Inside the Essex County Jail Annex in North Caldwell, N.J. (Matthew Christopher)

Essex County Jail Annex in North Caldwell, N.J., which housed inmates for 132 years, now lies crumbling after it was abandoned for a new facility in 2004.

Photographer and urban explorer Matthew Christopher visited the decrepit Victorian-style jail to document what the building, which was built in 1872, looks like now.

(MORE: Trapped Behind Bars: 9 Crumbling Prisons to Tour (PHOTOS))

“The building was badly deteriorated in some sections although from reports I’ve read it was that way when it was open,” Christopher told weather.com. “Inmates’ files filled with mugshots and rap sheets cover the floor of the auditorium, and features such as shotgun ports and tear gas modules on the ceilings of mess hall serve as a constant reminder of the daily struggle for control over the convicts.”

The site was last used as a jail in 2004, when another facility was built to consolidate the Essex County Jail Annex with another prison.

Being inside of the jail was a creepy experience, according to Christopher, but not for typical reasons.

“Photographing in the space was eerie, less from a supernatural standpoint, [and more] for the fact that you knew it had been a bad place and that terrible things had happened there,” he said.

It was a friend that recommended Christopher visit the crumbling jail. He exercised some caution while taking photos after hearing that someone who visited the site got accidentally locked in a cell and had to crawl through several holes where a toilet and sink fixture had existed. “It’s very easy to run into problems in places like these,” he explained.

To see more of Christopher’s work visit his website or Facebook page.