Abandoned Mafia Hideout

Have you ever heard the expression, “if walls could talk?”  Well that was just the case when I stumbled upon what is left of this house in ruins.  I did some serious research on what appeared to just be a nothing special, completely abandoned house, because I was planning on using it for a filming location.  As you could imagine, not much turned up on this house in Orlando, Florida.  I was able to trace down the company (not individual) who owned it in a different state.  Before contacting them, I decided to scope out the location first.

Upon first seeing the house, you will notice in the pictures that there is not much left.  Most of the walls still stand, but vandals and fire have consumed a lot of it.  There are a couple sections where parts of the roof remain, and there is furniture, magazines, trash, porn DVDs, and countless other things littering the property both inside and out.  It was a real mess.

Upon entering the house, I decided to implement a trick I learned from the famous YouTuber, AdamTheWoo, and say hello when entering.  This was the first time I ever announced my arrival.  I said hello and continued, but I was taken back when I actually heard a response.  This is where I met “Ross the Tree Climber”.  Ross made a living off of removing Spanish Moss from tress, hence to name, but there was something about him that was awe-inspiring.

He was living in a section of the house there still had a closeable door and a roof.  He had some furniture there, and some of his belongings.  Right away, he welcomed me in, and cleared off a chair and offered me a place to sit.  He was a very fact knowing man.  He talked about history and local news.

After some chitchat, I told him why I was there (scouting for a filming location).  He told me the owner’s name, but it did not match what I had dug up.  That leads me to believe that was the owner’s name before he perhaps lost the property, or Ross didn’t have his facts straight.  Regardless, he told me about the house as well.  The stories were too good for them to be fabricated.

Apparently, someone in the local mafia lived in that house long ago.  I didn’t even know Orlando had a mafia, but apparently they did.  The house was the forefront of corrupt police, murder, and other illegal activities.  The house eventually became what you see now: a pile of nothing.  Apparently the fire happened in the recent years from vandals.

Ross was a very generous man for not having much.  He offered me a place to sit, and his company.  When leaving the house, I mentioned to him my other blog, The Random Firearm.  There was a book about guns sitting in a pile of things once part of the house.  Aside from some dirt on the cover, it was in fine shape.  He gave it to me.  A man who had nothing gave me something.  I still have the book. 

The house rots away, but even now with Ross and the encounter I had with him, the walls will continue to accumulate stories to tell, for as long as they will remain standing.  From corruption to generous giving, the stories will continue.

The Pullen House

The last job that I had allowed me the amazing opportunity to spend four months in what I now consider to be the most beautiful state in the United States that I have been in: Alaska.  I fell in love with the mountains, the people, the history, and the culture.  One of the things I found most interesting was the past that was left behind to still be seen today.

My favorite town that I had been in was Skagway, Alaska.  Anyone who may have played the old “Yukon Trail” game is probably familiar with it.  It’s an old gold rush town that still lives to this day.  Since it is pretty much in the middle of nowhere, most things that came in, such as cars and culture, never left.  Some things however, were forced to be removed.

The Pullen House Hotel all started when Harriett Pullen decided to head to Skagway, Alaska in an effort to make a living to support her four children.  A founder of the town, Captain William Moore, hired her as a cook to help feed his crew of workers.  She became quite the inventive entrepreneur.  She would collect empty tin cans and beat them into pie pans.  Pretty soon, she had her own profitable side business selling pies to the stampeders looking for gold.

A little fun fact: During the time of the gold rush, a piece of apple pie and a cup of coffee from a tent restaurant on the trail for the gold could cost $2.50.  This was the same time where you could buy a three course meal from a fancy restaurant in a big city like San Francisco for twenty-five cents.

After Pullen made some money, she opened up a freighting business with some horses.  When the gold rush died down, she decided to open a hotel.  In 1901, she bought Captain William Moore’s house, and turned it into the Pullen House Hotel.  The hotel became one of the most luxurious hotels in existence at the time: fine china, silver, soft beds, and bathtubs.  She collected gold rush memorabilia and shared the story of the town’s past to the tourists who would arrive.

 

In 1923 President Warren G. Harding made a visit to Skagway, Alaska.  He was given a tour of the city by the still currently existing Skagway Street Car tour company, and he gave an address at the fancy Pullen House.

In 1943, fire badly damaged parts of Skagway, including the Pullen House, and in 1947, Harriett Pullen passed away.  As time went on, the Pullen House became more and more rundown, and in 1989, it was finally all demolished.  Today, all the is left of the famous and luxurious Pullen House are a few scattered bricks, and the base of a fireplace and chimney, still proudly showing the word “PULLEN” as it has for over 100 years.

For more information about Harriett Pullen and the Pullen House check out As Precious as Gold, and Skagway History.  All archival photos are courtesy of Alaska’s Digital Archives.

The Pullen House Today