Deserted Places

Elise Amendola/AP/npr.org

Saturday, April 20, 2013

Deserted streets in Boston, as the city goes into lockdown

On Friday 19 April 2013 a manhunt took place in Boston for the capture of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, one of the two suspects in connection with the Boston Marathon bombings a week earlier.

Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick asked residents of Watertown, where the suspect was believed to be hiding, and the adjacent cities and towns (Boston, Belmont, Brookline, Cambridge, Newton, and Waltham) to "shelter in place". The entire public transit network was suspended, as was Amtrak service to and from Boston. Universities, schools, businesses, and other facilities remained closed as thousands of law enforcement personnel participated in a door-to-door manhunt.

At around 6 pm Deval Patrick ended the lockdown after the day-long search failed to locate the suspect. An hour later Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was discovered by a citizen and arrested by police.

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Dominic Chavez/EPA/Landov/npr.org

Jim Davis/The Boston Globe

Neal Hamberg/Reuters/theatlantic.com

Saturday, April 13, 2013

The abandoned LA subway

The Pacific Electric 'Red Car' and the Los Angeles Railway 'Yellow Car' lines were LA's original railway and the ancestor of today's Metro Rail, operating from the end of the 19th century till the 1960's.

The Subway terminal building in downtown Los Angeles was built in 1925 as a terminus for the Hollywood Subway branch of the Red Car. The building ceased operation in 1955 when the Subway closed due to low ridership. The trucks were removed and the tunnels were sealed up. Years later, the terminal building was turned into luxury apartments.

Last year, blogger Alissa Walker took a tour of an abandoned part of the subway, starting from the terminal building, showing us what remains from LA's original subway.

flickr.com/Floyd B. Bariscale

SEE ALSO: More abandoned railways around the world // More abandoned underground places // More abandoned places in California // More abandoned places in the United States // LIST OF ALL DESERTED PLACES
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commons.wikimedia.org

awalkerinla.com

Tuesday, April 2, 2013

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 race, creed or color, to sit and be peaceful.

The park was built with the help of a group of volunteers known as Companions of Christ. It featured Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Herod's palace, a recreation of the Garden of Eden, a diorama depicting Daniel in the lions' den, and various recreations of the life and ministry of Jesus. The centerpiece of the site was a 56-foot (17 meters) tall cross and an illuminated sign that read “Holy Land USA”.

During the 1960s and 70s, Holy Land USA became the largest tourist attraction in Connecticut with more than 40,000 visitors annualy. The was closed down by Greco in 1984 with plans to improve and expand the site. The word, however, was left unfinished when Greco died in 1986.

Since then, the park has fallen into a state of advanced disrepair. The property was left to Religious Sisters of Filippi Greco who have been accused of stopping any restoration efforts. Currently the site remains closed although it continues to attract the attention of many tourists as well as urban explorers.

In 2010, the rape and murder of a 16-year old girl inside the property generated interest in the unused property and its future.

Steve Miller/AP/huffingtonpost.com

SEE ALSO: More abandoned theme parks and abandoned amusement parks around the world // More abandoned places in the United States // LIST OF ALL DESERTED PLACES

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flickr.com/laur marshall

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Communist era bunkers in Albania

During the 40-year Communist leadership of Enver Hoxha, more than 700,000 bunkers were built across Albania. Beginning in 1967 and continuing until 1986, the Albanian government carried out a policy of "bunkerisation" that resulted to 1 bunker to be built for every 4 citizens.

The bunkers were built in literally every possible location ranging from "beaches and mountains, in vineyards and pastures, in villages and towns, even on the manicured lawns of Albania's best hotel". They were constructed from concrete, steel and iron and their common type is that of a small concrete dome set into the ground with a circular bottom extending downwards, just large enough for one or two people to stand inside.

Bunker construction stopped shortly after Hoxha's death in 1985 but today thousands of them still dominate the Albanian landscape. Although they never served their purpose during Hoxha's rule, bunkers were used to temporary shelter Kosovo Albanian refugees during the 1999 Kosovo war. From the 90's and onwards bunkers have often been used as houses. There have been various suggestions for what to do with them: ideas have included pizza ovens, solar heaters, beehives, mushroom farms, projection rooms for drive-in cinemas, beach huts, flower planters, youth hostels and kiosks.

flickr.com/blackcharliepho

SEE ALSO: LIST OF ALL DESERTED PLACES
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David Galjaard

Sunday, March 17, 2013

BBC Television Centre: The end of an era

Martin Deutsch/flickr.com

For more than 50 years, BBC Television Centre in West London has been the headquarters of BBC Television. Some of the best known BBC productions have been filmed in its studios, including Fawlty Towers, Monty Python’s Flying Circus, Doctor Who, and most of the BBC drama series.

During the last decades, TV Centre has also been the headquarters of BBC News, housing the department's central newsroom as well as the studios for BBC News and BBC World News tv channels and other tv and radio news bulletins.

BBC TV Centre opened its doors in 1960, after 10 years of planning and construction. From the air, the overall design has the shape of a question mark. The studios, offices, engineering areas and the News Centre are built around a central circular plaza with the statue of of Helios, the Greek god of the sun in its centre, symbolizing the radiation of television around the world. Its studios are of various sizes and Studio 1 with a surface of 995 square metres (10,250 ft²), is currently the 4th largest studio in the UK.

In 2009, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport decided to list at Grade II parts of the building, due to their architectural and historic interest.

In 2007, BBC announced that it will sell the Television Centre and relocate its staff to the New Broadcasting House in central London as well as to MediaCityUK in Salford, near Manchester. The relocation, which started in late 2011, is to be completed by the end of March 2013, and currently most of the TVC is empty. After renovations will be completed, BBC is going to lease some of the refurbished studios and use them for its productions. The rest of the building will include a mix of leisure, office, and residential space.

Although it is not and will not be abandoned, here are some photos of one of the most iconic buildings of British television.

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Steve Pugh/flickr.com

Nick Garrod/flickr.com

Ian/flickr.com

Nick Garrod/flickr.com

Monday, March 11, 2013

The abandoned towns of Fukushima

Franck Robichon/EPA/guardian.co.uk

Two 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 the nuclear plant remains too contaminated by radiation for residents to return for more than short visits.

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A deserted street in the town of Namie

A street light at the abandoned town of Iitate, outside the nuclear exlusion zone

Greg Baker/Associated Press/wpxi.com

Drinks and rice vending machines in the abandoned town of Naraha, inside the exclusion zone

Greg Baker/Associated Press/wpxi.com

The destroyed Tomioka station in the town of Tomioka

Franck Robichon/EPA/guardian.co.uk

A tennis court in the abandoned town of Iitate

Greg Baker/Associated Press/wpxi.com

Tuesday, March 5, 2013

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 modern facilities. Today, this huge urban space is being reclaimed by nature, and graffiti artists. And as it often happens with abandoned buildings, many claim that the site is haunted.

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hongwrong.com

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Harold Wood Hospital in London

Harold Wood Hospital in northern London opened in 1909 and shut down in 2006 after its functions and patients were transferred to neighboring hospitals. The site vacated by the hospital has been earmarked for a 470-home housing development.

abandonedplaces.livejournal.com

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Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Spreepark: An abandoned amusement park in Berlin