10/18/26 - All-American Ruins: Mining, Migration, and Memory in Ulster County's Cement Industry
For generations, Ulster County's cement industry drew workers and families from across the country and around the world, transforming the Mid-Hudson Valley through migration, labor, and community-building. The ruins it left behind aren't just industrial archaeology — they are the physical residue of lives lived, communities formed, and an economy that boomed, busted, and disappeared. In this immersive program, All-American Ruins creator Blake Pfeil brings his signature genre-bending, multimodal storytelling to the Bevier House — featuring audio from the Ambie Award-winning podcast abandoned: The All-American Ruins Podcast, a screening of the HUDSY-TV docu-series All-American Ruins: Universal Atlas Cement Plant, hands-on artifacts from the Rosendale cement works, and an intimate audience conversation about history, memory, and the landscapes industries leave behind. Special guests to be announced.
About the Presenter
Blake Pfeil is an Ulster County-based multidisciplinary artist whose work explores abandoned spaces and the communities that once filled them. His project All-American Ruins — a multimedia travelogue reimagining industrial ruins through documentary audio, film, and live performance — has won dozens of awards, been featured in 13 countries and 17 states, and earned coverage in Business Insider, Forbes, People, and Atlas Obscura. The podcast arm of the project, abandoned: The All-American Ruins Podcast, received three UK Press Gazette Future of Media Award nominations for Regional Podcast of the Year and was named Podcast of the Year by the American Writing Awards in 2026. Blake has served as a guest producer for History Colorado's Lost Landmarks and is Operations & Programs Manager at TMI Project and co-host of Cinema Kingston! on Radio Kingston/WKNY. He lives in High Falls with his handsome partner Jake and their equally handsome pup Jax.
About All-American Ruins
All-American Ruins is a multimedia travelogue in which Blake Pfeil recounts his experiences exploring abandoned spaces around the world, reimagined through podcast, documentary film, and live audio theatre. The project has been featured in 13 countries and 17 states, spotlighted in major national media, and screened during AMC, Cinemark, and Regal Cinemas pre-shows nationwide through a partnership with Noovie. The live performance piece Fading Transmissions from a Republic of Ruins has been developed and presented at festivals including On Air Fest in Brooklyn and the O+ Festival in Kingston.
This event is free, but seating is limited—please reserve your spot in advance.
We suggest a donation of $15 to support the Sunday Salon Series and the work of the Ulster County Historical Society. You can contribute online when you RSVP or donate at the event itself via cash, check, or credit card.
Thank you for supporting local history and community programming!
