Goners Worldwide *

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St. Louis

‘It was once the trash heap of local industry. An abandoned and run down former cement factory, the decrepit lot on Riverview Drive had become a common site for local construction crews to dump truckloads of excess dirt and rock. The old factory meant so little, no one cared or tried to reroute them.

‘But when sculptor and visionary Bob Cassilly looked at the site, he saw something more. He saw an art amusement park celebrating the history of cement production in St. Louis, filled with statues and sculptures and old machinery turned into fascinating attractions, and that’s what he began to build in the space.

‘So he got a bulldozer and combined it with his artistic ambition. Cementland, as he named it, would fit right in with his long history of whimsical, playful sculptures and projects, all hinging on the intersection between childhood nostalgia and subversive counterculture. He invited the construction crews to keep dumping their leftover dirt — it was simply more material for him to play with. To create with.

‘Before long he had created a castle of sorts out of the old factory, with a courtyard of sculpted creations made of cement, rock, metal and antique machinery. Bridges spanned spillways and depressions where water would collect into pools to form moats and ponds. In short order, people caught notice, and couldn’t wait to see what the project, still in its infancy, would eventually become.

‘Unfortunately, in 2011, Cassilly tragically died when the bulldozer he was operating allegedly tipped off of an unstable ledge and rolled over, although his widow and several medical experts believe he was intentionally beaten to death, the bulldozer accident simply being a cover-up. Regardless, he died doing what he loved, but what he loved was far from finished.’ — atlas obscura

 

Managua

‘After a week of huffing and puffing, the Sandinista government finally managed to blow down Managua’s iconic “Concha Acústica,” the elegant shell-shaped structure that for the past decade overlooked the lakeshore Plaza de la Fe and served as a backdrop for free outdoor concerts and July 19 political rallies. Originally commissioned by popular Managua Mayor Herty Lewites, a Sandinista dissident who died of a heart attack while challenging Daniel Ortega for the presidency in 2006, the Concha Acústica was one of most graceful and apolitical monuments in Nicaragua. The government’s official excuse for the demolition was that the steel-and-concrete monument, which sat alone in an oft-empty concrete field, was a shaky contraption at risk of falling in the next earthquake. That theory was quickly debunked when the Sandinista wrecking crew spent several exhausting days banging on the structure to little effect, and repeatedly snapping steel cables as they tried to pull it down with a crane. Finally, after five days of undeterred destructiveness, the demolition team managed to wrestle the resilient structure to the ground, where it can never threaten anyone ever again.’ — World Architecture

 

Tsibli

‘The concrete arches known as Andropov’s Ears were built in 1983 by O. Kalandarishvili and G. Potskhishvili in Tbilisi for an official visit by the Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet. They were demolished after independence in April 2005 and the President Saakashivili inaugurated himself their destruction. However, the foundations and some parts of the concrete arches are still visible today, because the complete demolition had to be stopped for static reasons.’ — architectuul

 

Toronto

‘Honest Ed’s was located at the corner of Bloor and Bathurst Streets, extended the full length of the block west to Markham Street. The exterior was covered with huge red and yellow signs advertising the store’s name, lit up like a theatre marquee. The store sign used 23,000 light bulbs. The outside facade was covered with puns and slogans such as “Come in and get lost!” and “Only the floors are crooked!” The store consisted of two buildings connected by a walkway that links up the west building on Markham Street and the east building on Bathurst Street. The interior was modest, with simple displays of low-priced merchandise from vacuum cleaners and winter coats to kitchenware, toys and grocery items. Much of the store’s decor consisted of posters and photos from old films and stage productions from Mirvish’s theatres in Toronto and London, England, and of actors and musicians who performed in them (many inscribed to Ed Mirvish). Every piece of store signage was hand-painted. The new owners have demolished the structure as of March 2018.’ — wiki

 

Manchester

‘Harpurhey Baths in Manchester, UK were shut immediately during a routine inspection in 2001 amid major health and safety fears when it was discovered there were serious defects in the building’s walls and machinery. Cracks in the baths’ walls repaired five years earlier had widened beyond repair, and the walls were bowing. There was also problems with the baths’ steam boilers and the drainage system. On seeing the consultants’ report the council then asked there own architects to carry out an examination. Their conclusion was that the building should be closed as It had gone beyond the point of being tired and was at the stage where it could be considered a danger to public safety.’ — 28dayslater.co.uk

 

The Balkan Mountains

‘From far, it looks like an abandoned flying saucer sitting on top of the hill but the Buzludzha monument is an enormous construction built on Bulgaria’s Balkan mountains to mark the site where the Bulgarian Communist party was founded in 1891. Buzludzha opened in 1981 but after the fall of communism it was left abandoned by the Bulgarian government. Since then it has been heavily vandalized.’ — collaged

 

Okayama

‘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 that lead directly to the oh so known strip room with its orange stage and the countless tine stool bolted to the ground. Well, countless, I guess there were about 150 of them, sometimes as little as maybe 15 centimeters between them. […] Behind the stage was a small room with a bed and from there a dark, narrow hallway with an uncomfortably soft floor lead to another part of the building, a part that was actually even closer to the locked main entrance. When I got out of the dark I stepped directly… onto a stage. A stage way bigger in a room way bigger than I just left. While the first location was a little bit shabby and tacky with plastic flowers everywhere and gigantic eagles painted on the wall the second room was… actually pretty similar; just bigger, more spacious and in better condition, probably thanks to the wallpaper that was missing in the other room. Close to the stage were the same tiny little stools bolted to the ground, but with a little bit more distance between them. The last three rows reminded me of old cinema seats – of way better quality […] This room was so cliché 70s porn it was tough to wrap my mind around it. The cheap pink plastic decoration was so horrible I felt a little bit embarrassed just looking at it, but I guess when it was dark and you focused on the stage it didn’t matter. Sadly it wasn’t completely dark in there. Just almost, with bright light coming in from a door leading outside.”‘ — abandonedkansai

 

Bedrock City

‘This abandoned Flintstones amusement park is located in Bedrock City, Arizona. There are weirdly distorted statues of all the main characters, and everything looks like it was done in the 1960’s-1970’s. After doing some research, this place opened in 1972, and it shows. I crawled through the giant snake on my hands and knees, only to discover that the exit was essentially me being pooped out of the backside of said giant snake. There were a ton of pebbles in there (and not the baby or cereal kind), and I cut my knee.’ — collaged

 

Pyongyang

‘The Ryugyung Hotel in Pyongyang, North Korea is one of the 20th century’s greatest architectural failures. Initially designed as a beacon of progress and power for this misunderstood peninsula nation, the Ryugyung Hotel was unable to sustain construction when the North Korean government simply ran out of money. Ground was broken in 1987, construction was halted in 1992, and the pyramid-style spire sat dormant and empty for sixteen years.’ — TCL

 

Gaffney

‘The location used for the filming of the 1989 science fiction film ‘The Abyss’ was Cherokee Nuclear Power Plant, an uncompleted nuclear power plant on Owensby Road, near Gaffney, South Carolina. There, director James Cameron constracted the largest underwater filming set ever built. It took 7 million US gallons (26,000 m3) of water to fill the tank to a depth of 40 feet (12 m). After filming, the set was left abandoned, as the cost of deconstruction was considered too high.’ — DP

 

Los Angeles

‘Japanese Village and Deer Park (top) first opened at 6122 Knott Ave in Buena Park. It was a Japanese-themed amusement park that featured shows and traditional Japanese buildings in an environment where deer roamed free (inspired by Nara Park). The park’s gate featured a torii. The park closed in 1975. Facing mounting red ink, the owners began giving the park’s deer lethal injections, claiming the animals had tuberculosis. Almost 200 deer were euthanized before authorities ended the practice. After the park closed, a second amusement park, called Enchanted Village (bottom), opened on the site in 1976. Animal trainer Ralph Helfer was a partner and served as chair. The park was, for a time, home to Oliver the “human” chimp. The 32-acre park was South Pacific-Tiki themed and featured trained animal shows, a traditional-styled Polynesian show, and a few ride attractions. Enchanted Village closed in fall, 1977. The area has been developed into a business park and nothing remains of the ponds and locations of the successive parks.’ — Wiki

‘The Toed Inn, shaped like a frog, was originally located on on Channel Road in Santa Monica. After it was damaged by a flood in 1938, it was moved to 12008 Wilshire Boulevard in Westwood. (1920)’ — LAist

‘Shaped like an owl, the Hoot Owl Cafe had a head that rotated, blinking eyes made from Buick headlamps and a sign that read: “Hoot hoot, I scream.” It was designed by Roy Hattrup in 1926 – 27 and for more than 50 years, his wife, Tillie, ran it. It was originally located in Rosemead but was moved to two subsequent locations, both in South Gate, before being demolished in 1979.’ — LAist

‘Located at 1124 Vine St. in Hollywood, the Hollywood Flower Pot is both the name of this flower shop and an accurate description of its facade. (1930).’ — LAist

‘This photo of the Sphinx Realty Company, located at 537 N. Fairfax Ave. across from where Fairfax High School now stands, supposedly dates to 1920, so it’s too early for it to have been inspired by the Egyptology craze that swept the U.S. after Tutankhamun’s tomb was discovered in 1922. Notice the signs listing nearby properties for sale. Back then you could buy a six-bedroom, corner stucco house for $7,200.’ — LAist

‘Gay’s Lion Farm, once a defining symbol of El Monte, has left relatively few traces in today’s city. El Monte High School may be the home of the Lions, boasting a statue of a lion that was once part of the Farm, but a perfectly unexotic McDonald’s now stands on Valley Boulevard, where the entrance to the Farm once saw fancy cars and tour buses disgorging their passengers to visit the tourist attraction. About three hundred yards west, on the southeast corner of Valley and Peck Road, an overpass of Interstate 10 looms like a conqueror over a memorial to the fallen Farm. (The construction of the freeway paved over the erstwhile Farm’s vacant land in the 1950s.) The memorial is easy to miss for drivers hurrying through the intersection; it’s also unlikely to be visited by pedestrians since the space is next to a busy intersection and below a freeway with no convenient parking nearby. The lion stands behind the fence, neglected by contemporary El Monte. Across the intersection, near a bus shelter on the northeast corner, is another ignored commemoration of the Lion Farm in the form of a marker placed by the city. The glass plating on the marker is scraped so badly that it renders the text almost entirely illegible.’ — ket.org

 

Glasgow

‘Tait Tower was a tower in the art deco style constructed at the summit of Bellahouston Hill in Bellahouston Park in Glasgow in Scotland as part of the Empire Exhibition, Scotland 1938. It was designed by Thomas S. Tait, stood 300 feet high (91.44 metres) and had three separate observation decks which provided a view of the surrounding gardens and city. Due to both the height of the tower and the hill it was built on, it could be seen 100 miles (160 km) away. Although it was to have been a permanent monument to the exhibition, orders were given to demolish the tower in July 1939, allegedly because it would provide a beacon for enemy bombers in the expected war with Germany. Only the foundations now remain.’ — Wiki

 

Wall Township

‘The Circus Drive-In was a fast food hamburger drive-in restaurant located in Wall Township, New Jersey that opened in 1954, and operated until 2017. Cars originally pulled up and parked around the round building, which remained until its closing as an open-air indoor seating area. There was also a partially covered drive-in aisle where cars could pull up to experience classic drive-in service. Besides standard hamburger fare, the Circus was known for its batter-dipped onion rings, fried Maryland softshell crab, and a newer addition of New England Lobster roll.’ — Wiki

 

Buffalo

‘The Pan-American Exposition was a celebration of many sorts. It opened its gates on May 1, 1901. The most prominent of its buildings was the Electric Tower which rose to a height of 391 feet. It was said that the Electric Tower could be seen from downtown Buffalo. The Electric Tower was colored deep green, with details of cream white, blue and gold.’ — buffalohistory.com

‘The Larkin Building was designed in 1904 by Frank Lloyd Wright and built in 1906 for the Larkin Soap Company of Buffalo, New York. The five story dark red brick building used pink tinted mortar and utilized steel frame construction. It was noted for many innovations, including air conditioning, stained glass windows, built-in desk furniture, and suspended toilet bowls. Located at 680 Seneca Street, the Larkin Building was demolished in 1950.’ — Wiki

‘Erie County Savings Bank was constructed between September 11, 1890, to June, 1893 and was designed by George B. Post – the winning architect in a competition among twenty-four architects. As with most of Buffalo’s great architectural masterpieces, the Erie County Savings Bank was demolished in 1968 to make way for a truly spectacular, agem, piece of architecture – the Main Place Mall.’ — The Buffalo History Works

 

Tokyo

‘The red-light district Yoshiwara [Good Luck Meadow] was “established in 1617 on the edge of the city [Edo now known as Tokyo] to gather all legal brothels in an out-of-the-way spot, the Yoshiwara was relocated in 1656 following Edo’s rapid expansion. It burned down a year later in the Meireki Fire and was rebuilt in 1659, this time out past Asakusa. Officially renamed Shin (New) Yoshiwara, it was now permitted to carry on night time operations, which were prohibited in the old quarter. It existed in one form or another until the early 20th century when the area was demolished.’ — procon.org

 

Rotterdam

‘The German bombing of Rotterdam, also known as the Rotterdam Blitz, was the aerial bombardment of Rotterdam by the Luftwaffe on 14 May 1940, during the German invasion of the Netherlands in World War II. The objective was to support the German troops fighting in the city, break Dutch resistance and force the Dutch army to surrender. Almost the entire historic city centre was destroyed, nearly 900 people were killed and 85,000 more were left homeless. The psychological and physical success of the raid, from the German perspective, led the Oberkommando der Luftwaffe (OKL) to threaten to destroy the city of Utrecht if the Dutch command did not surrender. The Dutch surrendered in the late afternoon of 14 May, signing the capitulation early the next morning.’ — Wiki

 

Monaco

‘The same architectural group that brought us a Monaco-Shaped yacht, later presented the Floating Desert Island. A billionaire eccentric from the United Arab Emirates with doubtful exquisite taste purchased the private island yacht in 2016 for $250M and got more lost at sea than he bargained for when the yacht sank to the irretrievable depths of the Atlantic Ocean.’ — Architect Journal

 

Sydney

‘The Garden Palace was a large purpose-built exhibition building constructed to house the Sydney International Exhibition (1879). It was designed by James Barnet and was constructed at a cost of 191,800 Pounds in only eight months. A reworking of London’s Crystal Palace, the building consisted of three turreted wings meeting beneath a central dome. The dome was 100 feet (30.4 metres) in diameter and 210 feet (65.5 metres) in height. It was constructed primarily from timber, which was to assure its complete destruction when engulfed by fire in the early morning of September 22, 1882.’ — absoluteastrononmy.com

‘Anthony Horderns was the largest department store in Sydney, Australia, which was originally established by a free immigrant from England, Anthony Hordern, in 1823, as a drapery shop. By the early 1960’s Anthony Hordern and Sons, began to accumulate yearly losses instead of profits. The development of American-style suburban shopping malls during the later 1960s, coupled with fiercer competition in the city, is said to have sealed the fate of the store. For many years it stood idle, and eventually part of it was made into a car park. It (and surrounding buildings) was controversially demolished in 1986 for the infamous ‘World Square’ development, which remained a hole in the ground for nearly twenty years, before finally being completed in 2004.’ — Wiki

 

Miami

‘In 1967, architect Chayo Frank was tasked with designing an office building for his father’s architectural woodworking and store fixture manufacturing business, Amertec-Granada Inc. With the use of sprayed concrete construction, he was able to have his design plan realized which involved a combination of free-form aesthetics; parts of the building were completely free-form such as the water flumes on the exterior while curved rebars were used to form the large geometric shapes. Chayo Frank had a love for nature and while the building was being painted, he began developing an idea. He wanted his design to transcend architecture as a building and become what he called, an “organic entity” which involved a combination of all aspects of design to resemble an object of nature. To achieve this, he used metallic paints that enabled sunlight to reflect off the textures on the exterior of the building, giving it a more life-like quality to it. The building was demolished in February 2017 to be replaced with a medical clinic.’ — abandoned.fl

 

New York

‘The Singer Tower (or Singer Building) (top) was located at 149 Broadway in Lower Manhattan and was completed in 1908. This building was designed by Ernest Flagg and stood 612 feet tall with 47 floors. Singer held title of World’s Tallest for 18 months until Met Life Insurance Company Tower was built. Singer Tower was demolished in the late 1960’s to make way for 1 Liberty Plaza (bottom).’ — replicabuildings.com

‘Lewisohn Stadium was built in 1915 between Amsterdam and Convent Avenue and 136th and 138th Streets in Harlem. It served as home field for CUNY’s sport teams and was also a concert venue featuring performers from George Gershwin to Pete Seeger. It was demolished in 1973 and replaced by a large, architecturally bland academic center.’ — Ephemeral New York

Snippet from Serpico (1973)

‘Probably the world’s very first voluntarily demolished skyscraper, the 22 storey Gillender Building. When built in 1897 it was the fourth tallest building in New York City. As a testment to the incredible growth of NYC, demolition of the Gillender Building began in 1910! One of the tallest buildings in NYC had only stood for 12 years! It would be replaced by the 41 storey Bankers Trust Building.’ — skyscraperforum

 

Cantwell

‘Igloo City was built as a hotel. As suggested in its name, the facility is built to resemble a giant igloo. The building is fairly recent, having only been built in the 1970s. However, the hotel never got into business due to it not conforming to building codes. Today, it sits completely abandoned and really creepy due to the remoteness of the location.’ — ghostsngghouls

 

Rome

Stabilimenti Balneari Beach Club

 

Beijing

‘Wonderland was supposed to be the Chinese version of Disneyworld. The ruins of what would be the biggest theme park in Asia are situated just 45 minutes outside the center of Beijing, on a 100-acre plot of land. Construction begun in 1998 by the Reignwood Group (a Thai-owned property developer) but it stopped around the year 2000 after disagreements with the local government and farmers over property prices. Developers briefly tried to restart construction in 2008, but without success. Property prices in China have risen 140% since 1998. Today, the abandoned theme park lies surrounded by fields of corn while signs warn visitors to proceed at their own risk.’ — collaged

 

Guadalajara

Various

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Paris

Did you know there’s an abandoned ‘human zoo’ in Paris? Over a century ago – in 1907 to be exact – the French opened an attraction at the far eastern edge of the Bois de Vincennes forest that brought curious onlookers flocking. It was the Exposition Coloniale in the Jardin d’Agronomie Tropicale and appears to have been the exhibition of the decade. At this exhibition, there were buildings in the style of at least six former French colonies such as Morocco and Madagascar, and they housed people from the respective colonies who had been plucked from their homelands and paraded in front of the visitors. These people were made to dress, eat, and live like they supposedly did back at home, all as a kind of live art exhibition so Parisians could get a glimpse into life in the colonies. And the Parisians loved it. One historian says that up to a million people came to see the spectacle in the single summer that it was open. The “zoo”, as some refer to it today, was closed down at the end of the season and left to ruin. And it stayed this way for almost 100 years, way out at the edge of the woods getting slowly swallowed by the undergrowth and the shame.’ — The Earful Tower

‘The Trocadéro Palace (top) was built in order to accomodate meetings of International Organizations that participated in the 1878 International Exhibition. The shape of the palace was that of a large concert hall: its style was a mix between a genre normally called “Moresco” (with historical and exotic references) and Byzantine elements by the architect Gabriel Davioud. Despite the high costs incurred for its construction, the building was not welcomed by the population and was demolished after only 50 years and replaced by the Palais de Chaillot (bottom).’ — halldis

‘Gare de La Bastille (top, right) was a station in Paris. The station was opened in 1858 and served as the terminus of the 54.1 km long line to Vincennes and Verneuil-l’Étang. The line was opened only to serve the Fort de Vincennes and was extended in 1859 to La Varenne and in 1874 to Brie-Comte-Robert. Part of the line was included into the RER A on 14 December 1969. The station was demolished in 1984 so that the Opéra Bastille (bottom) could be built.’ — RightHealth

‘The Gaumont Palace was the biggest movie theatre in Europe. Located in the Clichy district of Paris, t was a re-construction of the Hippodrome Theatre (1900) which had 5,500 seats. Another re-construction of the Hippodrome took place in 1930 when architect Henri Belloc created a fantastic super cinema in an Art Deco style, named Gaumont Palace (middle). Seating was provided in orchestra and two balcony levels. It was converted into a 3-strip Cinerama theatre from 17th September 1963 until 13th October 1964, after which it was a 70mm cinema. The Gaumont Palace closed in 1970, the last film to play was Martin Balsam in “Tora, Tora, Tora”. It was torn down in 1972 and replaced by an outlet of the Castorama chain (bottom).’ — Cinema Treasures

‘100 artists were given the opportunity to paint the interior of a soon to be demolished student residence at the Cité Internationale Universitaire in Paris, making it their canvas. Although the dormitory and all the works were destroyed when the dormitory wass renovated, several photographers extensively documented the space, creating a lasting visual document.’ — Art Fido

 

Witley Park

‘As awesome additions to your home go, a billiard room hidden under a lake sounds like the kind of place any self-respecting geek should covet. Turns out, the concept isn’t new; J. Whitaker Wright, a trader, engineer and convicted fraudster, lavished masses of money on Witley Park back in the 19th century, a 32 bedroom mansion which extended into various labyrinthine underground passages and a beautiful underwater room. Unfortunately the house – once owned by the UK National Trust, but then sold off privately – isn’t open to the public, but that hasn’t stopped some photographers from getting in and taking photos of the eerie mansion.’ — Slash Gear

 

Seattle

‘The Denny Hotel (top, circled in red) was built in 1889 by developers including Arthur Denny but in-fighting and market woes kept it unfinished until 1903. That year (renamed the Washington Hotel) it had a remarkable guest in Teddy Roosevelt and enjoyed brief success before being torn down for the Denny Regrade in 1907 in which the hill was literally flattened. The hotel stood where the Moore Theater (bottom) is today.

 

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p.s. Hey. ** Ferdinand, Well, you had a Friday of note all ready to go there. Give it time: the car crash piece. Let yourself figure it out. You’ll learn stuff you can use over and over again. Angling for safety over here, yes, you too. ** David Ehrenstein, I hope you get some big bites. ** _Black_Acrylic, Hey, B-man. Glad you dug it. Have an eventful and uneventful weekend. ** G, Hi, pal. It’s a lovely book. And it looks exciting on the page too, as I guess you could see from the facsimiles. Hooray about Evan accepting your poems! That’s awesome! Use at least a little bit of your weekend to celebrate, no? ** Bill, Hi. Thanks. It should be fine: Rennes. Two hours train ride, watch rehearsals and a run-through for four hours, two hour train ride back. As much train as Rennes. I stocked up on magazines to read on the journey yesterday. That book is hard to find? Huh. She’s really good pretty much always, but I do like the pre-‘Citizen’ ones best, a bit more playful. Oh, right, the bandcamp weekend thing. I didn’t take advantage last time. Thanks for the tweak. Fun, some kind of fun, any kind of fun in your neck and future this Saturday/Sunday? ** Steve Erickson, Hi. Oh, if I’d known that about the Atlantic thing I probably would have delayed that post. I aways prefer the blog to be at least slightly out of step. I don’t know if this is appropriate under those circumstances, but you know the old trick that if you have a fan turned on, even in the lowest mode, and if you’re in the the area the fan is blowing towards, you won’t get mosquito-ed because they can’t fly in even the mildest breeze? Everyone, Steve Erickson types/speaks: ‘Here’s my review of FEELS GOOD MAN, which traces Pepe the Frog’s transformation from benign cartoon character to malevolent meme.’ I just read something promising somewhere about Drakeo the Ruler’s new album that made me inclined to test it which surprised me. Now with your ‘up’ too, okey-doke. Yeah, Rennes is close to Paris, so I’m training. I’ll be taking my first COVID-era flight next weekend to Marseilles and back. Dreamy weekend! ** Okay. I’ve restored this old post consisting of a very tall stack of ex-buildings and attractions from around the world for you to peruse and respond accordingly. Enjoy maybe, ideally. See you on Monday.