I worked in Laurel, Maryland 25 years ago at a dot-com startup. We were based first in a small office building on Rt.1 and for about four months there was enough room to fit everyone in the same building. As the plans to expand unfolded, with the eventual goal of hitting an IPO, we started exploring the surrounding area for a larger office space. One of the places I passed by often and wondered about was a building up on a hill south of the space we eventually landed in. It was only barely visible from the road, but the company name was spelled out in large art-deco letters above the entrance: AEROLAB. It was occupied at the time but it looked like a secret military installation or evil scientists’ lair, which would not have been out of character: Laurel is a weird place.

These days, the building is abandoned and seems to be a popular destination for urban explorers (as well as the sizable homeless population in those parts):