Vacations.com

Most people travel to see famous tourist attractions. But there’s a niche developing that’s growing more and more popular each year of people visiting sites that most of the world has long forgotten. These urban explorers find abandoned places across the nation, and even the world, to see what society has left behind. There is something eerie, yet fascinating about these locations, making one feel like they’ve stepped into some post-apocalyptic world. Each one has a unique story behind its demise, which is perhaps what most attracts the curious and adventurous.

We’ve pulled together nine of the most famous of these places where the premises have been vacated… permanently.

1 ) Lyric Theater – Birmingham, Ala.

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The curtain has long since dropped on this playhouse in Birmingham’s historic Theater District, with its last lyric performed in 1958. In its heyday, the Lyric Theater featured an A-list of performers that included the Marx Brothers, Mae West, Milton Berle, Roy Rogers, and Gene Autry, the Singing Cowboy. But now, the 1,300-seat vaudeville venue and movie house built in 1913 is a shell of its former self, though you can still see signs of tinsel and glory among the dust and decay. Rumor has it that it will one day be restored, but for now, “The show must go on,” are hallow words echoing among the emptiness. If you visit, be careful not to break a leg among the unstable infrastructure.

2) Candler Mansion / Emory Asylum – Atlanta, Ga.

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Many things have roamed the grounds of this National Historic Site. First and foremost was the son of Coca-Cola’s inventor, Asa Candler Jr. There were also elephants and giraffes that were part of the Candler family’s personal zoo, and countless party goers who enjoyed the third-floor ballroom. But alcoholics and mental patients also called this place home after the property was sold to the State of Georgia who converted it to a rehabilitation center and then a mental health institute. The abandoned property on Briarcliff Road is owned by neighboring Emory University today, but it’s supposedly haunted by some of the ghosts of its past. Have a Coke and a smile when visiting.

3 ) Tugboat Graveyard — Staten Island, NY

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Davy Jones’ Locker is supposed to be at the bottom of the ocean, but here in New York City, the place were ships come to die—or rather left for dead—is the Tugboat Graveyard near the southernmost point of Staten Island. “Abandon ship!” indeed… Here hundreds of half-sunken, ferries, tugboats, barges, and other types of watercraft from the early 20th century sit in various stages of decomposition atop the water’s surface, where the term “seaworthy” is never uttered in their company. Perhaps the sinking ship that is the New York Knicks will wind up here one day as well.

4) Sterick Building – Memphis, Tenn.

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Many people may still be walking in Memphis “with their feet ten feet off of Beale” (Street), as the song goes. But no one’s walking the halls of the Sterick Building, just a couple of blocks from Beale in the downtown area. This 29-floor, Gothic-styled tower once called “the Queen of Memphis” was the tallest building in the South when it first opened in 1930. But less than a decade after being added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978, it followed the path of deterioration that the rest of the downtown area was on during the 1980’s (though the city has since been revitalized) until the last tenant, like Elvis, left the building.

5) Splendid China – Kissimmee, Fla.

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It probably seemed like a good idea at the time—creating yet another theme park near the Central Florida tourist capital that captured all the splendor of China. So 100 million USD was spent to create a 75-acre park containing 60 replicas of familiar structures from the People’s Republic built at a 1/10th scale with incredibly detailed intricacy, including a half-mile long Great Wall. It also included performers from the motherland who entertained guests with acrobatics, dances, and other cultural aspects of China. Sadly, the fortune cookie served at the end wasn’t so fortunate, revealing a prediction of demise, and ten years later it was left abandoned, just like many newly built residential neighborhoods all across Florida.

6) Waverly Hills Sanatorium – Louisville, Ken.

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It started out as a sanatorium for patients during a tuberculosis outbreak in the early 20th century, until it closed and was re-opened as a geriatric hospital. That was shut down 20 years later due to alleged abuse against many of its mental patients. Adding to the creep factor is the tunnel running under the hospital that was used to haul out the dead. Plans were made for the facility to become a prison, which failed, and then a worship center, which also fell through. Despite being abandoned, it doesn’t necessarily sit empty. Supposedly, it’s one of the most haunted places around, and has been featured on shows like Scariest Places on Earth, Celebrity Paranormal Project, and Ghost Hunters. My suggestion if you go? Forget about what Ray said—cross the streams.

7) Thurmond Ghost Town, WV

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OK, technically it’s not a ghost town, seeing as it has, according to the 2000 U.S. Census, a grand total of seven residents (six of which ran for office in 2005). Decades ago, several hundred people did call this once prosperous Appalachian coal mining community that even had its own red light district home, but in the 1950s it went into decline, followed by all-out abandonment. The Chesapeake & Ohio Railway depot that was in the community’s “downtown” area was renovated in 1995 to serve as a visitor’s center for the New River Gorge National River area, and that’s about all that’s left—except for the homes of wherever those seven people live.

8 ) Griffith Park Zoo – Los Angeles, Calif.

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The site of the old Los Angeles Zoo still has animals. Just not lions, giraffes, and elephants anymore. Instead, it’s raccoons, coyotes, stray dogs, snakes, and deer that populate the Griffith Park zoo since the rest of the tenants moved to bigger, better digs in the 1960s. Graffiti-laden old cages, rock structures, caves, and other facilities are still there in what is now a picnic area of Griffith Park, though the city has since closed the old zoo to the public. Despite its beleaguered state, the film Anchorman was shot here, which is like a really big deal.

9) Art in Storefronts – San Francisco, Calif.

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Like any urban center in the midst of economic downturn, you’re sure to find several abandoned places throughout a city. The streets of San Francisco are no exception. However, to address the eye sores that many of these abandoned buildings become, civic leaders and neighborhood associations have created a program to add a splash of life to their deceased structures. Since last fall, the Art in Storefronts program has turned 20 empty commercial storefronts into art exhibits featuring works from nearly 200 different artists. It’s more aesthetics than adventure for urban explorers, but is a great idea to keep forgotten, forlorn places relevant and nice looking.

If you want to visit any of these places, consider yourself warned that unauthorized entrance could be grounds for trespassing. Additionally, there are other safety concerns as well. Some hold guided tours, so your best bet is to explore them with a group that has permission (and protection) to be there.

Tags: abandoned places, Art in Storefronts, Coke, ghost town, haunted, insane asylum, Lyric Theater, Ron Burgandy, Splendid China, Sterick Building, Tugboat Graveyard, Urban exploration