, so despite being Saturday, many stores and restaurants were closed. I still managed to book a tour with Turismo Limira on Calle Baquedano, the main pedestrian thoroughfare. It was a marathon 12-hour tour of the surrounding area of Iquique, that yes, included a return visit to Humberstone and Santa Laura. But I didn't mind. I hadn't even seen everything despite spending a whole day there. |
I envisioned some of these exteriors of the buildings in Santa Laura would look exquisite in black and white, something that I had also done yesterday when I had visited. Some photos just look better in black and white, with the focus placed more on form and light and composition, and so it is. |
 Santa Laura, otherwise known as Salitrera Santa Laura. The first building building would break up the saltpeter into smaller pieces, which would be placed on a conveyer belt and eventually be transferred by chute into a second building to be placed in gigantic receptacles, called nitre-beds, or cachuchos, in Spanish. And at the cachuchos, the minerals and water were heated, later to be put on trains and distributed to the world. |
Humberstone was established in 1872, a complete town that featured not only refineries and living quarters, but also a theater with international stars, a ballroom, a hospital, and much more. Now an abandoned ghost town, it has been made a World Heritage site by Unesco. |
And I again returned to the swimming pool at Humberstone. It's not difficult to see that the swimming pool was made from cast iron scavenged from a shipwreck. |
And across from the swimming pool, the exquisitely decaying beds from the homes of the nitrate workers, it's walls and beds exposed to the outside air from the window. That is not camera noise in the photo. The beds and the surrounding area are covered by years of dust from the Atacama desert. |
Another view of the primary school in Humberstone, where children of the nitrate mine workers attended. |
Ken's photos of Nobel Peace Prize Winner Aung
San Suu Kyi, as well as photos of Peru, Burma, India, Morocco, China, Thailand,
Ghana, Ecuador, and elsewhere, have appeared in many books, magazines,
websites, and galleries. Visit the
Ken Lee Photography Website. Some of Ken's select photos may be
purchased through his
Imagekind Store. |
Chile, Atacama Desert, June-July 2011
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Eleven Shadows Travel Page
Contact photographer/musician Ken Lee
9 julio, sábado: I was in the abandoned mining town of Humberstone. I walked back to the large industrial buildings, looking at some of the mining and extraction areas of Humberstone, located 46km inland from the coastal town of Iquique, out in the Atacama Desert.
Ant's eye view of a decaying doorway in one of Humberstone's plants.
The Santa Laura refinery, now open to the sky and the elements. Like Humberstone, Santa Laura is considered one of the world's 100 Most Endangered Sites according to World Monuments Watch.
I walked back to Humberstone to catch a bus back down to Iquique, 46km to the west. I was quite happy that I had chosen to come to Iquique and visit Humberstone. A full day of exploring the ghost town had been fascinating, and the ability to go at my own pace by coming here on public transportation instead of only one hour on a tour was fantastic, and my West Virginia shirt heartily agreed. '
A fantastic barrage on your vision, the Casino Español boasts domes, tooth-bitten arches, and exquisite repeating motifs sure to put a smile on any Moroccan.
10 julio, Domingo: The tour bus picked me up at Hostal Catedral, across from the large cathedral, at 9am. First stop, Santa Laura. The gentleman running the place immediately recognized me and smiled. 
I joked with the person working at Santa Laura that this time, it'd be easier to go to Humberstone. He laughed. But Humberstone was the tour's next destination. Yesterday, I had wandered almost everywhere, but didn't explore the living quarters of the pampinos thoroughly, so I started with that. This photo is a close-up of the decaying corrugated metal near one of the roofs.
