Photographing Abandoned Buildings Across The Iowa Countryside

By Charity Nebbe,

Matthew Alvarez

Published May 19, 2021 at 4:39 PM CDT

This theatre can be found in the old Apollo High School in Burlington, Iowa. Photographer Nicole Renaud says this school is a favorite from her book, "Abandoned Iowa: Schools And Churches" and it reminded her of her former high school, "it was weird being in there imagining 'what if my own high school were to go abandoned someday and how sad it would be?'" — This theatre can be found in the old Apollo High School in Burlington, Iowa. Photographer Nicole Renaud says this school is a favorite from her book, "Abandoned Iowa: Schools and Churches," and it reminded her of her former high school. "It was weird being in there imagining 'what if my own high school were to go abandoned someday?' and how sad it would be."

Abandoned buildings dot the countryside in Iowa: rural schools, small town churches. For many, these buildings hold a certain allure — often enticing people to peek inside the abandoned structures. On this edition of Talk of Iowa, host Charity Nebbe speaks with photographer Nicole Renaud of Lincoln, Nebraska.

Renaud has made it her mission to get inside as many abandoned buildings as possible, with her camera. She has just published her new book, "Abandoned Iowa: Schools and Churches."

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