Once considered the powerhouse of American industry, much of Western Pennsylvania now lies in ruins. The collapse of the steel industry and deindustrialization led to a decline in population and an increase in abandonment. Abandoned Western Pennsylvania: Behind the Boards gives readers the chance to see these locations up close. Factories, prisons, hospitals, schools, and even entire villages sit rotting and fading away. Frozen in time, it is as if their former inhabitants just shut the doors one day and left, leaving behind belongings, machinery, and even hospital records. The architectural beauty of these locations sits in disrepair, waiting to be saved, demolished, or forgotten. Scrappers, vandals, and fires worsen the rate of decay and the future remains unknown. Some structures have been torn down; others have been left to mother nature. Follow photographer and author Kari Miller as she takes you on a journey into Western Pennsylvania's past, to the places that have been left empty and unprotected, soon to be forgotten.