Lurking deep beneath London is a labyrinth of tunnels incorporating underground railways, secret passages, drainage systems and subterranean chambers. The long-abandoned Kingsway Tram Subway is an elusive place that offers a unique glimpse into the past…
Of all the abandoned buildings popular with urban explorers, theatres and cinemas are among the most coveted. As we’ve discussed previously, seeing a derelict cinema from the inside is like travelling back through time. Historically infused with generations of pleasure and enjoyment, it’s strange to consider how these old playhouses and picture palaces today linger on behind locked doors. Here are 13 great images to peak your curiosity and spur your imagination.
It was doomed to be an unfinished project that would claim almost 15,000 lives. Today the remains of Stalin’s vast railway, which was set to run within the Arctic Circle from Salekhard to Igarka, can be found rusting in the icy tundra. History would later remember it as the “railway of bones”.
It isn’t long since “lunatic asylums” were common-place in the world’s more advanced societies. The taboo of mental illness combined with a lack of understanding of the issue meant sufferers were often isolated from society for long periods – sometimes indefinitely. Take into account the horrifying conditions within and the terrifyingly institutional look of the buildings themselves, and entering the asylum must have evoked the inscription from Dante’s Inferno: Abandon all hope ye who enter…
We’ve all heard of the Lost City of Atlantis, but what about the Lost City of Detroit? It is staggering to think that the once proud Motor City could disintegrate into such total decay.
“The Mig” and all the aircraft variants that name covers, has become a veritable icon of the Cold War. The vast number built by Russia over the last half century and heavily exported means that, while some remain airborne, others lie derelict or destroyed from Siberia to Iraq and beyond. Here are just a few that continue to languish on in various states of disrepair.
The Chernobyl disaster is widely believed to be the worst of its kind in the history of nuclear power. The nearby city of Pripyat, which was built to house the plant’s workers, has become a well known ghost town in the wake of the catastrophe. But what became of the scores of military vehicles – helicopters, fire engines and tanks – that fought the burning nuclear fuel spewing out of the remains of the station’s fourth reactor?
Urban decay is often at its most poignant in former recreational buildings, such as old cinemas. Abandoned swimming baths also have a unique character to them, often with ornate tiling and elaborate iron work decorating their balconies and staircases. Designed to offer a touch of elegance, stepping inside is like travelling through time.
The old mining settlement at Bodie in California is arguably America’s best preserved ghost town. Dating back to around 1859, Bodie is frozen in a state of “arrested decay”, looked after as a historic park but not restored to its original condition. This makes the town both authentic and mysterious.
These bizarre fortified towers look more like a cross between the Imperial Walkers from Star Wars and the Martians from War of the Worlds. In the context of the time they were built – the Second World War – they must have looked impossibly futuristic. Today, their rusting shells seem like an invading hoard of mechanical monsters – the opposite, in fact, of what they actually are.
Modern aircraft are at the forefront of cutting edge technology and science, defying the laws of physics on a daily basis through a myriad of computer-controlled interventions. But once their service lives are over, military aircraft in particular can go from being multi-million dollar front-line hardware to mere scrap value.
The road to Bagram Airfield in the Parwan Province of Afghanistan is littered with the spoils of war, most of it now completely destroyed. The desert floor abounds with the wreckage of Soviet era military equipment, including tanks and other armoured vehicles.
Many of us would jump at the opportunity to live in a period property. The thought of reclaiming the character intrinsic within those old features and integrating it into a modern living space is irresistable, barring the price tag of course! Here’s a small selection of some very fine yet derelict mansions. If money were no object, how would you fancy taking on one of these as a renovation project?
As seen in this earlier post, there are numerous reasons why settlements become deserted and are reduced to ghost towns. Depletion of natural resources, surplus industry and lawlessness have all contributed to settlers uprooting themselves and their families and moving on. But sometimes disasters on an unprecedented scale can lead to larger urban areas – even whole cities – being abandoned.
The abandoned village of Ukivok is one of the world’s most amazing ghost towns, clinging precariously to the edge of a cliff in one of the most bleak corners of the world.
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