Inside a Defunct 1980's World HQ Building - TRW Lyndhurst

[Music] in today's episode we're in the Cleveland suburb of Linhurst to explore an incredible corporate headquarters built in the middle of the 1980s the construction of this 480,000 ft office building was originally commissioned by Thompson rmo waldridge or TRW for short the company had humble beginnings as a manufacturer of bolts and screws but quickly evolved into the largest producer of engine valves for the American Automotive and Aviation Industries then known as Thompson products their valves found their way into World War I fighter planes and contributed to the success of Charles lindberg's first solo flight across the Atlantic in 1927 during the second world war the company became heavily involved in the defense effort and greatly expanded their manufacturing capabilities with government support their new Tapco plant which produced various aircraft engine components stretched for nearly a mile along uclid Avenue outside of Cleveland in the Years following Thompson products merged with Ramo walridge an early Aerospace technology company involved with the development of intercontinental ballistic missiles by this point the company resembled our mod an idea of an aerospace defense contractor but they continued to make great scientific contributions to the public as well they were Pioneers in the Computing industry and they also created some of the earliest satellites including the first to ever be launched by NASA TRW even played a crucial role in the Apollo missions having designed and built The Descent engines for the lunar lander first someone gets an idea then someone else may look at it differently even add a thought or two technology from a company called TRW helps ideas get around because getting an idea from one place to another is as important as getting an idea tomorrow is taking shape at a company called TRW that brings us to the 1980s when TRW was looking to construct a new Cutting Edge World headquarter that balanced humanity and Technology to accomplish this they turned to an architectural firm led by a man named Dirk Lohan in his younger years Mr Lohan studied with and worked alongside his grandfather lwig Mis vandero a name that should be recognizable to anyone with a passing interest in architecture me was a German architect who fled to the United States during the rise of the Nazi party although he was already well accomplished before immigrating it was his American Body of work that made him a definitive leader of modernist architecture his structure sought to strip away all decorative elements and instead reveal Beauty through their carefully laid out form a dark framework of exposed steel Florida ceiling windows and open flowing spaces were some of his trademark features that began to dominate the skyline of Chicago and Beyond his influential style in regard to skyscrapers became known as the second Chicago school as it seemed like a natural progression of the city's early steel framed buildings some of the most notable to this style include two of the city's most iconic structures the Willis Tower and the John Hancock Center while me vandero did create several low-slung residential structures most of his large buildings were Urban Towers therefore the TRW building represented an interesting diversion for his grandson's firm utilizing elements of this style to turn a gigantic office building into something that harmonizes with nature the resulting building is nestled onto a forested hillside plot and consists of of four wings of three to four stories with a central Atrium nearly all vertical surfaces are glass providing sweeping views and ample Natural Light Within it's low profile and unbroken bands of dark gray steel extend across the landscape making it appear as if a spaceship has just touched down the building was a perfect fit for a company like TRW but they would only be able to make use of it for 17 years in 2002 the company was acquired by northrip Grumman for nearly 8 bill million they swiftly closed trw's headquarters laying off most of the 350 staff who worked there the entire property was then donated to the Cleveland Clinic as a tax write off for the following two decades the clinic would make use of most of the building's office space however in 2019 the clinic relocated the majority of employees there to another campus the property was then listed for sale and for the next 4 years no appealing offers were made despite the majority of the building's time on the market Market being during a global pandemic the clinic grew impatient in 2023 they announced the building would be demolished in an effort to make the property more attractive for prospective buyers that brings us to today as we venture inside to take one final look at trw's World Headquarters join us as we [Music] explore [Music] [Music] the sponsor of this portion of today's video nordvpn protects your online privacy by making sure your data is encrypted before it even leaves your device 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and thanks to nordvpn they can all be secure at the same time take control of your internet experience today with nordvpn right now you can get a 2-year plan at a huge discount plus four additional months for free it's risk-free as every purchase is protected with nord's 30-day moneyb guarantee visit nordvpn.com improper people or click the link in the description below this part looks remodeled there a chandelier in here doesn't work this feels very dated but not 80s either this was probably remodeled at some point before TRW handed it over this is like early 2000s n late 90s maybe well 2002 is when Cleveland Clinic got the building oh yeah the fire alarms are going off does your shutter speed not show it no it shows it mine mostly hides it wait I'm using one 160th Oh Come Closer come move over here wait a second mine stopped showing it it went like out of face with it yeah that's what happened it's weird well yeah that is weird it's probably some rolling shutter effect that makes it less annoying if it only shows sometimes yeah at least the alarms aren't going off still they were we got here this morning and we could hear the alarm going off so we're like maybe we shouldn't go in right now and then sure enough the fire department showed up and yeah they silenced the alarm for us now you guys don't have to listen see these um fire pole stations look pretty old yeah probably original they might be this looks like a dining cafeteria area they have some cool sculptures hanging these are real plants too do you think these plants are going to do better or worse now the building you think these work what what is that what are you doing I don't know you don't notice anything over there no oh there's a shade coming down over there a singular shade I'm pushing two only one is going yeah there's a lot that don't work yeah okay this is like a cafeteria that's very blue I've never seen wall paneling like that yeah this part feels 80s it's very interesting access point still on oh yeah probably still have Wi-Fi in here this blue panel there's a light switch there we go let me see if this key does anything on this light switch this is quite the color scheme blue and gold yeah this is some pretty crazy interior design yeah this is weird it's like very surreal I like this metallic type drop ceiling too that looks way better than the cheap panels you see now what are these things blinking here ovens yeah heaters of some kind they replace this recessed lighting with LED strips oh it literally turns on you can cook these led strips probably would have been tube lighting of some kind oh yeah you can see the individual dots for the LEDs doesn't look great now probably flourescent still pretty cool though yeah this is so80s these lights are very yellow they're really yellowed LEDs it's kind of gross wow the main Atrium that is awesome check out the marble on the Elevator Shaft they actually used like consecutive sheets in the block these are Big sheets too yeah at first I thought it was like that cheap fake marble where they you can see the pattern repeating but then you realize oh there's slight variations here yeah they were actually just doing this on purpose it's like a block of marble and they just sliced it out and hung it up in order even these top ones it seems like they tried to match the lines up the best they could a little bit it's really interesting everything was carefully selected this type of marble laying is called book matching and its implementation here is likely a reference from Lohan to his grandfather's work one of me vander's esteemed buildings the 1929 Barcelona Pavilion features similar book matching extensively that was the Cleveland Clinic's main entrance right here no I think it was up there was it up there think that was the main entrance they were using you're right that was it this is the back entrance this might have been the original main entrance for TRW cuz it just seems more open the walk up to it's nicer it has two revolving doors so freaked out about someone randomly pulling up here and us being in plain view this was a receptionist here parking garage access this is a really nice view wow the glass blocks down there with the [Music] curvature I don't know there's just something really cool about glass block to me I think it needs to make a comeback this whole water feature here [Music] [Music] smells like chlorine you know what it smells like this is like plexiglass they put in cuz it was flashing everyone yeah actually that seems crazy close to the walkway I don't know how that could have ever worked properly without splashing yeah it smells really chlorinated down smells like a boat ride at any theme park it does or like the beginning of the ET ride at Universal a bit of mold a bit of chlorine that mixture this corner feels pretty crusty oh yeah not many people came down here in this corner no there's no doors nothing there is this here too to block it from splashing that jeez just like a piece of metal two levels of underground parking though this would have been the view coming into work every day for everyone who worked here those who drove at least a different elevator's open here than last time oh you're right it was the center one it was someone's been in here yeah so last night when we just checked to see if this building was going to be a thing we should film this elevator was the one that was sitting open it's an original elevator now it's this one very original elevator of course hand sanitizer good luck using that with your camera now what is that sound is that a speaker sounds like busted speaker that is what that is okay that's not Eerie at all it's [Music] weird y do you see this trees down they just cut down the trees outside it looks like so they were using this room for like a meeting about demo crap or [Music] [Music] something all of the emergency the exit stairwells are solid marble on the outside yeah the same marble whoa those are some nice looking doors it's like modern Deo it's the theater it's looking pretty original in here wow yeah feels like a college lecture hall yeah it does there's even the flip up desks on all the seats yeah that's probably what it was for is lectures Yep this was TRW product announcements and launches hosted here yeah actually though maybe yeah I don't see anything oh there we go is that all it's got got to go all the way there you go Spotlight good show yeah here's some TRW stuff old crests the original logo that's what they would do in this theater give out the Chairman's award guess so looks like they're going to save the wow it looks really ripped up oh there something it's kind of strange should we try the elevator right now yeah are we ready to go to the next floor no let's wait till we're going to just right there door open taunting us asking us to push a button CBR health care services I don't know but it's very officy in here this is the most officy part of this office we've seen oh guess so cuz I didn't do it more motion sensor lights found something what' you find the security phone this phone will automatically call security when handset is lifted off phone direct to security what it's not touch that why did they do that in here we're entering the office's back back rooms now the walls are getting yellower these bumper things for carts being pushed no door knob yeah it stuff at one point I'm sure there were lot of server stuff in this building yeah this feels like a very TRW piece of wall art right here oh yeah that is definitely from their era 100% that's like a semiconductor board layout thing here's some lab stuff being stored like medical lab stuff yeah incubator shaker this is a controlled substance safe fridge for like medicine drugs mailboxes looks like it you can see the mail room behind it you can easily see if you have mail they could lock them too bigger boxes over here these key card systems look very old too wonder how long they've been here very old swipe cards burster de later this was a lab it looks like the sign said burst or decolator whatever that is ooh a selectric does it work do you need to plug those in uh-huh o the grease Dr out on these and they get all stuck see if this even moves the carrier no wow correcting tape is stuck up too like it's all jammed up the correcting this is the best thing that's happened to typing since electricity the IBM electric typewriter instead of five bars there's an ingenious printing element that dances across the paper at incredible speed faster even than the eye can see now watch in slow motion as it turns tilts and prints this tiny printing element is also interchangeable simply remove one type style choose another from several distinctive type faces and click it into place takes only 5 seconds and you're ready to start typing again someday all typewriters will work like the IBM's electric but why wait right out found another one this one maybe Works wow not quite yeah the key set stand up this is a full electronic typewriter you can um put in um Punch Cards and it'll automatically it automatically type the whole thing out wow yeah yeah this room has like a set not sure what they would film in here but seems like that's what it was for there's like an observation window too interesting these are cool TRW headquarters under construction and that photo is so crooked yeah these are the better ones right here yeah these ones are pretty cool I don't know where this is oh that's just scaffolding okay like steel and iron and whatever my God the architectural model this is cool please save this model for the historical Society I would hope so this is really cool look they even have the inside court if you look to the Skylight it's really cool it really shows how original this building is nothing's been modified on no the outside at least in the courtyard all right I'm ready to get out of these back rooms I missed the atrium shs could be cool stuff old stuff drafting table oh wow look like turban blades it does it's all electrical equipment plates and whatnot light switches hold up what's this yo Ohio Miller Light that's nuts that was the corporate party one year for the maintenance department yeah they don't get invited to the regular parties these offices are still pretty set up there's our Christmas decoration quota oh yeah it's a bigger one right here too this area is very officy feels very corporate architecture sure here it's really nice it's so weird to have a building like this all to yourself they're in the process of stripping this they're breaking down all the cubicles yeah I saw a bunch of signs that were like instructions for the moving company you can see over the uh dining hall I don't think we need to walk around all this stuff it's pretty obvious what's going on yeah here's a wing where they obviously got farther along with getting everything out Herman Miller chairs that black one all those yeah looks pretty nice hopefully they're not letting these go to waste all right these are Herman Miller yeah I knew it got the H logo how do you rate it for abandoned chair [Music] hi [Music] [Applause] [Music] a [Music] [Music] a [Music] plenty of chairs in here oh yeah yeah they have not started breaking down these offices at all yet no it looks like they built all of this to be flexible space to begin with because the walls all line up with these grooves yeah this is all and it's raised floor to run wires and everything yeah it's like part of a whole system you could probably rearrange these offices however they want yeah this office has not been touched no yeah the fact that this is all flexible space and it can be reconfigured to whatever you want is a really crazy thing because that makes it so much easier to be saved and used for whatevers yeah if they want to demolish it they only had it on the market since 2019 and obviously most of that was during Co and and they said they wouldn't be able to find a buyer for the property with the building still here but really it hasn't been on the market long at all any tenant can configure it however they want with no construction yeah so wasteful this light fixture is part of the building well fix in place at least there's one down there that isn't missing part of it yeah these lights are probably original mhm they're fixed in position I mean it's flexible space you can just probably unscrew yeah they do look pretty dated though they do these look like exam rooms yeah with these flags more exam rooms this one's pretty intact this building belongs to the geese now there more geese here than humans floor changes here different section it's a more plush carpet refresh a little break room a little kitchenette coffee maker looks pretty old it's a pass through so you can have Refreshments well you have a conference I'm sure this is the executive conference room holy that meeting room looks awwesome [Music] yeah so where all this CEO and all this Chief positions yeah it probably feel pretty important be having a meeting in here pretty similar to that theater room yeah same exact design like elements the wood pretty safe to say this is original oh yeah it's pretty interesting how they had Windows into almost all their meeting rooms so passerbys could observe except for when they couldn't pretty noisy I just heard a really loud bang from the opposite direction yo there was a really loud bang from behind me while you were back there yeah don't know what it was oh wow this could have been another meeting room uh probably not it's to this just like Executive Suite yeah this is considerably nicer than the other Wings in the building and they get the Terrace over here mhm that's awesome these are probably desks for the secretaries of the various Executives that had offices back here four secretary desks and four offices one in each Corner this guy has this huge office right whoever was in here and he had his own own private bathroom and it's nice and when it was nice out they could have their meetings out on the Terrace I'm surprised I didn't put more of these Terraces in this is the only one on the whole building considering it's in such a nice setting you'd think they would take advantage those chairs look a little dated this is a really nice view they're pretty much all nice where did that come from I don't know bottom of the chairs conference room with chairs set up not quite the same that's the executive conference room look at the Decay over here it's probably the most decayed part of the building we've seen probably the rest of it's in remarkably good condition for something that's being demolished it's kind of crazy it's getting dark in here it is St storm coming strobes do make it feel a little ominous yeah I don't know how it's going to affect the photos probably you won't see them cuz they're only on for a split second cubicles all the way this is kind of a weird poster kind of just sounds like it's saying you should ignore social issues among team members so many geese that was kind of like the thought we heard before think it's just a building yeah it's really still out though so the top floor only has two out of the four wings the building is kind of staggered with the hillside they had like a whole track rigging system they probably hang banners and stuff out there so um How much would it be for you to go on that rope and swim across no amount of money see where they at the anchor points the Hang stuff all right we have to try it will the elevator work we should like send it down and then see if it can come back just fine before we get in what do you know building doesn't even care that the fire alarms are going off no they're too old for that yeah no ding guess not are we getting on or should we just send it first no we should get on is there a roof exit I don't know all right just go to ground ground all right two feels like it's working it's definitely working ding ding I'm sure they're still up to date open yeah they work perfectly this is quieter than the elevator in our uh Hotel yeah oh this took us right to uh yeah that floor that's why I wanted to do three just think of how much is working and how good of a condition this is and this is closer to demolition than many of the other buildings we've been to this should not be demolished [Music] a [Music] when you're a company whose ideas and Innovations shape the very way we live and work you dare not be complacent it's crucial that you ReDiscover and re-examine all your separate parts so that when the Pieces come together again you approach your Universe from A New [Music] Perspective tomorrow is taking shape at a company called TRW today TRW has gone the way of many other storied American corporations dismembered in a series of mergers and divestments although the bulk of the business was acquired by northr Grumman some notable spin-offs include Experian and TRW Automotive the only companies still bearing the TRW name as of the end of 2023 the lur headquarters has been demolished any interested buyers for the property have yet to come [Music] [Music] forward

Channel: The Proper People

Views: 476,015

Keywords: abandoned, urban, exploration, urbex, exploring, haunted, proper, people, theproperpeople, abandoned places

Id: HaeeZAphc2Q

Length: 48min 59sec (2939 seconds)

Published: Mon Dec 11 2023