The Library of Congress serves the U.S. Congress and is recognized as the national library in the country. It has long been a bastion of history, knowledge, and information since it was established in 1800. It is home to more than 38 million books and other printed material. In addition to books, … Read more
Rain, snow, and hail are some of the usual things that we expect to fall from the sky. But meat, spiders, and frozen iguanas? And even gold bars! Nope, we’re not straying away from the topic here! These are some strange items that fell from the sky. The metaphorical “Raining cats and … Read more
As Oscar Wilde says: “Life imitates art far more than art imitates life.” It’s true that there are often examples of people deriving inspiration from real-life situations to create their masterpieces. However, it’s incredible to consider just how often life truly imitates works of art, books and comic books, music, movies, and … Read more
Whether you’re making sure that the door is locked at home or hiring security guards to protect your business, security is important because it gives you peace of mind. However, some places require more than just sufficient security. Such areas may have a squadron of heavily armed security guards, impenetrable construction of … Read more
If you didn’t already know, there are flooring options that work better in different climates. Some flooring options are bed for some places than others are. For example, Vinyl Plank flooring works much better in colder climates than it does in warmer temperatures. Frequently, colder climate homes must make some sacrifices or … Read more
The Kowloon Walled City was located just outside Hong Kong, China during British rule. A former watchpost to protect the area against pirates, it was occupied by Japan during World War II and subsequently taken over by squatters after Japan’s surrender. Neither Britain nor China wanted responsibility for it, so it became … Read more
Craco is located in the Region of Basilicata and the Province of Matera. About 25 miles inland from the Gulf of Taranto at the instep of the “boot” of Italy. This medieval town is typical of those in the area, built up with long undulating hills all around that allow for the … Read more
The old airport of Athens Elliiniko International Airport was the first, and for all its 60 years of operation, primary airport of the Greek capital. Its construction begun in 1938 but was cut short due to World War II. During the Nazi occupation of Greece, Kalamaki airfield, as it was known then, … Read more
The Spanish ghost town of Ciudad Valdeluz Ciudad Valdeluz is a suburb 60 kilometers (37 miles) northeast of Madrid, Spain. It was meant to be city of 30,000, but only 1,000 people took up residence there after construction halted in 2008 with 75% of the city unfinished due to the economic downturn. … Read more
Bankhead, Alberta A small coal mining town that existed near Banff in the early twentieth century, Bankhead came to be after the Anthracite mine closed down. Bankhead mine began supplying coal for the locomotives of the Canadian Pacific Railway, but closed after complaints of poor coal quality and constant labour strikes. Bankhead, … Read more
The town was founded in 1873 when prospectors built log cabins near their claims. Because three rivers meet nearby it was called Three Forks of the Animas, later simplified to Animas Forks by the U.S. Postal Service. At almost 11’200 feet, the town suffered from the elevation’s severe winters. Most of the … Read more
Gold was discovered here by Jack Mann in 1878.This townsite is located at about 11,800 ft and an aerial tramway was used to move the ore to the mill below. The most interesting feature was the fact that this was the first mine to use AC current. Some famous people, like George … Read more
Humberstone is not anything you would imagine. The reason it was abandoned was something less sinister than a deadly extra terrestrial virus. For awhile it was a prosperous town of 3500 that thrived on nitrate mining for fertilizer. These people had a town complete with a hospital, a public swimming pool, and … Read more
Abandoned TV studios in Hong Kong Near the Che Kung temple, in Ho Chung village of Hong Kong there is an old industrial building. A factory at first, it was later converted to TV studios for Hong Kong’s ATV channel. The studios were abandoned during the 2000’s as the channel moved to … Read more
The abandoned towns of Fukushima Four years after the devastating Japan earthquake and tsunami that left nearly 19,000 people dead or missing and displaced more than 300,000, the surrounding towns of Fukushima Daichi nuclear plant remain abandoned. Even today, tens of thousands of survivors live in temporary housing as the area surrounding … Read more
Hashima, also known as Gunkajima or Battleship Island due to its shape, is an abandoned island an hour away from the port of Nagasaki in Japan. Mitsubishi bought the island in 1890 to use it as a base for an underwater coal mining facility. There, they built Japan’s first concrete building (9 … Read more
Inside an abandoned military bunker in Greenland In the northwest of Greenland, near one the northernmost towns in the world, there’s an abandoned secret Nike-Hercules missiles launch site at Thule Air Base. Flickr user ÐøÇ, visited the frozen underground facilities. The photographer writes: Rain and snow fall in from vents. The snow … Read more
The strange history. In the early 1900′s, during the second world war, Winona and Norman Stephens were convinced by a German named Herr Schmidt that when Germany ultimately won the war, the American government would not be able to stay afloat thus leading to a time of anarchy in the United States. … Read more
The burnt-out shell of Süd-Bowling in Steglitz suggests happier times were had here before. It used to be one of the city’s most successful bowling alleys, with 16 lanes. Now the old Kegelbahn has none. It has been abandoned, ignored, burnt and shat upon so often nobody remembers what it was before … Read more
Joyland: An abandoned amusement park in Kansas Joyland was once the largest theme park in central Kansas but today it remains abandoned and vandalised. It opened in 1949 and it remained in continuous operation for 55 years, until 2004 when it shut down due to economical troubles and safety concerns. The park … Read more
The abandoned ‘Model Prison’ of Cuba Built by dictator Gerardo Machado in the Isla de la Juventud, ‘Presidio Modelo’, the Model Prison was where everyone who went to jail for more than 180 days in Cuba was sent. It opened in 1936 but it’s construction began a decade earlier. The prison was … Read more
An abandoned NSA spying station in Berlin Teufelsberg (German for Devil’s Mountain) is an artificial hill in west Berlin built by Second World War rubble. On top of that hill is where the American National Security Agency (NSA) built one of its largest listening stations. ‘The Hill’, as it was known to … Read more
UK’s Red Telephone Box Graveyard These red public telephone boxes once filled the streets of the UK. From the roads of Bermuda to Malta, these telephone boxes stood proudly on almost every street corners of in the UK. When these modernized and brightly colored telephone boxes were invented, they offered the citizens … Read more
Saddam Hussein’s abandoned palaces During his nearly 24-year stay in power, Saddam Hussein built dozens of palaces (between 80 and 100 according to different accounts) across Iraq. Palaces were built -most of them after the end of the 1991 Gulf War- in every major city as an expression of his authority. These … Read more
An abandoned mansion in the Philippines “The Ruins” as the locals call it, is an abandoned mansion located in Talisay City in the Negros Occidental province of the Philippines. The mansion was the ancestral home of sugar baron Don Mariano Ledesma Lacson, built in the 1900’s in memory of his wife Maria … Read more
Holy Land USA: An abandoned Bible theme park In 1940, Roman Catholic attorney John Baptist Greco, opened Holy Land USA, a Bible-inspired theme park in Waterbury, Connecticut. Greco, a Waterbury native, wanted the community to be able to better understand the Bible. His vision was a place for all people, regardless of … Read more
This abandoned Japanese strip club was discovered somewhere around Okayama prefecture by blogger and urban explorer abandonedkansai. Little are known about the place besides its name “Sightiseeing Theater”, an euphemism. The photographer describes his exploration: It seems like the entrance fee was 3000 Yen […] To the right was a side entrance … Read more
Built in 1980 at Cape Romano, these dome constructions was a DIY project of retired oil producer Bob Lee. His family spent much of the 80’s nside the self-sustaining and solar-powered homes but started visiting less after 1992 when hurricane Andrew caused damage in the area but not the dome houses themselves. … Read more
The medieval Armenian ghost town of Ani In the Turkish province of Kars, near the Turkish – Armenian border, there’s the abandoned medieval Armenian city of Ani. Built in a naturally defensive site, Ani was the capital of the Kingdom of Armenia between 961 and 1045. At its height, the city had … Read more
The worlds most haunted abandoned hospital Abandoned places always have an eerie haunted feel, but few places can match the feeling of fright of Gonjiam Psychiatric Hospital in South Korea. The hospital was rapidly deserted with all the fixtures, papers, and furnishings left behind when the owner disappeared. The building was left … Read more