Another installment in our series on abandoned places in the world.
1. The drowned town of Alt-Graun, Italy
All that remains from the old village of Alt-Graun is a bell tower from a submerged 14th-century church. Located near the Italian-Swiss border, the ancient village was flooded on completion of the Reschensee reservoir by a local power company in 1950.
2. Toronto Power Generating System, Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada
The Toronto Power Generating System was designed by architect E. J. Lennox and constructed in a Beaux-Arts style in 1906. Located along the Niagara River, the company supplied hydro-electric power to Toronto. The building has remained vacant since it was decommissioned in 1974.
3. Agdam, Azerbaijan
A once thriving city of 150,000, Agdam was abandoned in 1993 during the Nagorno Karabakh war. Located in the southwestern part of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the city was captured by Armenian soldiers whereupon it was gutted to prevent its recapture. The entire population fled eastwards, as well as into Iran.
4. Perth Entertainment Centre, Australia
Welcoming such luminaries as Bono, Sting, and Bon Jovi, the Perth Entertainment Centre was built by the architectural firm Hobbs, Winning and Leighton in 1974. Aside from making the Guiness Book of World Records for the largest purpose built regular theatre featuring a proscenium arch, the stadium was abandoned in August 2002. Demolition has since commenced.
5. Renwick Smallpox Hospital, Roosevelt Island, New York
The Renwick Smallpox Hospital is located on Roosevelt Island in New York City. Opened in 1856, the 100 bed facility was designed in a Gothic style structure by architect James Renwick, Jr. Once home for the treatment of smallpox and other contagious diseases, the hospital was later converted into a nursing home as well as the Maternity and Charity Hospital Training School. Closed since 1950, the hospital ruins have since been re-opened to the public thanks to a $4.5 million dollar stabilization project. Many thanks to Dürer’s Rhino for this suggestion.
Can’t get enough of the forgotten, neglected, abandoned? Read previous entries here and here.
