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Abandoned Cities

Architecture

A Photo Tour of Eerie Abandoned Cities and Villages Around the World

By Claire Cottrell on

If, like us, you’re battling a post-Turkey Day stupor that descended some time after your last (third?) slice of pumpkin pie by basking in the lux languid pleasure of aimlessly surfing the world wide web, then let us add some fuel to your flagging fun. Helen Keller once said that “what we have once enjoyed we can never lose. All that we love deeply becomes a part of us.” It’s a divine sentiment that we like to remember when we’re looking through photos of one our favorite — albeit devastating — photographic obsessions: ruin porn. As haunting as they are beautiful, abandoned cities and villages tell a story of loss on a grand scale. Be it natural disaster, human devastation, or that inevitable thing called progress rendering a way of life obsolete, these deserted towns are fascinating snapshots of urban memories fading fast. From a nuclear city to a real deal Wild West town that was abandoned after the Gold Rush ended, click through to join us on a virtual romp around the world to visit some of the most fascinating ghost towns on the planet. … Read More

Photography

Ghost Town Interiors Reclaimed by the African Desert

By Alison Nastasi on

The name “Namib” means “vast place,” which is a perfect way to describe the coastal desert in southern Africa, almost completely uninhabited by humans. The silence of the Namib must be deafening, but it didn’t deter Spanish photographer Álvaro Sánchez-Montañés from exploring the arid landscape. Inspired by an article he read about the desert’s abandoned diamond mines, he discovered the ghost town, Kolmanskop — a former mining village. When he arrived in Africa, he saw the abandoned homes for himself. The rooms in the dilapidated structures had been filled with sand from the strong desert winds. Nature had slowly reclaimed the space over time, and it was a surreal vision. Visit Sánchez-Montañés’ dreamlike series Desert Indoors, which we first spotted on Visual Standpoint, in our gallery. Then, see how other artists have been inspired by abandoned spaces over here.

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Web

What’s On at Flavorpill: The Links That Made the Rounds in Our Office

By Alison Nastasi on

Today at Flavorpill, we browsed a few snapshots featuring competitive games from Berlin’s Hipster Olympics. We found out who the most valuable movie stars are. We got angry about these kids who fed laxatives to seagulls. We visited some of the creepiest abandoned cities still haunting America.… Read More

Architecture

Underground Architectural Marvels and Oddities Around the World

By Alison Nastasi on

Most people wouldn’t expect to see Romanesque Revival architecture, fancy pants Guastavino tile, and brass chandeliers in a New York City subway station, but the City Hall stop (opened in 1904) along the Lexington Avenue Line features all that and more. Longer trains, longer platforms, and low ridership caused the city to close it off to the public in 1945, but its elegant architecture has endured for over seventy years. You can still catch a glimpse of it while rounding the loop heading back uptown, or during a tour (book ahead). We felt inspired by the ghost station to take a look at other secret stops along the underground: houses, societies, and entire cities. Head past the break to explore unusual underground marvels around the world. … Read More

News

Video of the Day: The Ghost Cities of China

By Judy Berman on

Here at Flavorpill, we have what some might call a morbid fascination with abandoned and decaying buildings: movie theaters, hospitals, the ruins of Detroit. For the most part, our obsession has focused on the detritus of America’s prosperity — but BoingBoing points us to a video that reminds us that we’re not the only country that can’t keep pace with our own progress. This 15-minute Australian documentary investigates China’s real estate bubble, which is creating ghost malls, highrises, and entire cities bought up by speculators but completely beyond the price range of the average Chinese families. The visuals are arresting, but it’s well worth spending part of your lunch break watching the whole video, which provides frightening economic context for the strange images. … Read More

Art

Pic of the Day: Abandoned Towns

By Kelsey Keith on

There’s a chill in the air, and we’re in the mood to get spooked. Nothing suits that purpose more than ogling creepy pictures of abandoned cities – formerly bustling centers of quotidian life,now relics slowly filling with sand or left to collect dust on once-futuristic tchotchkes. WebUrbanist’s roundup of 24 ghost towns and deserted locales almost makes us want to go out and chat with a neighbor. More images, plus a bonus video of Kolmanskop mining town (pictured above), after the… Read More