Urban Explorer Captures Iconic North Jersey Images In New Book Of Polaroids

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — A forsaken shopping mall. The wreckage of a “haunted hospital.” An unlikely skate spot on the roof of a century-old abandoned theater. These are some of the places that photographer and writer Wheeler Antabanez has been photographing for his new book: “WHEELEROIDZ - Polaroids from North Jersey Vol. 2.”

Antabanez, an Essex County native who has written for Weird NJ, dropped the first volume of his new series last year. Now he’s back with another edition – and it includes some familiar local icons.

Here’s what to expect from Antabanez’s latest work, which was shot entirely with his Polaroid Now camera:

“Begun in 2025 as a zine/book hybrid, the second volume of WHEELEROIDZ returns with a collection of more than 100 black-and-white Polaroids representing some of the most obscure corners of North Jersey. Subjects include: ShopRite phone booths, death throes of the Livingston Mall, preservation of the South Orange Pumping Station, and epic medical waste inside the abandoned Orange Memorial Hospital. Also featured are numerous buildings and locations throughout Newark, New Jersey, including Borden's Creamery/Peddler's Village, the Genesis Towers/Dog Towers, and Proctor's Palace Theater, where professional skateboarder Fred Gall discovers what may be the most historic skate spot in all of Newark.”

Published by Abandoned Books, WHEELEROIDZ - Polaroids from North Jersey Vol. 2 will be available on Sept. 1. Learn more here.

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