About
The original Backrooms location can be found in Oshkosh, WI. The image that launched the Backrooms phenomenon, one of the most recognizable pieces of internet horror ever created, traces back to a real second-floor space inside a commercial building in Oshkosh. The photo, first uploaded online on March 2, 2003 as “DSC00161.jpg,” wasn’t meant to be unsettling. It was simply a renovation snapshot. But years later, after resurfacing on 4chan in 2019 with a now-infamous caption, the image became the foundation of an entire horror mythos built around endless yellow rooms, fluorescent hum, and the idea of slipping out of reality into something wrong.
Long before it became internet folklore, the building housed Rohner’s Furniture, a major local furniture store that operated for decades before closing in 1994. The structure itself dates back even further, tied to a larger department store footprint from the 1920s. After sitting vacant for years, the deteriorating property was purchased in the early 2000s by hobby shop owner Bob Mazza, who relocated HobbyTown Oshkosh into the space. The second floor, where the Backrooms image was captured, had suffered extensive water damage during its vacancy. Mazza and his team gutted the area, removing multiple dumpsters of ruined materials to make way for a new indoor R/C racing facility. During that process, photos were taken for documentation. One of them unintentionally became iconic.
Today, the original Backrooms no longer exists. The building was sold in 2025 and reopened as John’s Hobbies. And while there’s no trace left of the endless yellow maze, the Revolution Raceway that occupies the Backrooms space is still active. The building has taken on a strange second life as a quiet point of pilgrimage for fans of internet horror. Visitors occasionally stop by to see where the image was taken. It’s important to be respectful, as this is still an active locally-owned business.
Dig deeper into the unlikely origins of the Backrooms photo→
Photos
Original Backrooms location in Oshkosh, WI
Backrooms furniture store ad
