These charming abandoned towns and localities provide us with a unique opportunity to see how it might be- a world without people.
Ghost towns captured by vegetation, abandoned buildings and deserted streets. You won’t see people here. It’s a unique opportunity to see what this world would be like if we were not in it, if we were suddenly gone. Under all this dust, the rust and cracks are hidden stories of people who once lived here, those who prayed and those who did their daily chores.
Just try to imagine these people and their lives. Do you feel the emotional magic in the air and the painful nostalgia here? You get the impression that people recently gathered their belongings and walked away. On the other hand, it is interesting to see how some things that once belonged to the people have now returned to nature.
Sounds thrilling doesn’t it?!
1. The chemistry lab at the University [Belgium]
75 years ago the Val Benoit University in Belgium was thriving. But now the lecture halls are empty. The only sound you can hear is a ringing silence. Your memory conjures the smell of fresh chalk. Notes from the very last classes still remain on the desks. It’s eerie with the experience sending shivers spinning down your back.
2. Vintage Electric Streetcar Company depot [Pennsylvania, USA]
Street cars just waste away at the Vintage Electric Streetcar Company which was founded in 1986 to do restoration on these people-movers from the last century. Now this place looks more like a graveyard – a graveyard of rusty metal and riders who are no more. It feels like these cars watch over every step you take. So don’t forget to be calm and don’t disturb their precious peace.
3. The Kindergarten [Pripyat, Ukraine]
This spot is truly the most dramatic of all of the Ukrainian cities that was affected by the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. Forty hours after the explosion that ripped through the power plant the people of Pripyat City packed up and never returned. Today Pripyat and the zone around it is a “no-man’s-land”; a place no human should ever live and visit (if you must) for only short periods of time. Visitors do come and are transfixed at this place that once held life but now is a footnote to a horror that humanity must never repeat.
4. “El Hotel del Salto”[Colombia]
The plant was abandoned in 1995. The reminder to townsfolk and visitors alike are the cooling towers; ghostly sentinels from the past. Visitors are in awe of the variations of photo genius that can occur – so many angles and perspectives to enjoy the geometry of the towers.
9. Abandoned Church Vivary [Russia]
The church is hidden away in the forest. It’s absolutely impossible to locate it without a person who knows the area well. People say that a thousand tourists had been wandering the forest for hours before they reach the location. A special mystique is attached to the black halos round the holy faces. No one can explain this phenomenon.
10. Lee Plaza Hotel [Detroit]
Designed by Charles Noble and built in 1929, the 15 story Lee Plaza represented another fine example of the Art Deco style that found its way into architecture during this time. In the early 20th century it was a fashionable lux hotel for the smart society. It was added to the National Registry of Historic Places in 1981 but ceased it operation as a residential complex for the elderly in 1990. From lux hotel to a footnote in the history books – it is still remembered and admired in Detroit.
11. Canteen [Pripyat, Ukraine]
The Chernobyl Exclusion Zone is a mysterious and mystical spot some might say scary. Looking at all the photos taken in and around Pripyat it’s impossible not to see the events of that terrible day when the people had to leave their peaceful life in what must have seemed like a second. Tourists always remark that the abandoned school and it’s canteen are a most dramatic and thoroughly creepy place.
12. Ghost Town Keelung [Taiwan]
Taiwan is full of abandoned communities. This fascinating housing complex was built in 1980 when there was a huge building boom going on. It’s pretty exciting to see such a massive building in the centre of the town. By the way, this huge abandoned spot can be viewed from all ground points in the town.
13. Old Piano Tree [California]
An amazing site! A tree grew through this old piano and no one knows why it happened or why it was allowed to occur in this nature spot.
14. The Gothic Theater [Detroit,USA]
The theater was built by C. Howard Crane in 1928. It is built in a renaissance revival style and occupied the lower floors of an 18 story building. It was finally closed in 1974. This is yet another sad commentary on how Detroit has let its architectural heritage wither and decay.
15. Abandoned tram station [Sydney,Australia ]
The old Sydney Tram Station dates back to the 1930’s but people of that era would be hard pressed to recognize this hair-raising, graffiti-covered place today! Sydney residents regularly organize protests against vandalism and the historical disrespect for this spot. No one’s sure what will happen to the station in the years ahead. In spite of its poor condition visitors are still welcome to station which is now classified as a museum of urban arts.
