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Ghostscrapers - Top ten post-apocalyptic abandoned skyscrapers
When city plans exceed reality, or the money dries up, or people simply leave in a mass exodus, skyscrapers vacate and slowly decay. High winds thrash through broken windows. Rats live undisturbed amongst decades old rubble. Stairways lead to doors that may never open again. The ghost of ambition's past arrives in the present like a howling specter, creating eyesores, dangerous conditions, and free housing for opportunistic urban survivalists.
These abandoned skyscrapers range from forsaken structures aborted long before their doors opened to icons from a bygone era. While a slumper like Detroit has its fair share of empty giants, even cities with tiger cub economic growth like Bangkok are not immune to the plague of creepy abandoned high-rises. South America brings vertical favelas to the list, and Poland has a tower named after a pop-culture villain. And even San Francisco, a city with a high recreational scooter to human ratio and droves of individuals who see the world just beyond the tip of their nose, has its very own abandoned skyscraper.
From North Korea to Venezuela, these structures differ in their stories and circumstance, but each is a fine glimpse at post-apocalyptic urban decay.
Michigan Central Station
Location: Detroit, USA
Stories: 18 floors
Story: The Central Station was finished during the advent of the automobile - 1913. The Beaux-Arts style of the classical building recalls a time when Detroit possessed the resources and momentum to rightfully emulate Parisian architecture. Its old school ambition is not lost on current Detroit residents but its function certainly is. It is a doorway into a forgotten world and a poster-boy for urban decay. The graffiti and dilapidation tells the story not just of Detroit's acrimonious decline but also the abandonment of rail travel in the United States. At its peak during the 1940's, 200 trains left this station daily. Today, none. While rail travel is receiving some political buzz in Washington, the fate of this gorgeous structure is uncertain. Many have flirted with re-purposing the old building, from the Detroit Police to casino developers, but for the moment it stands quietly on the outskirts of the modern world like an old ornate wrench that fits no bolt.
Abandoned since: 1988
Ryugyong Hotel
Location: Pyongyang, North Korea
Stories: 105 floors
Story: This massive pyramidal structure (above, furthest left) is a 105 story symbol for the absurdist ambitions of Kim Jong Il and the hermit kingdom. It has been under construction (on and off) for decades. It has been called the world's most hideous hotel. It is an unnecessary extravagance in a country that can barely feed its people. The project was abandoned after the fall of the Soviet Union due to Soviet subsidies to North Korea coming to an end. The hollow shell stood vacant for decades, just towering above the city - a failure too large to ignore but too painful to acknowledge. The North Koreans spent years denying the structure's existence, removing it from photographs and excluding it from maps of Pyongyang. Too much shame, it seems, in the very obvious failure. Construction on the structure resumed recently with Egyptian architectural firm Orascom leading the project. It is slated for completion in 2012, to sync with the 100th birthday of Eternal President Kim Il Sung, deceased since 1994.
Abandoned since: 1992, currently under construction
Tower of David
Location: Caracas, Venezuela
Stories: 45 floors
Story: The Tower of David, one of the tallest buildings in Latin America, is the quintessential slum-scraper. There is no government interference, just 2500 squatters carving up its 45 stories for purposes ranging from housing to business. The building includes apartments, home-brew PlayStation arcades, beauty salons, and perhaps the most suspicious dentistry operation in the new world. While the current occupants have yet to climb higher than the 30th floor, it is only a matter of time before the anarchic housing market pushes residences higher towards the dilapidated rooftop helipad - a symbol from Caracas' forgotten banking boom.
Abandoned since: 1994, never completed
Buffalo Central Terminal
Location: Buffalo, USA
Stories: 20
Story: The Buffalo Central terminal has been looted for artifacts, vandalized by bored delinquents, used for art exhibitions, explored by ghost hunters, and even sold for $1. It is a gorgeous old structure plagued by a series of humiliating footnotes, caught in a perpetual fall from grace. But it was not always so. At a time, the Buffalo Central Terminal was an important hub servicing hundreds of trains daily. Still an Art Deco architectural masterpiece, the structure possesses a prominent tower worthy of superlatives, and its halls are said to be haunted by ghostly apparitions waiting for trains that will never arrive. Last Halloween, the TV show Ghost Hunters filmed a 6 hour marathon in the creepy old building. It is possible to tour the structure and even get hitched in its lofty halls. Click here for more information.
Abandoned since: 1980
Szkieletor (Skelator)
Location: Krakow, Poland
Stories: 20 floors
Story: The tallest building in Krakow is a a hulking skeleton of a structure unofficially named after the villain from He-man - a show extremely popular in Poland in the early 1980's. Construction began in 1975, but the Pols ran into economic troubles. Today, the building is primarily a backdrop in which to drape massive advertisements. It is also a constant reminder of the decades old malfeasance of Skelator - an urban Castle Grayskull looming on the Polish horizon.
Abandoned since: 1981, never completed
PacBell Building
Location: San Francisco, USA
Stories: 26
Story: Once the tallest building in San Francisco, the PacBell building is a Neo-Gothic marvel abandoned last decade. Completed in 1925, the giant is capped with 13 foot tall art deco Eagles looking out over the great San Francisco expanse. While the building was purchased in 2007 for $118 million, it has since been left to decay quietly in its own upscale way. Unlike most abandoned skyscrapers though, this one still has some life in it. Security guards patrol the ground floor, and the tower is lit up at night. A couple of brave urban explorers over at Bearings snuck past the guard and explored the tower's heights. Check out their first hand account of the abandoned skyscraper. The PacBell Building will likely be repurposed into condominiums in the coming years.
Abandoned since: 2005
Edificio Sao Vito
Location: Sao Paolo, Brazil
Stories: 27 floors
Story: The original vertical favela arrived on the scene in the late fifties with the intention of providing housing to Sao Paolo's middle class community and expats. Before long though, the building fell into disrepair and became an overpopulated den of urban plight - a favela that sprawled up. As basic services and utilities declined over the years, tenants began disposing their garbage out the window and obtaining illegal electricity. Many of the Edificio's 624 apartment units were split into two - stressing the already shaky infrastructure of the building known as "Balança mas não Cai" (It shakes but does not fall). By the eighties, the tap water was polluted and only one of the three elevators partially worked - making its way halfway up the building. Edificio Sao Vito was formally evacuated in 2004, though crackheads and drug dealers have taken to the abandoned structure like moths to a flame. Allegedly, the Mayor of Sao Paolo tried to demolish the building because it obstructed his otherwise pleasant view. While this bit of urban lore may or may not be true, the building has been flirting with demolition for the last decade. At the time of reading its graffiti flecked concrete walls may simply be dust.
Abandoned since: 2004
Book Tower
Location: Detroit, USA
Stories: 38 floors
Story: Construction began on the Book Tower in 1916, just a few years after Henry Ford transformed auto-making forever with assembly line production. It is the old style of high-rise - more a kin of masonry than a child of steel and glass. For years, the classic structure with an ornate copper roof stood for the old world extravagance of Detroit. Now, it has taken on an altogether different metaphorical role as a sad reminder of when the eminent address spoke for the industrialist success of one of America's finest cities. The property has changed hands many times in the last decade and plans exist to drop hundreds of millions in restoring the old-school giant.
Abandoned since: 2009
Sathorn Unique
Location: Bangkok, Thailand
Stories: 49
Story: During the Thai tiger economy of the 1990's, skyscrapers grew all over Bangkok in a display of Thailand's new-found economic prominence. This one never completely grew up. Crows circle the pinnacle and rats call its lower levels home. Locals, convinced its hallways are haunted, stay out of the ghostscraper. Expat urban spelunkers have explored the building and returned to Khao San Road with stories from its upper reaches. The verdict: it is a dilapidated mess. The future of the Sathorn Unique remains unclear but perhaps someday it will be finished. For now, it looms on the Bangkok skyline with many other abandoned skeletal structures.
Abandoned since: 1997
Sterick Building
Location: Memphis, USA
Stories: 29 floors
Story: Once the tallest building in the southern United States, the original "Queen of Memphis" is a ghostly skyscraper, boarded up and decaying from the inside. The late Gothic architectural marvel once shuttled around thousands of workers, from stockbrokers to barbers, in its eight high-speed elevators. It has been the domain of urban explorers and desperate vagrants ever since being completely abandoned in the late nineteen-eighties. While inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places preserves its era appropriate charms, the future of the towering structure is unclear. Perhaps a redevelopment boom in downtown Memphis will reignite a need for the large ghostscraper.
Abandoned since: 1980s
top flickr image via country_boy_shane
Filed under: Arts and Culture, Photos, Stories, Asia, Europe, North America, South America, North Korea, Thailand, Poland, United States, Brazil, Venezuela, Hotels and Accommodations, Video, Central America
Reader Comments (Page 3 of 3)
Tony Aug 9th 2011 2:46PM
The Baker Hotel in Mineral Springs, Texas opened in 1929 is 14 stories tall. It was a top tier destination in the 30's for many celebrities of the time including Clark Gable, Judy Garland and many others. Since closing in 1972 it was been suffering from vandalism and deterioration but was place on the National Register of Historical Places in 1982. It has been slated for restoration but will probably take many years if it happens at all. For a small town in Texas, this hotel really stands tall and can be seen from miles away. Hopefully it will be restored and saved.
UH34D Aug 9th 2011 2:41PM
Typical America, just discard it.
I'm a former mayor and I attempted to curtail building permits for new structures. I felt the abandonment of perfectly good buildings was a waste of resources, especially when one considers those wanting new construction were always lookig for a property tax break and even partial city/state financing of their new construction.
If a building is sound structurally and those constructed in the 20's and 30's usually were, it should be rehabilitated. Now, a lot of people will say the cost for building rehab exceeds the construction of a new building and I say that is just not the case with the right architects and engineers. I know having spent many hours with such professionals discussing building rehabs.
Another problem associated with new construction is eminent domain. Private enterprises have legally forced municipalities to use it to take property for their new and private construction. This situation naturally creates all kinds of problems. And those having their property taken usually get the short end of the stick.
We can't take care of what we now have infrastructure wise and buildings are part of our infrastructure. Municipalities and states should do a much better job when it comes to new building construction and controlling its growth.
I could list many other problems associated with new building construction, but the above should suffice for now.
candace circle Aug 9th 2011 3:01PM
you make an excellent point !
taber555 Aug 9th 2011 2:53PM
Sorry, the Baker Hotel is in Mineral Wells, Texas. http://www.statesman.com/business/real-estate/austin-hotelier-trigger-to-lead-restoration-of-mineral-862888.html
chelsea Aug 9th 2011 3:19PM
I was just in Detroit visiting a friend of mine. It was my first visit to Michigan and it was quite sad to see so many gorgous buildings boarded up and vacant. One of the buildings she took me to see was the Detroit train station, what a stunning piece of architecture. When we drove by two days ago they were doing some sort of work around it, too hard to tell what they were doing though. I hope that someday it is restored so that people can enjoy its beauty again.
Kristy Aug 9th 2011 4:24PM
I would love to buy one of them and remodel it and live in part of it! That would be so fun!
robert Aug 9th 2011 3:42PM
I only wish Penn Station and the Singer building where abandoned so they could have been saved.
Jeez Aug 9th 2011 3:45PM
WOW !!! It looks like downtown Dallas.
Jeez Aug 9th 2011 3:47PM
I notice that the link concerning the restoration of the Baker Hotel in Mineral Wells was datede 2010. Any updates?
Joanne Aug 9th 2011 4:31PM
I live in San Francisco. The Pacific Bell building now belongs to AT&T, as does Pacific Bell. It is a great building and a perfect location for a mix of condominiums and offices. S.F. is over built in condos in some areas, but not in the area of the Pac Bell building. I haven't been in the building since I paid my last phone bill there, but my guess is that it is in good condition because it is guarded, and its location makes it valuable. Generally, no building goes to waste in S.F. I live in a neighborhood that was a slum when I bought a 6 unit building and moved in. It took 6 years of work with others and the police, but it is considered one of the best places to live. I paid $450,000 with 50% down; it is now worth nearly $2,000,000. The entire neighborhood is like that, including what was a housing project that was torn down and replaced with town house and apartments. That was 10 years ago, and there has never been graffiti and low crime around our immediate neighborhood. This was all done without pushing the black community out of our neighborhood. Well off black people have moved back into what was run down buildings that were renovated when I moved here, and sold for double the cost put into them.
Jack Aug 9th 2011 5:37PM
Atlanta, aka "The New Detroit," is right behind it's nick-namesake city by only a few percentage points in it's tacky-high-rise-office vacancy rates.
Marshall Aug 9th 2011 6:35PM
Hard to believe to see such wastage of what was then expensive real estate.
Some of these buildings could be given to the poor and low income people who
otherwise dont have any equity,who have struggled and failed,but really wanting
a house of their own. Of course! there are always going to arguments and debates
about where will all the money come from to renovate and fix some of these
highrise buildings.
cicchino Aug 9th 2011 6:34PM
I've always liked these little slide shows of buildings and places that have seen better times, but that comment about "droves of individuals who see the world just beyond the tip of their nose" in San Francisco, is a little out of line. He could have left his personal opinion of people from SF out of the article.
rockjshock Aug 9th 2011 7:55PM
What happens when a 9.4 earthquake hits San Francisco and insurance companies are asked to compensate folks two million dollars for a dumpy little 1800 sq.ft house with a tiny yard and 85% of the neighborhood abuses recreational drugs like Ecstasy??? Wow what prospects for the future. There are at least 100 mid-size to 25,000 population, up to several million that are nicer to live actually than San Francisco. And hugely more affordable with a Panera and a more botique bread shop, and the most divine Asian markets, blah, blah, blah. The Golden Gate Bridge is beautiful, and viewing it looking toward the city is great. But it's done to death. As is Rockfeller Plaza in NYC. ETC. We get it. I agree that in the five or six times I have visited San Francisco, some of the worst moments of an every day life were experienced, in additon to the fab restaurant under the Pyramidal Building, The TRansoceancia, Trans and DAnce America, hula gerl get up. Pleazz.
maxlxii Aug 9th 2011 8:35PM
Please correct me if I misunderstand this: Someone has a (big) building that they made a lot of money with and now they can't make any more money with it and it it's going to cost a bucket full of money to bring down, so they abandon it and the tax payer (US, meaning you and me not the govt because Obama spent all our money on ill fated government health care) needs to fix it. What are we going to do with neculear power plants that are approaching the end of their life...
Recife Aug 27th 2011 12:57PM
Andraus Building in Brazil
On February 24, 1972, the building Andraus was the victim of a fire (which is believed to have started with banner ads placed on the marquee of the building) that killed 16 people and injured over 300.
One of the reasons that prevented a greater tragedy was that the Andraus have a rooftop helipad. Today, the building which is located in downtown Sao Paulo is one of the safest city.
11 years after the fire, many building officials, especially security guards and night watchmen, claim to hear strange sounds coming from certain locations Andraus.
Cabinets that open the door alone, screams and strange noises on the stairs are part of the routine for employees of the building. Some actually claim to have heard sounds at night, knowing that the building was completely empty.
It is inevitable does not make a link between the strange sounds coming from inside the building with the suffering of people who died that sad day on February 24.
motorola cell phone batteries Sep 7th 2011 4:34AM
The tallest Champ in Wichita, Kansas for quite some time was the Hotel Alice, which stood in the mid-1950s at a grand seventeen stories tall.
http://www.dragonext.com/cellphone/motorola/battery.html
JohnL Oct 24th 2011 4:00PM
I saw What appeared to be a semi abandoned apartment building just North of the Boardwalk in Atlantic City.
It is right on the beach and looks like it was once THE place to live in AC, but I saw lots of broken windows and tattered drapes blowing in the sea breeze but it seemed to still have people living in it.
New Jersey is a weird place, driving down the coast hwy along the beach North af Atlantic City you see multimillion dollar beach mansions and just a bit further and it turns into a post apocalyptic landscape of crumbling abandoned buildings.