Kodak's former headquarter, lab and warehouse in Stockholm. Built in the late 60s, abandoned by Kodak in the autumn of 2000, demolished in 2011. With five visits in one week Kodak Hill rests firmly on top of the “Most Visited Sites in Shortest Time Span” list. First posted on Flickr back in 2007 and will step by step make their way here. The collection generated some very interesting feedback which I've added as well.
Abandoned & Industrial Photography
by Björn Sahlberg
Hej och välkommen!
Sandra
This is on the backside of the building, still with the patio and the canteen in your back?
I think this part of the building is the big storage rooms for all the film and the photo papers, etc.
Björn
Nope, this is from between the main buildings. Behind me are a row of trees and a three stories high, flat, red wall. See my nifty layout for further info :-)
Sandra
Ah! I had forgotten about that layout of the building!
Sandra
This is on the patio, right? You have the blue wall and the bench to your back?
Björn
No, no, no. Fel, fel, fel, fel. See new nifty all clickable layout, eh! :-)
Sandra
haha!
Jonas
och jag som skulle sommarjobba där som femtonåring... chefen som var gift med min mors väninna, sa att han aldrig träffat någon som var så ointresserad vid intervjun... att jag inte fick ett sommarjobb där behöver jag kanske inte tillägga...
Sandra
du missande inget! haha
Björn
Hehe, man kan ju inte lyckas jämt! :-)
Harmonious Sink
Am I just really high, or does that mound of dirt on the ground look like a woman's dress hat with a feather sticking out of it?
Harmonious Sink
Wait, wait, i think I know what it is!
A mound of dirt and dead plant whose planter was presumably knocked over and broken?
Sandra
no no, it is a dress [hat] with a feather sticking out!
haha
always go with the most imaginative thing
Björn
Dress hat. Definitely a dress hat!
:-D
In fact, this could be something the Swedish queen would wear at the next Nobel price party :-/
Björn
Classic style piece by Wizard.
Björn
With five visits in one week's time Kodak Hill is on top of the Most Visited Places Within the Shortest Time Frame list. This was shot in the late small hours on a July morning. It was a treat exploring the quiet and empty building on my own as the day was dawning.
Sandra
Ah! Your boots are in Kodak Color!
Björn
Sharp and vivid like the Kodachrome :-)
Tasteful Earth
Hmm hmm
Björn
I guess this was part of a children's area?
Sandra
This is the patio where we sometimes had lunch outdoors during summer. But mostly the young summer extra at the lab just sat down inside, had a quick "fil med flingor" and then went out and sat on the grass for a bit. We only had 30 minutes lunches, and just the walk down from the lab to the lunch restaurant took 5 minutes each way.
Björn
Yes, I thought this must be the lunch place (or café) considering all the chairs and bar inside. But the top-to-bottom tiled rooms in the back made me wonder though.
Sandra
Jag har ingen aning! Det måste ju vara någon som vet ... hum ... jag såg att du hade skrivit på din sida att de kanske var portabla labb, låter inte det rimligt? Bokbussen och bildbussen! haha
Undrar när Kodak började med sin verksamhet att man skulle skicka in sina filmrullar direkt till deras labb. Jag minns att när jag var liten på 80-talet så gick man till den lokala fotohandlaren som i sin tur skickade in fotorullen och sen fick man vänta i all evighet. Tänk vad man gick med på ... bara för att det inte fanns andra alternativ.
Sandra
Is this the old kitchen in the canteen?
The canteen was a little bit off from the rest of the building. A long corridor led from the offices, storage rooms, and the lab to the canteen. Along the corridor they had conference rooms, and a little kiosk where staff could by Kodak products to a reduced price.
Björn
Kitchen! Yes, that sounds just like it. And I thought these tiled rooms might have been for mixing chemicals. Silly of me, considering the neighboring luncheon.
Johan
Very cozy looking ;)
Love the atmosphere
Björn
Thanx! :-) Yeah, like straight outta the new Ikea catalogue, right! :-) The interiors of the side building are rather badly trashed but a few rooms in the back are almost untouched. It's around here the squatters' been hanging and since I was alone and it was getting dark I felt not too comfy. Need to go back and check out the remaining rooms and halls!
Sandra
I guess this is part of the former canteen. It was pretty big, and had its own kitchen à la school kitchen.
The lab workers called the people working in the office section for “mattorna” (The Carpets), since they had chic floor carpets in the offices. Of course the male “mattorna” was also called “slipsarna” (The Ties).
In the canteen the lab women (yep, not many men working in the lab) sat separated from “mattorna”. And during summer the third party, made up by the summer extras, also sat by themselves.
Björn
Nothing left of those carpets today, I'm afraid. Didn't see much but raw concrete around, it being walls, floors or pillars. Nice marble stairs though. But on the other hand the office was what I left for last and it had gotten pretty dark then. There's at least one office floor to go. So, maybe ... let's hope!
Sandra
In the lab area we we're on the 3rd floor, the very top floor. That's where the film bags arrived and left – so to speak.
Björn
Recovering at the Max hamburger restaurant after spending the evening inside the empty Kodak complex. Mostly it's huge, echoing halls but the low sun playing on freshly painted graffiti (no, not by me) made for some good shots, I think. Sleep well now.
Yann
you're insane!
Björn
Hihihohohaahahaaaaaaaaaa!
Well ... I got my moments :-)
Björn
How cool that you've worked there! Then maybe you can tell me what the "side building" was used for. To me it looks like a combination of luncheon and chemical facility. And possibly there's an old mustard bottle of yours left in the refrigerator :-)
Sandra
it is almost hard seeing these pictures of the old Kodak factory building. I spent two summers and some extra holidays there, and before that my aunt worked in the office department for some years. and my dad worked in the pre-printing industry, so he also had a lot to do with people working in this Kodak building.
I worked in the lab, in the pre-lab area and in the post-lab area. Pre-lab meant that we opened and sorted all the bags with film that arrived every day (after midsummer's eve it got nuts), and in the post-lab area we packed the printed pictures with new rolls of film and sent it out via post. It was fun but REALLY hard work. We were all girls, working very fast. To spend the time during this pretty tedious work, with few breaks and very little time to chat – I borrowed cassette books at the library in Kallhäll and brought with me, and then we all spent the summer listening to detective stories and other fiction books.
Björn
Yes, I can imagine that it must feel strange to see it all decayed now!
After playing Sherlock today I got to know that a) Kodak moved out in October anno 2000 b) Kodak does not own the property today c) it was to be made into some fancy IT-complex but the bubble burst just after the building had been cleared out d) I got an official OK to enter from the current owner and made an appointment right away! :-D
And thanks for your input on these pics, Sandra! It's great fun to have the cold hard facts from someone who was actually there.
Johan
Very cool Björn
Björn
Thanks, Johan! :-D
Slides From the Past
Photos found on site. Most likely from the late 60s when Kokak Hill was new. Scanned and supplied by my comrade Yann.
Interior from Kodak Hill in the late 60s.
© unknown
Interior from Kodak Hill in the late 60s.
© unknown
Interior from Kodak Hill in the late 60s.
© unknown
Interior from Kodak Hill in the late 60s.
© unknown
Technicalities
Nikon D70s Nikon 12-24 mm F/4 Nikon 60 mm F/2.8 — Sony Ericsson K750i — Photoshop
