19 Haunting Pictures That Showcase How The Most Beautiful Places Can Change After Being Abandoned
Interview
Not long ago, an old matchbook laying on photographer Pablo Iglesias Maurer's desk caught his eye. Or rather, it was the postcard-like picture on it, of a resort complex built in the 1960s. It got Pablo wondering how the then-famous landmark looked now, and the answer has led him to make an amazing photo series called Abandoned States.
The vintage photo came with the title How to Run A Successful Golf Course, but when Maurer got to the place, it was clear the owner of Penn Hills Resort didn't follow that advice. He pointed the camera at the abandoned place at roughly the same spot and did a '5-decades-after' shot of the place.
Ever since then, Pablo was hooked. He ordered more '60s photo postcards from eBay and started going around the country, capturing these once beautiful buildings from old photos that now stand abandoned only as faint memories of what once was.
"The vintage postcards, have their own haze—the places were never as nice as they look. I often struggle to get the two images to line up, as well. But time blurs the difference and brings everything into focus."
Check out the incredible series of before and after pics below. And don't miss Bored Panda's interview with Maurer!
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More of the indoor pool at Grossinger's. The tiled floor was heated, the entire structure air conditioned. Above, beautiful mid-century "sputnik" chandeliers cast a glow on the swimmers below. Below the pool are exercise rooms, a gym, salon and a host of other amenities. The pool has sat vacant since the late 90's and has fallen beyond repair.
Ok, this whole post would be so much better if we had static pictures, not GIFs.
O actually like the .gif, they make the differences more obvious and they look like a ghost.
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the thing hanging from the roof is where it used to be in this one img_28111-...97b288.jpg 
After 50 years, the pool doesn't look so bad. It's still in one piece and nobody destroyed the windows.
Except for the graffiti on the outside of the windows.
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The best thing I've ever seen on BoredPanda without a doubt. This was incredible...to have it superimposed like that. It was also made more incredible because my father would take us to the Poconos. I don't think we ever stayed overnite...but we have pictures with us being there next to a large wooden Indian and a huge taxidermied bear.
Yes, exactly! In the Catskills. It's actually the basis for the resort in the movie, a homage as it were. This place was the king of them all, apparently. Pretty much all gone now, a fire wiped out what sounds like the last of it last year: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/fire-hits-vacant-grossingers-hotel-once-a-catskills-jewel/
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My sister worked as a lifeguard there in 1979. Was such a lovely place once.
This is so sad. I remember Grossingers in its heyday. It was a magical place of fun and memories.
That's a damned shame. I hate to see beautiful places, and lovely old houses abandoned and left to rot. Especially knowing about the huge numbers of people there are, who have no place to live. If someone no longer wants to keep up a place they own, then there should be a law that if someone abandons their property, allowing it to fall into ruin, then they forfeit ownership of it. And it should then be given to someone on an alturistic, need basis, who does want it. But, that's just MY dream. I guarantee it's not everyone else's.
I'd like to see side-by-sides - but this is a neat way to do it., too :-)
Exactly. The whole thing was patterned after Grossingers.
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The pictures change too fast; it's very hard on the eyes. This would have been a terrific post if , as others have said, the pictures had either been a static image that you could click on when you were ready, or if the changeover had been slower. I usually enjoy seeing then-and-now images, but not this one. What a shame.
That's sort of what I've been doing for the past several years. I take pictures of things that have been around for years and then I find pictures of the same things from years ago. Not just parks and things on postcards. Even old convenience stores and gas stations change over the years
Someone should start a petition to the government to restore these pools to their former glory.
They would need to update the who pool for safety issues. The drain especially, cos back in the olden days the drains were big enough kids would get sucked in and drown. It's unsafe.
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This made Pablo wonder what the famous landmark would look like now, and the answer has led him to create a series of stunning photographs called Abandoned States. From then on, Pablo was hooked. He ordered more 60s photo postcards from eBay and began traveling around the country, immortalizing these once beautiful buildings from old photos that were now left as only vague memories of what once was.https://furloughedfoodieslondon.co. uk/
This made Pablo wonder what the famous landmark would look like now, and the answer has led him to create a stunning series of photos called Abandoned States. He pointed his camera at an abandoned site in roughly the same place and took the picture '5 decades later' in that place. I also often have difficulty aligning the two images. But time blurs the differences and brings everything into focus. For clearer information, you can visit our website https://furloughedfoodieslondon.co.uk/
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More of the indoor pool at Grossinger's. The tiled floor was heated, the entire structure air conditioned. Above, beautiful mid-century "sputnik" chandeliers cast a glow on the swimmers below. Below the pool are exercise rooms, a gym, salon and a host of other amenities. The pool has sat vacant since the late 90's and has fallen beyond repair.informasi lebih jelas bisa kunjungin diwebsite kami https://ataleunfolds.co.uk/
The vintage photo was captioned How to Run a Successful Golf Course, but when Maurer got to the scene, it was clear that the owner of Penn Hills Resort had not followed that advice and often had trouble aligning the two images. But time blurs the differences and brings everything into focus. For clearer information, you can visit our website https://furloughedfoodieslondon.co.uk/
ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA sssssoooooooo ssssssssssssssccccccccccccaaaaaaarrrrrrrryyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy
Yeah, I'd like a peek at those "sputnik" chandeliers, but naah.
Yeah, I'd like to have a peek at those "sputnik" chandeliers, but there's none to be had.
I love the GIF overlays. The "persistence of vision" effect makes it feel like a kind of time travel.
Very reminiscent of the contrast between the abandoned British airfield in the opening and closing scenes of "12 O'Clock High" and the look-back combat scenes of the main part of the picture. As a kid, I once played my accordion in a talent show at Mountain Crest Resort in the Catskills in the early 'fifties in the Casino, similar to a scene in "Dirty Dancing". A good memory! - Larry Schear
These images are the product an artist's hard work. It's only right that we viewers get something like a preview. If I want the art to study for hours, I'll pay for it. Art is a REAL JOB.
My grandmother was the help for a prominent Jewish family in Brooklyn and every summer they spent two weeks at grossingers. They would bring my grandmother along and she would bring my sister and I along with her.The Rabinowitz's treated my sister and I like family and they doted on my grandmother as she helped raise their 7 children. Grossingers was the most exquisite place I ever saw. Such a shame that no one could restore it to it's glory days. RIP to my grandma and to Dr. And Mrs Rabinowitz'. Thanks for everything
I think it's so cool the way the pic changes,I've never seen that before...💦
Sadly, all the great places in the Catskills that started so many iconic greats of comedy are abandoned or falling apart or deliberately torn down. Like Kuschner's (sp?), there's a YouTube vid of it's destruction. I was a tiny kid in the 60s but I know local cultural history.
Rolls of FAT & BLUBBER on the lady holder her knee !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Why weren't the owners required to clean up their blight on the landscape. On the other hand, it's nice to see that nature reclaims its own......and covers mankind's damage.
Nothing is beyond repair, it's just a question of money.
All those hotels in that area are gone. Two other famous ones were The Concord and Kutcher's.
I really like to see the change in one single gif. It's so dramatic! Like seeing ghosts.
I wish there was more info on what happened that caused the area fall so out of fashion. Why isn't it still frequented as a vacation destination?
There is a lot of information out there. Grossingers and others like it were family summer designations where there were all kinds of activities for different levels and ages. It was like a cruise ship that was land locked. By today's standards, it was very innocent and a little hokey. People want more tech and more spectacle today. These places were all about people to people. Dirty Dancing was patterned after Grossingers and was pretty accurate on activities and even accommodations.
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Might not be reparable as a pool, but it could make a really nifty indoor garden...
Add to that every one of these photos are THEN WHERE ARE THE NOW PHOTOS TO COMPARE
Good job, Pablo. think the lines are quite clear, and a good eye for detail!!
What most people might not realize is this, the resort failed because it is not off of any major interstate. People have to realize back in the fifties and sixties and even early seventies when all the interstates were being built some of these Resorts were still clinging to life, but as soon as the interstates were built these Resorts started to fail. I will say this though now the amazing thing is people are trying to be retro and they don't want to do what's on the norm like Resorts along the interstate and so I do not understand why the owner of this property does not want to revamp it because if he did at this time it would be a major hit
one of my favorite youtubers went there Exploring With Josh check him out and send him love please!
You can click on the picture and it should change to what it looks like today.
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Bored Panda got in touch with Maurer and he was kind enough to share his thoughts on the Abandoned States project with us. "I've been amazed at the staying power of the photographs and the whole project," he told us about the project he unveiled in 2017, from his perspective in 2023. "All of these photos are deeply meaningful to me, as is the time I've spent in the Catskills and Poconos over the years. These are places that allowed me some time and space to meditate, or reflect on life, so I remain attached."
Over the years, the photographer has revisited both places many times. "I've continued to marvel at the work others have done in documenting the area. My friend Marisa Schienfeld is a native of the Catskills and has worked for years to preserve the history of the Jewish resorts in the area. I also marvel at the work of Isaac Jeffreys whose nighttime photos of these resorts are awe-inspiring," he said.
Grossinger's outdoor pool, olympic sized, built in 1949 at a cost of $400,000 (about $5 million in today's market.) Long gone are the private cabanas, changing room and lounges that used to surround it.
Bored Panda wanted to get Maurer's thoughts on taking photos in abandoned buildings. He stressed the fact about how vital it is that everyone should use common sense and be safe. "And most importantly, respect these places for what they often are—historical sites. They should be afforded the same level of respect you offer some piece of untouched nature, or a work of art. Don't take anything, don't vandalize anything, and be extremely judicious about who you bring with you," he said.
Meanwhile, we were interested in what advice he'd give other, new photographers. "My advice to any photographer is pretty simple—develop your own style. I'd much rather someone go out with a camera and shoot what feels right to them than go out with a camera and try and recreate something they've seen on Instagram," he said that authenticity is essential.
"Taste is subjective by nature, so focus on finding your own voice and embracing it. You see this a lot in this stretch of 'abandoned' photography, which is full of over-saturated, highly retouched photographs aimed at making these places look horrific. My view is a little different—when you are in one of these places, the content itself is interesting enough. If you actually manage to take a good photograph of the place, it won't need much help after the fact."
The browns and reds and oranges of this Poconos dining hall's carpet have turned green, the color of the moss that's taken its place.
Maurer is currently a staff writer for The Athletic. He covers soccer and focuses on the history and culture of the game. Meanwhile, his writing and photography have been featured in a variety of well-known outlets, including National Geographic, Smithsonian Magazine, Gothamist, and elsewhere.
The photographer’s Abandoned States project is widely known across the internet—you might have seen some of his photos without realizing who the man behind the camera lens is. Other people, however, spent their vacations at these very spots when they were young, so Maurer’s images were a real blast from the past for them.
The Homowack Lodge now sits abandoned on the southern edge of the famed "Borscht Belt." On its lower level, maybe the highlight of the place, a four-lane Brunswick bowling alley. It has seen better days. The resort closed in the mid-2000's but lived on briefly, first as a Hasidic resort and lastly as the site of a summer camp—one which was forced to shut down after the NY Department of Environmental Conservation deemed it uninhabitable.
The bowling alley is still intact and functional! Please put it back into use!
Through his photos, taken in the resorts in Poconos in Pennsylvania and Catskills in New York, Maurer shows the stark contrast between once-booming holiday destinations and their current state. Ruins, abandonment, and deep silence have now replaced the smiling faces and joyous laughter of vacation-goers.
Pristine leisure spots have become overrun with nature or suffered so much damage from the environment that they look like something straight out of a post-Apocalyptic movie. The images are a reminder of the ravages of time and how it spares no place, no matter how popular it might have once been.
Grossinger's indoor tennis center. The rear of the postcard is an ad for Grossinger's rye bread, a local staple during the resort's operation. Resort royalty Jenny Grossinger lays out the pitch: "The fun and fresh air people get here at Grossinger's really gives them an appetite. They love all of our food - and a particular favorite is our Grossinger's rye and pumpernickel bread. Now you can get this same healthy, flavorful bread at your local food store. Try a loaf. I'm sure you'll love it."
Surely and investor or contractor should be buying this and restoring it to it's former glory! look at those beams!! Stunning!
Maurer, a fan of exploring abandoned places, told National Geographic that he finds forgotten structures by simply getting in his car and driving.
"The images inspire emotion that's really difficult to put your finger on. It's a little melancholy," Maurer said.
The bowling alley in the Homowack Lodge in the Catskills, in particular, held a deep significance for Maurer. "I was there on Christmas day when my family was out of town, and I had nothing to do. I went up there and bowled. It was one of the most surreal moments of my life... It felt like it had been recently lived in,” he told National Geographic.
After a fire destroyed the main building at this resort in the Poconos, a replacement went up in the early 70's. It is a truly striking sight, a modernist spaceship tucked away deep in the woods.
Sunbathing and swimming in the Poconos. Postmarked, 1967. "Dear Jonnie: If you were only here, I would take you out for a horse-back ride - or else we could go golfing. Be good until I see you. Dr. Waterman."
"People connect the decay in these photographs with a general sort of decay. Something once grand was left to rot. I think, for a lot of people, it's to them a symbol of how wasteful we are."
Photographing abandoned places and urban exploration are both very romantic ideas. However, before you rush off to follow in Maurer’s footsteps, you’ve got to keep some safety tips in mind. The last thing you want is to get badly hurt or to get into some trouble with the law. First of all, either go on the adventure with a friend or let your nearest and dearest know exactly where you’ll be. That way, you’ll have backup in case you get hurt or trapped.
The indoor pool at Grossinger's, which opened in 1958. Elizabeth Taylor attended the pool's opening, and Florence Chadwick - the first woman to swim the English Channel in both directions - took the first dip in it. From Ross Padluck's excellent "Lost Architecture of Paradise": "...The new indoor pool at Grossinger's was the zenith of the Catskills. Nothing quite like it had ever been built, and nothing ever would be again. It represented everything about the Catskills in the 1950s-style: extravagance, luxury, modernism and celebrity."
I understand that no one wants to do the summer family resort "thing" anymore, but why wasn't it chopped up and developed into a Hamptons type resort area for the rich and famous? I'm not from the area, but it's still links like a beautiful, scenic place?
Second of all, take the time to do some background research on the property you plan to visit. Check out your local laws and know your rights, find some photographs (or even blueprints!) of the place, plan your time accordingly so you’re not stuck in some random ruins in the middle of the night while it’s freezing.
Urbex often falls into a legal and moral grey zone, so if you do ever run into the authorities, be respectful, apologize for trespassing, and promise that you won’t ever go back to that particular abandoned property ever again. In general, it’s best to visit the structure and leave it undisturbed or better than you found it. The only souvenirs that you should be taking are pictures.
The caption on the back of this Pocono resort's postcard touts this theater as the "resort world's most modern showplace." With a capacity of 1200, it remains splendorous even in disrepair. This postcard is also postmarked, and filled out. "Having a lovely weekend here. All pleasure - only exercise is rowing a boat and playing shuffleboard! Nice to be lady-like and not "rushing" about! We will see you soon."
The cocktail lounge of a now-defunct resort in the Poconos. "Peaceful relaxation - healthful recreation," says the caption on the rear of the card.
And finally, remember to keep yourself as physically safe as possible. Stating the obvious here, but abandoned structures can be very dangerous even if you think you’re prepared. Never assume that something’s safe, always be ready for the worst, have contingency plans ready, and keep all the different exit points in mind before venturing anywhere.
Stairs lead down to an abandoned theater in the Poconos. The curtain last fell here sometime in the early 90's
Somebody turned off those lights for the last time, walked up those stairs, glanced back once, sighed, got into the car and drove away.
The Mies van der Rohe-inspired "Jenny G Wing" opened in 1964 and was among the last structures erected at Grossinger's. It was designed by famed architect Morris Lapidus—the man who near single-handedly created the "Miami Modern" look in hotels and, more locally, designed the Capitol Skyline Hotel.
Wear thick clothing so that you don’t hurt yourself on nails, glass, broken wood, and crumbling concrete. Good boots are a must, steel-capped if possible. As is a mask for your face so you don’t breathe in any toxic materials, a hard hat for your head, and a pair of thick gloves to protect your hands. Bring a flashlight with you (and possibly a second one just in case), as well as a fully-charged phone, and some food and water if it’s a long trip. Photography in abandoned places is possible without these things, but your safety really is paramount.
On the inside of the matchbook, some text: "Swim n' Sun Indoor Swimming Pool at Penn Hills Lodge and Cottages. The Poconos' Finest Modern Resort."
Who is dumping trash into the pool??? How absolutely disgusting some humans can be. :(
A lane attendant at the Homowack lodge in the Catskills.
Looking down the side of that same 70's structure. "Ultra-modern building houses the dining room, cocktail lounge, lobbies and offices."
This album made me sad. Why were these structures abandoned? Who lost ownership why did no one else claim it? I want a historical accounting.
A residential building at a Poconos resort sits in disrepair. On the back of the postcard: "Dear Bernie - Don't think we forgot you - but we're having such a grand time that post cards are a chore! This is the life & the place & the people are grand. We couldn't be happier or have more fun. See you soon! Love, Lou & Shiela.
Such a shame to see such beautiful things go to waste these places aren't forgotten and never will be even when nature and things take over it will never be forgotten
Postcard caption: "Birchwood is the only resort offering three swimming pool facilities, indoor pool, outdoor pool and lake with beach. Pictured here is beautiful Eagle Lake, at the foot of the Village Green. Here couples enjoy the white-sand beach, chaise lounges, bicycle and row boats, and fish off its shores ... Six low-cost all-expense package plans include indoor swimming, airplane rides, movies, bowling, horseback riding, all winter sports and 40 other free activities!" More recently, the hangar at the resort's airstrip served a different purpose: cop killer Eric Frein made the place his home during a weeks-long manhunt and was eventually apprehended just a stone's throw from Eagle Lake.
I get an odd satisfaction to see that humanity is not so almighty. That our works, maybe all of them, will be consumed again by Nature. Everything that can rot, will rot, rust or crumble. Even concrete - seemingly like rock, bubbles apart within a hundred years as the internal steel rusts away. Trees get into the cracks. So do insects, animals, birds poop, more seeds ... one day It all falls down. It is swallowed, digested, ground down and smothered. Part of me wants this to happen. I love to see it happen.
As a gamer I really got this same feeling when playing Horizon zero dawn. Such an eerie beautiful feeling. Those designers really captured that "the mighty have fallen" vibe.
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I think, the saddest here, doesn't comes from the emptyness or the abandonment, but from the waste. As humans, we think it's normal to spoil a natural place, to build something that can be charmfull (not always the case, see all the coast with tones of buildings for mass tourism)... and to just forgot it as something disposable. Double waste. It doesn't make money anymore? then let's go concreting some other wonderful place and restard from zero, until next time. Glad to see, nature find her way despite us. (I hope they remove asbestos and all nasty stuff before leaving...)
Unfortunately, they don't remove asbestos, or anything else. They just leave it to rot, if it can rot. Or poison everything around, which is more likely. America is very wasteful society, sad to say it.
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That's impressive but to be truly honest, the photographer should have taken pictures in summer.
Some are summer pix, but I'd suspect the decision was to go for a starker look - emphasizing the emptiness and abandoned/dying qualities in frame. An artistic decision I can quite understand. Also - in winter, the buildings are easier to see.
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When I see stuff like this I often wonder how a whole building could just be abandoned for decades like that. Particularly when the building is not so far from a thriving metropolis. Here in New Orleans, we had a amusement park that was left like that and it's just weird that no other company tried to buy the land dirt cheap and do something with it.
It's weird to me, too. I can understand smaller properties sitting for a time, but not something large enough to construct all new buildings (office, factory, mixed-use) on.
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I remember going to some of these places in the 1980's when I was a very young child. So it is so strange for me to realize that they are ALL completely closed down and falling apart. For 50+ years, these places were a huge part of the culture for my family and families like mine. So strange to see these photos...
Its so sad ..it looks like at one time it would have been a blast...now all I see is loneliness..emptiness...it makes me ill that all these millionaires, won't come it to a place like that and turn it around...It could be a very nice seniors center...or somewhere kids could go to have fun and stay out of trouble ........I just hate to see the waste.....
I wonder whether all those people had the time of their lives, and never felt like that before.
Combinations of changes in demographics, the economy, who has the money (old vs. new money, or the age-range of the wealthy), car culture, and society.
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Grossingers is not in the Poconos. It's in Sullivan county New York. Poconos is in Pennsylvania. The reason these places went dead was the areas turned bad and NYS neglected infrastructure to highways. To this day it's a two lane road on 17 which is 86 now. But when NYS put casinos in a area around 87 they expanded the road ways
It seems unreal to see the Poconos pictures :( ... Was married in the Poconos, 25 years ago, and to my knowledge they are still thriving... I guess my question is, what location at the Poconos is this? I know we ate at a dining hall, similar to that picture, it boggles my mind to think that is where we ate... Guess a road trip is in order :/
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I liked the gifs. It was like flipping back and forth between photographs and made it easy to see the changes.
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These postcards made me extremely sad. My parents used to vacation in the Poconos and I couldn't help thinking that the structures could be renovated and used in another way. Perhaps some of the places could become organic farms and others could easily become summer camps for kids from New York City who need to get into nature in the summer. There are, I am sure , other ways these places could be repurposed.
It saddens me that buildings are left to rot and waste out of sheer greed. They could've been used and maintained for many other purposes- housing the homeless or charities is one of many. But rather than be a little generous people would rather leave a huge expensive building to rot than to give anything away for free. Horrible.
What I find saddest of all in these pictures is the arrogance of people that feel they must attack, destroy, or otherwise disfigure buildings that are not theirs. Locations in which they themselves are only in temporarily; they must 'leave their mark'; as thought they themselves are mere animals. Dogs or cats that mark their 'territory'; urinating to proclaim their existence, and their impotence. Yes, the abandonment of once treasured vacation location is sad. These buildings could be used to house the homeless. And yes, nature will overrun all that man misuses. The saddest part of the article itself, to me, are those comments by today's people that have no understanding of what life was truly like 40-50-60 years ago; the depressed individuals of today that have never lived what they now openly denigrate while secretly wishing they could have been there to experience the 'heyday' of the era.
It seems to be a human thing. Grafitti is as old as writing. Especially if you had to make a special effort to get somewhere: seems a shame not to leave a version of 'Kilroy was here.' (Not saying it's right, just saying it seems to be universal urge.)
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Good for nature! Would that it could gobble up some of the acres of useless tarmac. Supermarket car parks etc that stop the ground absorbing water and cause flooding.. But yes - it is a waste. Time effort and much money went into these creations. Shocking that they could just have been 'abandoned' and not even dismantled to reuse materials..
Why do people abandon places? Places that should be kept safe for future generations to look and understand what their parents had in their times. That they were not old duds who didn't know how to enjoy a thing, but to show that how vibrant and out going and crazy they were.
Nearly all are because they couldn't afford the upkeep. It takes lots of money. In humid places it costs a fortune to deal with mold and is just not worth the time and money.
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I loved this collection. How unique, different...shows that in time the earth takes back. In 100 years all of what's left will be apart of the earth again.. Wow... This was awesome!!! And I want to see more!
Me too, it was my dream for many years, it makes me cry now. I thought they are still open
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It just makes me sad. These resorts were surrounded by thousands of acres of untouched woods in a rural area. They were a celebration after the Depression and WW II. They provided hundreds of jobs, not to mention a nearby resort destination for the Jews who were denied accommodation elsewhere. The Wikipedia page offers a great history - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borscht_Belt I actually got to experience Grossinger's when my new father-in-law took the family for a high holiday celebration in the late 80's.
Good subject, badly presented in my opinion. the picture in picture is a really bad, goes too fast and you cant pause to see more details. should've just posted two pictures of before and after...
I'm sorry this sort of place no longer exists. It looks like it would have been a lot of fun. Too bad we have all retreated into our phones and computers and no one seems interested in interacting with others. People just don't seem happy anymore.
I agree with you, I always wanted to visit those places, I thought Poconos is still open. Its so sad people don't have fun anymore like they used too. Our kids will not have experiences like older generations did
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I enjoyed looking at these pictures. It brought both joy and sadness.Although everything has its time it seems that we so easily build new and better and let go of precious buildings that could be reinvented. These buildings are a testament to their creation. They have withstood time only to have us let go of them. I do not know the why's or how's as to what happened that stopped people from their upkeep or even someone buying them to refurbish. They have many years left and will probably be standing after we are gone. Ubless someone wants the land they sit on bad enough to demolish them without a blink.. It reminds me if our historical statues, etc that people are so willing to take down. It's history, part of what made us as we are. Keep what we have so we can have memories and know, life was not always as we see it now.
So its safe to say that the Poconos is abandoned? Seems the bulk of these photos are from there. Cool pics though.
In some senses, yes - there used to be a ton of resorts there that offered things like canoes, swimming, paddle boats, little playgrounds. Now every one of those vacation places has gone bust.
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Seeing these photos you can kind of see how there was this culture of decadence in the 60s. Build tons of resorts, for well-dressed and fit young dapper lovey dovey people, but in only a few decades, literally all of these have since been abandoned (except for maybe one or two) and are no longer the idyllic scenes that you see in the postcards. Is there any other decade that has this large of a number of resorts and entertainment complexes built but have since been lost?
Most of these places were built long before the 60s. In fact they were in decline by the 1960s. And most of the people were middle class Jewish families and honeymooners, hardly the decadent jet set you seem to envision. The 70s and 80s were a lot more decadent than the 60s, but then I guess it depends what your definition of that word is.
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Somehow its makes me sad cause these building and parks were more live full before they got demolished . I dont think ist a victory for Mother Nature i think Mother Nature is also widowing these places cause everything turned into gray.
Both the Homowack and Grossingers were excellent resorts. There is nothing wrong with having places for people to come and have vacation. They added greatly to the environment. The grounds were meticulously kept. There was a lot of nature for all to enjoy. We loved going there.
I wish they were still there for our kids to enjoy. Beautiful places with lots of history
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I find urban decay aesthetically fascinating. For me those are beautiful ruins. An entire city in just a hundred years would look like arcaic alien temples discovered in the jungle.
I find it interesting that once a location, or a structure, falls into certain level of decay or disrepair, it's not long before the international army of graffiti vandals shows up to "express themselves." Much like a cloud of shiny green flies gathers around a road apple. I consider graffiti a sign of the steady decline and fall of Western Civilization. These guys (almost exclusively) think of themselves as some sort of "artistes," when in fact they are merely sewer rats wielding spray cans. Endless mimics of each other's putrid self expressions. I find it a very sad commentary that there is a younger generation who actually look at that ugly stuff and think that it's artistic. Sure, maybe one in a hundred is, but look what the body of graffiti that's displayed in these photos does. It doesn't make anyplace look better, it only makes most of these places look more pathetic and misbegotten. Shame on these young attention-craving disfigurers of modern society.
Graffiti has been around since writing was invented. I don't understand the urge myself but I'm pretty confident it won't lead to the 'decline and fall of Western Civilization.'
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One of the best series I've seen on this site. I guess the comment about taking the recent photos during the winter months has some merit, but it does heighten the differences. Very, very good job.
I am a person growing and approaching thirties, to me this is the most saddening post i have encountered here. We as people try to cherish our memories and keep them safe in our hearts and try to keep them afresh every time we think of them. But this post shows that those memories will fade away and you'll remember lesser and lesser with each passing day.
great pictures... it would be fantastic if the government cleaned them up and made them housing for homeless or people who can't afford to buy a house, rather than let them sit and fall apart....
Some of these places were resorts, which means they're not convenient to the services and jobs that would best serve homeless and underemployed people. In other cases, maybe nobody's thought of it, or they have only run afoul of NIMBY types who don't want to see homeless people or think that means Alex and his droogs will be their neighbors. Or there's a clause in a sentence in a subparagraph of a subparagraph of an addendum to the local codes that makes it effectively impossible for even government agencies to use old properties that way.
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These photos are really sad, The 60's were an amazing era. Even criminals had codes of conduct.
I am surprised it hasn't been turned into a suburban living area homes, schools, hospital, and shopping area infrastructure must be there
This makes me want to cry. All the hard work, all the history, all the nostalgia gone because no one cared enough to keep it going.
Society gets bored easily. All things new get old eventually. Sometimes what is old can be new again if you don't discard it.
Its very sad that no one feels that these treasures are worth saving....
Some of these can still be restored but if not at least turned into a park/ hangout spot. Any city could use a little more green
They could be but who in this day and age would want to, that is the problem. It would cost millions of £'s to restore the buildings to their former glory and then have to make the money back! Unfortunately, these buildings will just be left to rot and decay. Sad, sad times.
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time can be cruel. I would love to see these places restored though that would cost a tremendous amount of money
It wouldn't be worthwhile. The places fell into disrepair because lower cost airfares made the Poconos and the Catskills not so desireable as vacation destinations, at least if you are looking for warm weather destinations. You could get on a plane and be in Florida in 2 1/2 hours or spend 90 minutes driving up to Grossingers. These are resorts which were served by New York City folks fleeing the city for the mountains to cool off. Recall the end of Dirty Dancing (a similar resort to the ones pictured here) circa 1963 or 1964 -- the owner could feel that times were changing.
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As an Aquatic professional, I am awed and dumbfounded by the contrast of the vast size of and popularity of swimming options from yesterday in comparison to today. The US experienced a surge in popularity of 'bathing' aka 'swimming' many decades ago and I sincerely hope we see a resurgence of swimming interest to that degree and beyond in modern days.
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Sort of sad to see passage of time. Mostly because the people are perhaps no longer with us or very old. How moments won't be had anymore. Like all we can do is lose. Idk if I am explaining myself thoughts well enough.
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I don't understand why those buildings are just left standing and rotting away. Is nobody interested to do anything else on the premises? In my country they would have been demolished years ago and something new would be built in that spot. That's why the Netherlands is not a great place for urban exploring, there are just too few empty and desolated buildings.
This? Check out Chernobyl :) Or other Eastern-European abandoned places :)
For those wondering how a place like this gets abandoned, I'd recommend searching YouTube for urban exploration videos. They usually go over the history, do a walkthrough of the current state, and then talk about future plans (if there are any). Bright Sun Films has a good one on Grossinger's. Basically, it was too big for it's own good. It was a popular vacation spot in its heyday, but competition in the area plus the ease of air travel led to way less customers, facilities became outdated, operating costs became too expensive, so they closed. It's usually too expensive to renovate after a place has sat abandoned for years...the cleanup alone would be so much work. Grossinger's was filled with mold before they demolished it 🤢 A lot of places don't even get demolished, because again, $$$. It's very sad to see places like this, where so many people once had a great time, just decay until it's gone.
This is the way the world would forget you also. No matter what you do. Look at that man in that picture #16, do u know who he is? NO. Repent today and give your lives to Christ and secure your eternity. This world has nothing to offer us.
My mother worked at Grossinger's for many years. I learned to swim there as a child. My dad worked at the Homowack for many years.
Is this where miss maisel was?? 😂🤣 Not to joke but golly! How did the rich not keep it up? I thought Poconos was the place to be?! So sad!
Seems the whole place could do with a revamp or knocked down to make accommodation for people
Mixed feelings here. I'm not sure why. I think it's really unethical that we just abandon these buildings when they could be used, taken down for nature to have that space. Someone could use that furniture...it's just...I don't know....why can't we make the most basic attempts to clean up after ourselves?
If you ever get the chance check out Mysteries of the Abandoned, it originally ran on Discovery Science. They would cover 3 abandoned sites around the globe starting with satellite images, what the purpose of the site was, and why it was abandoned. It's interesting although some it will probably rouse a bit of anger.
I honestly just see free real state waiting for a community to fix it and use for the benefit of all :3
Pennsylvania, near the Delaware Water Gap. There are a few new places. It was honey moonspot too with heart shaped tubs.
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Great photos, that tell a story, I was most impressed with the website presentation of the story, very clear and easy to follow
70's does not require an apostrophe; it's pluarl not possessive - 70s.
Yup. Check out the Orchid Island Hotel in Hilo, HI. Sad. So beautiful when it was built in the 60's. Tragic end because the business manager hired electrical contractors to do illegal and unsafe wiring and paid the inspectors to look the other way. It burnt down in the middle of the night and was never rebuilt. Oh he got his...
It's cool to see how quickly nature has taken over again. BTW this post would have been better if it had static pictures rather than GIFs. The GIFs are annoying.
What a waste! Abandon old, build a new resort, and destroy another natural area. The motto of modern society 'let's turn Nature into environment'. What a shame!
One of these locations, Penn Hills, was also visited by YouTuber Dan Bell: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BSPgAEq8y-A Strangely enough, there was a fire there just the other day: http://www.pennlive.com/news/2017/09/vacant_resort_in_poconos_searc.html
A couple successful photographers have made careers out of this. Here's one: https://walterarnold.photoshelter.com/gallery/As-Seen-at-My-Art-Festivals-Exhibits/G0000W18t69YBEzU/
A very successful photographer has made a career out of this. https://walterarnold.photoshelter.com/gallery/As-Seen-at-My-Art-Festivals-Exhibits/G0000W18t69YBEzU/
Somehow its makes me sad cause these building and parks were more live full before they got demolished. I dont think ist a victory for Mother Nature I think Mother Nature is also widowing these places cause everything turned into a bitter gray color .
This makes me feel so sad that no one would keep up these places that were such a joy to go to at one time. Just allowed them to run down and cease to exist. Strange looking at the old photos when they were so alive and looking at how they are now.
6 and 7 are different angles of the same place, nicer pics taken in summer, new pics in winter/fall. You can see the little building with the green roof and the crooked lifeguard chair out in the water.
A Era of a time gone by, crumbling with decay like the humanity that watches it crumble. Quiet sad to me as I grew up in that Era.
A couple of the things I was struck by when visiting Ireland and Scotland for the 1st time were the age of the buildings and other structures that remain standing and in use, after 100's of years. It reminded me the US is so young, and it's buildings are constructed for impermanence.
Great Scott! We need to go Back in the Past! Let's get the Time Machine DeLorean DMC.
I hate to see places wasted! People worked there. They needed jobs to survive. Families, friends went there, together to make memories. Hate seeing things forgotten.
The older I become the harder I find it to marvel at pictures of abandoned places. I used to find them exhilarating and romantic. Now, all I see is this tremendous waste of resources and it makes me sad and angry. We are turning our planet into a gigantic rubbish heap. (The post is great, though, although it would be a gazilliion times better with static pics, not gifs.)
Here lies hope and promise....I'd love to see my neighborhood in 300 years....
This makes me think of those Nat Geo shows "If humans were gone" When humanity is gone and we see what happens to the world with no one to take care of anything. Sad.
So if someone reopened Pocanos there would only be a couple of places to worry about! 😆👍🏻
"More of the indoor pool at Grossinger's" strikes me as a very poor way to introduce the reader to the locale. In fact, Grossinger's never is introduced! We are given no information regarding where it is, when it opened, when it closed -- only nebulous hints here and there. Your writers really need more practice. A lot more.
The saddest thing for me is how the postcard photographer used false colour, false highlight and shadow, false people and sometimes even false perspective, to hype the place in order to fleece the visiting dupes of their hard-earned cash.
This looks like Africa today. Joking nothing from Africa here. But something to remind us the destruction they love. Maybe they white, haha haha
Bored panda is a bunch of rip off wankers. Why not link the the actual site, or better yet, produce your own content instead of leeching off of someone else's work.
Nice try MG! I've been cleaning up and painting over graffiti in the San Francisco East Bay since 2003. Precious little of it is created by blacks. Almost all of it is created by privileged white punks from middle class families. -BT
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I get an odd satisfaction to see that humanity is not so almighty. That our works, maybe all of them, will be consumed again by Nature. Everything that can rot, will rot, rust or crumble. Even concrete - seemingly like rock, bubbles apart within a hundred years as the internal steel rusts away. Trees get into the cracks. So do insects, animals, birds poop, more seeds ... one day It all falls down. It is swallowed, digested, ground down and smothered. Part of me wants this to happen. I love to see it happen.
As a gamer I really got this same feeling when playing Horizon zero dawn. Such an eerie beautiful feeling. Those designers really captured that "the mighty have fallen" vibe.
Load More Replies... I think, the saddest here, doesn't comes from the emptyness or the abandonment, but from the waste. As humans, we think it's normal to spoil a natural place, to build something that can be charmfull (not always the case, see all the coast with tones of buildings for mass tourism)... and to just forgot it as something disposable. Double waste. It doesn't make money anymore? then let's go concreting some other wonderful place and restard from zero, until next time. Glad to see, nature find her way despite us. (I hope they remove asbestos and all nasty stuff before leaving...)
Unfortunately, they don't remove asbestos, or anything else. They just leave it to rot, if it can rot. Or poison everything around, which is more likely. America is very wasteful society, sad to say it.
Load More Replies... That's impressive but to be truly honest, the photographer should have taken pictures in summer.
Some are summer pix, but I'd suspect the decision was to go for a starker look - emphasizing the emptiness and abandoned/dying qualities in frame. An artistic decision I can quite understand. Also - in winter, the buildings are easier to see.
Load More Replies... When I see stuff like this I often wonder how a whole building could just be abandoned for decades like that. Particularly when the building is not so far from a thriving metropolis. Here in New Orleans, we had a amusement park that was left like that and it's just weird that no other company tried to buy the land dirt cheap and do something with it.
It's weird to me, too. I can understand smaller properties sitting for a time, but not something large enough to construct all new buildings (office, factory, mixed-use) on.
Load More Replies... I remember going to some of these places in the 1980's when I was a very young child. So it is so strange for me to realize that they are ALL completely closed down and falling apart. For 50+ years, these places were a huge part of the culture for my family and families like mine. So strange to see these photos...
Its so sad ..it looks like at one time it would have been a blast...now all I see is loneliness..emptiness...it makes me ill that all these millionaires, won't come it to a place like that and turn it around...It could be a very nice seniors center...or somewhere kids could go to have fun and stay out of trouble ........I just hate to see the waste.....
I wonder whether all those people had the time of their lives, and never felt like that before.
Combinations of changes in demographics, the economy, who has the money (old vs. new money, or the age-range of the wealthy), car culture, and society.
Load More Replies... Grossingers is not in the Poconos. It's in Sullivan county New York. Poconos is in Pennsylvania. The reason these places went dead was the areas turned bad and NYS neglected infrastructure to highways. To this day it's a two lane road on 17 which is 86 now. But when NYS put casinos in a area around 87 they expanded the road ways
It seems unreal to see the Poconos pictures :( ... Was married in the Poconos, 25 years ago, and to my knowledge they are still thriving... I guess my question is, what location at the Poconos is this? I know we ate at a dining hall, similar to that picture, it boggles my mind to think that is where we ate... Guess a road trip is in order :/
Load More Replies... I liked the gifs. It was like flipping back and forth between photographs and made it easy to see the changes.
Load More Replies... These postcards made me extremely sad. My parents used to vacation in the Poconos and I couldn't help thinking that the structures could be renovated and used in another way. Perhaps some of the places could become organic farms and others could easily become summer camps for kids from New York City who need to get into nature in the summer. There are, I am sure , other ways these places could be repurposed.
It saddens me that buildings are left to rot and waste out of sheer greed. They could've been used and maintained for many other purposes- housing the homeless or charities is one of many. But rather than be a little generous people would rather leave a huge expensive building to rot than to give anything away for free. Horrible.
What I find saddest of all in these pictures is the arrogance of people that feel they must attack, destroy, or otherwise disfigure buildings that are not theirs. Locations in which they themselves are only in temporarily; they must 'leave their mark'; as thought they themselves are mere animals. Dogs or cats that mark their 'territory'; urinating to proclaim their existence, and their impotence. Yes, the abandonment of once treasured vacation location is sad. These buildings could be used to house the homeless. And yes, nature will overrun all that man misuses. The saddest part of the article itself, to me, are those comments by today's people that have no understanding of what life was truly like 40-50-60 years ago; the depressed individuals of today that have never lived what they now openly denigrate while secretly wishing they could have been there to experience the 'heyday' of the era.
It seems to be a human thing. Grafitti is as old as writing. Especially if you had to make a special effort to get somewhere: seems a shame not to leave a version of 'Kilroy was here.' (Not saying it's right, just saying it seems to be universal urge.)
Load More Replies... Good for nature! Would that it could gobble up some of the acres of useless tarmac. Supermarket car parks etc that stop the ground absorbing water and cause flooding.. But yes - it is a waste. Time effort and much money went into these creations. Shocking that they could just have been 'abandoned' and not even dismantled to reuse materials..
Why do people abandon places? Places that should be kept safe for future generations to look and understand what their parents had in their times. That they were not old duds who didn't know how to enjoy a thing, but to show that how vibrant and out going and crazy they were.
Nearly all are because they couldn't afford the upkeep. It takes lots of money. In humid places it costs a fortune to deal with mold and is just not worth the time and money.
Load More Replies... I loved this collection. How unique, different...shows that in time the earth takes back. In 100 years all of what's left will be apart of the earth again.. Wow... This was awesome!!! And I want to see more!
Me too, it was my dream for many years, it makes me cry now. I thought they are still open
Load More Replies... It just makes me sad. These resorts were surrounded by thousands of acres of untouched woods in a rural area. They were a celebration after the Depression and WW II. They provided hundreds of jobs, not to mention a nearby resort destination for the Jews who were denied accommodation elsewhere. The Wikipedia page offers a great history - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borscht_Belt I actually got to experience Grossinger's when my new father-in-law took the family for a high holiday celebration in the late 80's.
Good subject, badly presented in my opinion. the picture in picture is a really bad, goes too fast and you cant pause to see more details. should've just posted two pictures of before and after...
I'm sorry this sort of place no longer exists. It looks like it would have been a lot of fun. Too bad we have all retreated into our phones and computers and no one seems interested in interacting with others. People just don't seem happy anymore.
I agree with you, I always wanted to visit those places, I thought Poconos is still open. Its so sad people don't have fun anymore like they used too. Our kids will not have experiences like older generations did
Load More Replies... I enjoyed looking at these pictures. It brought both joy and sadness.Although everything has its time it seems that we so easily build new and better and let go of precious buildings that could be reinvented. These buildings are a testament to their creation. They have withstood time only to have us let go of them. I do not know the why's or how's as to what happened that stopped people from their upkeep or even someone buying them to refurbish. They have many years left and will probably be standing after we are gone. Ubless someone wants the land they sit on bad enough to demolish them without a blink.. It reminds me if our historical statues, etc that people are so willing to take down. It's history, part of what made us as we are. Keep what we have so we can have memories and know, life was not always as we see it now.
So its safe to say that the Poconos is abandoned? Seems the bulk of these photos are from there. Cool pics though.
In some senses, yes - there used to be a ton of resorts there that offered things like canoes, swimming, paddle boats, little playgrounds. Now every one of those vacation places has gone bust.
Load More Replies... Seeing these photos you can kind of see how there was this culture of decadence in the 60s. Build tons of resorts, for well-dressed and fit young dapper lovey dovey people, but in only a few decades, literally all of these have since been abandoned (except for maybe one or two) and are no longer the idyllic scenes that you see in the postcards. Is there any other decade that has this large of a number of resorts and entertainment complexes built but have since been lost?
Most of these places were built long before the 60s. In fact they were in decline by the 1960s. And most of the people were middle class Jewish families and honeymooners, hardly the decadent jet set you seem to envision. The 70s and 80s were a lot more decadent than the 60s, but then I guess it depends what your definition of that word is.
Load More Replies... Somehow its makes me sad cause these building and parks were more live full before they got demolished . I dont think ist a victory for Mother Nature i think Mother Nature is also widowing these places cause everything turned into gray.
Both the Homowack and Grossingers were excellent resorts. There is nothing wrong with having places for people to come and have vacation. They added greatly to the environment. The grounds were meticulously kept. There was a lot of nature for all to enjoy. We loved going there.
I wish they were still there for our kids to enjoy. Beautiful places with lots of history
Load More Replies... I find urban decay aesthetically fascinating. For me those are beautiful ruins. An entire city in just a hundred years would look like arcaic alien temples discovered in the jungle.
I find it interesting that once a location, or a structure, falls into certain level of decay or disrepair, it's not long before the international army of graffiti vandals shows up to "express themselves." Much like a cloud of shiny green flies gathers around a road apple. I consider graffiti a sign of the steady decline and fall of Western Civilization. These guys (almost exclusively) think of themselves as some sort of "artistes," when in fact they are merely sewer rats wielding spray cans. Endless mimics of each other's putrid self expressions. I find it a very sad commentary that there is a younger generation who actually look at that ugly stuff and think that it's artistic. Sure, maybe one in a hundred is, but look what the body of graffiti that's displayed in these photos does. It doesn't make anyplace look better, it only makes most of these places look more pathetic and misbegotten. Shame on these young attention-craving disfigurers of modern society.
Graffiti has been around since writing was invented. I don't understand the urge myself but I'm pretty confident it won't lead to the 'decline and fall of Western Civilization.'
Load More Replies... One of the best series I've seen on this site. I guess the comment about taking the recent photos during the winter months has some merit, but it does heighten the differences. Very, very good job.
I am a person growing and approaching thirties, to me this is the most saddening post i have encountered here. We as people try to cherish our memories and keep them safe in our hearts and try to keep them afresh every time we think of them. But this post shows that those memories will fade away and you'll remember lesser and lesser with each passing day.
great pictures... it would be fantastic if the government cleaned them up and made them housing for homeless or people who can't afford to buy a house, rather than let them sit and fall apart....
Some of these places were resorts, which means they're not convenient to the services and jobs that would best serve homeless and underemployed people. In other cases, maybe nobody's thought of it, or they have only run afoul of NIMBY types who don't want to see homeless people or think that means Alex and his droogs will be their neighbors. Or there's a clause in a sentence in a subparagraph of a subparagraph of an addendum to the local codes that makes it effectively impossible for even government agencies to use old properties that way.
Load More Replies... These photos are really sad, The 60's were an amazing era. Even criminals had codes of conduct.
I am surprised it hasn't been turned into a suburban living area homes, schools, hospital, and shopping area infrastructure must be there
This makes me want to cry. All the hard work, all the history, all the nostalgia gone because no one cared enough to keep it going.
Society gets bored easily. All things new get old eventually. Sometimes what is old can be new again if you don't discard it.
Its very sad that no one feels that these treasures are worth saving....
Some of these can still be restored but if not at least turned into a park/ hangout spot. Any city could use a little more green
They could be but who in this day and age would want to, that is the problem. It would cost millions of £'s to restore the buildings to their former glory and then have to make the money back! Unfortunately, these buildings will just be left to rot and decay. Sad, sad times.
Load More Replies... time can be cruel. I would love to see these places restored though that would cost a tremendous amount of money
It wouldn't be worthwhile. The places fell into disrepair because lower cost airfares made the Poconos and the Catskills not so desireable as vacation destinations, at least if you are looking for warm weather destinations. You could get on a plane and be in Florida in 2 1/2 hours or spend 90 minutes driving up to Grossingers. These are resorts which were served by New York City folks fleeing the city for the mountains to cool off. Recall the end of Dirty Dancing (a similar resort to the ones pictured here) circa 1963 or 1964 -- the owner could feel that times were changing.
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As an Aquatic professional, I am awed and dumbfounded by the contrast of the vast size of and popularity of swimming options from yesterday in comparison to today. The US experienced a surge in popularity of 'bathing' aka 'swimming' many decades ago and I sincerely hope we see a resurgence of swimming interest to that degree and beyond in modern days.
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Sort of sad to see passage of time. Mostly because the people are perhaps no longer with us or very old. How moments won't be had anymore. Like all we can do is lose. Idk if I am explaining myself thoughts well enough.
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I don't understand why those buildings are just left standing and rotting away. Is nobody interested to do anything else on the premises? In my country they would have been demolished years ago and something new would be built in that spot. That's why the Netherlands is not a great place for urban exploring, there are just too few empty and desolated buildings.
This? Check out Chernobyl :) Or other Eastern-European abandoned places :)
For those wondering how a place like this gets abandoned, I'd recommend searching YouTube for urban exploration videos. They usually go over the history, do a walkthrough of the current state, and then talk about future plans (if there are any). Bright Sun Films has a good one on Grossinger's. Basically, it was too big for it's own good. It was a popular vacation spot in its heyday, but competition in the area plus the ease of air travel led to way less customers, facilities became outdated, operating costs became too expensive, so they closed. It's usually too expensive to renovate after a place has sat abandoned for years...the cleanup alone would be so much work. Grossinger's was filled with mold before they demolished it 🤢 A lot of places don't even get demolished, because again, $$$. It's very sad to see places like this, where so many people once had a great time, just decay until it's gone.
This is the way the world would forget you also. No matter what you do. Look at that man in that picture #16, do u know who he is? NO. Repent today and give your lives to Christ and secure your eternity. This world has nothing to offer us.
My mother worked at Grossinger's for many years. I learned to swim there as a child. My dad worked at the Homowack for many years.
Is this where miss maisel was?? 😂🤣 Not to joke but golly! How did the rich not keep it up? I thought Poconos was the place to be?! So sad!
Seems the whole place could do with a revamp or knocked down to make accommodation for people
Mixed feelings here. I'm not sure why. I think it's really unethical that we just abandon these buildings when they could be used, taken down for nature to have that space. Someone could use that furniture...it's just...I don't know....why can't we make the most basic attempts to clean up after ourselves?
If you ever get the chance check out Mysteries of the Abandoned, it originally ran on Discovery Science. They would cover 3 abandoned sites around the globe starting with satellite images, what the purpose of the site was, and why it was abandoned. It's interesting although some it will probably rouse a bit of anger.
I honestly just see free real state waiting for a community to fix it and use for the benefit of all :3
Pennsylvania, near the Delaware Water Gap. There are a few new places. It was honey moonspot too with heart shaped tubs.
Load More Replies... Great photos, that tell a story, I was most impressed with the website presentation of the story, very clear and easy to follow
70's does not require an apostrophe; it's pluarl not possessive - 70s.
Yup. Check out the Orchid Island Hotel in Hilo, HI. Sad. So beautiful when it was built in the 60's. Tragic end because the business manager hired electrical contractors to do illegal and unsafe wiring and paid the inspectors to look the other way. It burnt down in the middle of the night and was never rebuilt. Oh he got his...
It's cool to see how quickly nature has taken over again. BTW this post would have been better if it had static pictures rather than GIFs. The GIFs are annoying.
What a waste! Abandon old, build a new resort, and destroy another natural area. The motto of modern society 'let's turn Nature into environment'. What a shame!
One of these locations, Penn Hills, was also visited by YouTuber Dan Bell: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BSPgAEq8y-A Strangely enough, there was a fire there just the other day: http://www.pennlive.com/news/2017/09/vacant_resort_in_poconos_searc.html
A couple successful photographers have made careers out of this. Here's one: https://walterarnold.photoshelter.com/gallery/As-Seen-at-My-Art-Festivals-Exhibits/G0000W18t69YBEzU/
A very successful photographer has made a career out of this. https://walterarnold.photoshelter.com/gallery/As-Seen-at-My-Art-Festivals-Exhibits/G0000W18t69YBEzU/
Somehow its makes me sad cause these building and parks were more live full before they got demolished. I dont think ist a victory for Mother Nature I think Mother Nature is also widowing these places cause everything turned into a bitter gray color .
This makes me feel so sad that no one would keep up these places that were such a joy to go to at one time. Just allowed them to run down and cease to exist. Strange looking at the old photos when they were so alive and looking at how they are now.
6 and 7 are different angles of the same place, nicer pics taken in summer, new pics in winter/fall. You can see the little building with the green roof and the crooked lifeguard chair out in the water.
A Era of a time gone by, crumbling with decay like the humanity that watches it crumble. Quiet sad to me as I grew up in that Era.
A couple of the things I was struck by when visiting Ireland and Scotland for the 1st time were the age of the buildings and other structures that remain standing and in use, after 100's of years. It reminded me the US is so young, and it's buildings are constructed for impermanence.
Great Scott! We need to go Back in the Past! Let's get the Time Machine DeLorean DMC.
I hate to see places wasted! People worked there. They needed jobs to survive. Families, friends went there, together to make memories. Hate seeing things forgotten.
The older I become the harder I find it to marvel at pictures of abandoned places. I used to find them exhilarating and romantic. Now, all I see is this tremendous waste of resources and it makes me sad and angry. We are turning our planet into a gigantic rubbish heap. (The post is great, though, although it would be a gazilliion times better with static pics, not gifs.)
Here lies hope and promise....I'd love to see my neighborhood in 300 years....
This makes me think of those Nat Geo shows "If humans were gone" When humanity is gone and we see what happens to the world with no one to take care of anything. Sad.
So if someone reopened Pocanos there would only be a couple of places to worry about! 😆👍🏻
"More of the indoor pool at Grossinger's" strikes me as a very poor way to introduce the reader to the locale. In fact, Grossinger's never is introduced! We are given no information regarding where it is, when it opened, when it closed -- only nebulous hints here and there. Your writers really need more practice. A lot more.
The saddest thing for me is how the postcard photographer used false colour, false highlight and shadow, false people and sometimes even false perspective, to hype the place in order to fleece the visiting dupes of their hard-earned cash.
This looks like Africa today. Joking nothing from Africa here. But something to remind us the destruction they love. Maybe they white, haha haha
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Nice try MG! I've been cleaning up and painting over graffiti in the San Francisco East Bay since 2003. Precious little of it is created by blacks. Almost all of it is created by privileged white punks from middle class families. -BT
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