Turkmenistan’s Door to Hell

Turkmenistan is seventy percent desert – the Karakum Desert, to be exact. The nation is divided into five provinces, the second largest being the Ahal Welayat, which occupies the south-central portion of the country. Ahal is almost entirely desert and contains just fourteen percent of the country’s population, but it is also rich in natural resource deposits.

Soviet scientists discovered a cache of oil reserves near the town of Derweze in the Karakum Desert, and drilling quickly commenced. But when a drilling rig collapsed it created a crater, and large amounts of methane were released. When the oilmen attempted to burn off the methane, it started a fire in a “door to hell” that still burns over forty years later.

Continue

Largest Ship Graveyard in the World: Nouadhibou, Mauritania

Sometimes Interesting

Extending from the west coast of Africa is Ras Nouadhibou, a small peninsula shared by Mauritania and Western Sahara. The east side of the peninsula belongs to Mauritania and is home to Nouadhibou, a city of nearly 100,000 residents and the second-largest settlement in the country. The region’s economic capital, Nouadhibou holds less illustrious titles as well: it is also home to the largest ship graveyard in the world. Financial hardships led to authorities turning a blind eye to ship owners who offered bribes to dump used vessels in the harbor. After nearly three decades of this practice, Nouadhibou’s coastline is a unique landscape of over 300 rotting ships.

Continue

Count Bagno’s City of Toys: Consonno, Italy

Sometimes Interesting

When Count Mario Bagno purchased a large amount of land in the remote northern hills of Italy fifty years ago, he envisioned building a Las Vegas-style adult playground with bars, casinos, and dance clubs. The resort town of Consonno, nestled in the hills of Brianza not far from Lecco, was intended to be the premier weekend getaway for the well-heeled of Milan. But delays would force the resort to open before it was completed and Consonno never enjoyed the success Bagno envisioned. The clock struck midnight for his City of Toys when a 1976 landslide destroyed the only road into town. Today, the long-abandoned Città dei Balocchi sits vandalized and forgotten.

Continue

Abandoned: St. Mary’s Mercy Hospital

Sometimes Interesting

In the final installment of the Gary series, we take a look at the skeleton of a healthcare organization founded over one hundred years ago. Originally established in 1908, St. Mary’s Mercy Hospital would see multiple additions and renovations over the years while it expanded to accommodate the city’s growing number of residents. But when the fortunes of Gary turned and the citizens fled, the hospital became economically superfluous; the reduced population base could not financially support operations. The debt-ridden facility endured a slow and painful contraction before finally closing in 1995. Several attempts were made to reuse the building–including the moving of the city’s police department into the newest wing–but half of the complex was never re-appropriated and left vacant. Today, the remaining structures have deteriorated and are likely beyond repair.

Continue

Ambassador Apartments of Gary, Indiana

Sometimes Interesting

There certainly isn’t a dearth of classic early twentieth century architecture around Gary, Indiana. Another fine example is that of the Ambassador Apartments at 574 Monroe Street. Finished in 1928, the luxurious building featured views and amenities no other place in town could match. Initially it would cater to Gary’s high society, but decades of economic decline and neglected maintenance would take its toll on the building. The Ambassador Apartments would serve Gary for nearly six decades before it succumbed to economic and structural failures. Today it still stands, abandoned for over 25 years and crumbling beyond repair.

Continue

The Gary-Alerding Settlement House

Sometimes Interesting

When Gary, Indiana was founded by U.S. Steel in 1906, the steelworker was often not American. However the history of immigrants in Gary is often overlooked by the frequent black–white dichotomy in the narrative of the city’s more recent history. Perhaps not as well known is the history of Gary’s foreign workers and the assimilation attempts they faced coming to town. The Gary-Alerding Settlement House was founded by the Catholic Church in 1923 with the purpose of “Americanizing” Gary’s workforce. The building would alter direction several times over the following decades, adjusting to changing balance sheets and social climate. The final days were far from glamorous, however, and it was eventually shut down in 1971. Over forty years later, it’s still there.

Continue

The Palace Theater of Gary, Indiana

Sometimes Interesting

Another icon of Gary is the majestic Palace Theater, opened in 1925. One of the finer examples of Atmospheric theater design, it was the crown jewel of a northwest Indiana theater conglomerate. The theater would be the longest-running in Gary, and served residents for nearly 50 years before succumbing to crime and financial difficulties. It has been abandoned for nearly 40 years, and today the Palace is one of five remaining Atmospheric theaters in Indiana. But without financial support, how much longer will it cast a shadow on Broadway?

Continue

City United Methodist Church of Gary, Indiana

Sometimes Interesting

Perhaps one of the most iconic abandoned structures in Gary, City United Methodist Church was once the pride of the community. Built in 1925, the classic Gothic edifice was the result of an ambitious priest backed by U.S. Steel dollars. But the huge structure would burden the church with enormous maintenance costs for decades, and when Gary’s population declined in the 1960s and 70s the church struggled to make ends meet. When the parishioners left town, so too did the dollars. Now one of the most photographed churches in Indiana, City United Methodist sits exposed and crumbling since it was abandoned nearly forty years ago.

Continue

1...301302303...310 Page 302 of 310