Submitted Oct 28, 2025 at 6:15 AM• 8 months ago
Updated May 29, 2026 at 7:29 PM
• a month ago
The Ruinas do Hotel Gávea, also known as the "Hotel Esqueleto" or Skeleton Hotel, is an unfinished 16-story luxury hotel complex abandoned in the heart of Rio de Janeiro's Floresta da Tijuca, near São Conrado and the iconic Pedra da Gávea, offering stunning panoramic views of the ocean and mountains.
Designed in 1953 by architect Décio da Silva Pacheco as Brazil's most opulent resort—with plans for 440 rooms, a restaurant, convention center, sky terrace boate, and even a cable car system—the 30,000-square-meter structure, spanning 125 meters long and 50 meters high with 272 access steps, was halted by the bankruptcy of its developer, Incorporadora Califórnia, in 1972, leaving it as a raw concrete skeleton that never hosted a single guest.
Over decades, the site fell into decay, serving briefly as a party venue in 1965 and later as a shelter for the homeless or criminal hideout, while rampant vandalism stripped its materials; today, it's a perilous urban exploration hotspot drawing adventurers for Instagram-worthy photos, though risks like structural instability and lack of oversight persist.
In 2023, the property was acquired by GV2 Produção for revival as the compact Gávea Boutique & Extended Stay Hotel with 230 units, targeting a 2026 opening amid ongoing environmental and preservation debates.
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Submitted Oct 28, 2025 at 6:03 AM• 8 months ago
Updated May 29, 2026 at 7:29 PM
• a month ago
Frank, Alberta, is a small historic coal mining community nestled in the Crowsnest Pass of the Canadian Rockies, about 250 km southwest of Calgary, founded in 1901 by American entrepreneur Sam Gebo to support the International Coal and Coke Company's operations at the base of unstable Turtle Mountain.
Rapidly growing to over 1,000 residents with businesses, a school, and rail access, it became the first incorporated village in the Pass, thriving amid the early 20th-century coal boom.
Tragically, on April 29, 1903, at 4:10 a.m., a massive 110 million-tonne limestone slab—measuring 3,280 feet wide, 1,400 feet high, and 500 feet deep—detached from the mountain and thundered down in 90 seconds, burying much of the town, destroying infrastructure, and claiming 70–90 lives in Canada's deadliest rockslide, known as the Frank Slide.
*This is the original site of where the town of Frank once existed before being buried under heavy mountainous rock.*
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Submitted Oct 28, 2025 at 5:55 AM• 8 months ago
Updated May 29, 2026 at 7:29 PM
• a month ago
Machu Picchu is a 15th-century Inca citadel perched at 2,430 meters (7,970 feet) above sea level in the Andes Mountains of southern Peru, near Cusco.
Built around 1450 under Emperor Pachacuti as a royal estate or sacred retreat, it features precisely cut granite stonework, terraced fields, temples, and residences for up to 750 people, all integrated into the rugged landscape.
Abandoned during the Spanish conquest and rediscovered in 1911 by Hiram Bingham, the UNESCO World Heritage Site remains remarkably intact and is one of the New Seven Wonders of the World, drawing millions of visitors annually for its architectural ingenuity and historical significance.
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Submitted Oct 28, 2025 at 1:27 AM• 8 months ago
Updated May 29, 2026 at 7:29 PM
• a month ago
The Hillcrest Mines Memorial Cemetery is a memorial and active cemetery in Crowsnest Pass, Alberta, dedicated to the victims of the worst coal mining disaster in Canadian history.
On June 19, 1914, a methane and coal dust explosion in the Hillcrest Mine killed 189 miners, and most were buried in mass graves at this site. The cemetery serves as a memorial and an educational site, featuring interpretive walks, informative boards about the disaster, and a picnic area.
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Submitted Oct 27, 2025 at 11:36 AM• 8 months ago
Updated May 29, 2026 at 7:29 PM
• a month ago
The Ruins of Agnews State Hospital, historically known as Agnews Insane Asylum or Agnews Developmental Center, are a decaying landmark in San Jose, California. This East Campus site, part of a once-vast complex, features overgrown grounds and Mission Revival-style buildings like the Rapport Building, now graffiti-covered and reclaimed by nature.
Established in 1885 as California's third mental health facility, it followed the Kirkbride Plan for therapeutic environments, growing into a self-sufficient community with farms, shops, and its own train station by the early 1900s.
The site's tragic turning point was the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, which collapsed unreinforced buildings and killed over 100 patients and staff, leading to mass graves on the grounds. Rebuilt in 1911 with earthquake-resistant Mediterranean Revival designs resembling a campus layout, it expanded with the East Campus in 1926.
Over time, it shifted from mental illness treatment to developmental disabilities care, fully closing in 2009-2011 amid deinstitutionalization.
Today, the East Campus stands neglected, with hazards including asbestos, structural instability, falling debris, and hidden holes.
It has cultural significance as a filming location for movies like Birdy and The Dead Pit, plus Green Day's "Basket Case" video, and fuels paranormal tales of ghosts.
Added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1997, parts are being redeveloped into schools and parks, with demolitions underway—urging explorers to visit responsibly and legally before it's gone.
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Submitted Oct 22, 2025 at 3:36 PM• 8 months ago
Updated May 29, 2026 at 7:29 PM
• a month ago
A random sketchy alley in Edmonton containing questionable art pieces that look like a bad trip.
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Submitted Oct 22, 2025 at 3:34 PM• 8 months ago
Updated May 29, 2026 at 7:29 PM
• a month ago
The outdoor Neon Sign Museum was created as a collection of 20 vintage neon signs that have historic significance to the town. These old signs show classic neon designs that once represented the businesses of Edmonton, from bakeries to railways to theaters. They were rediscovered and restored, and opened in the historic 104th Street warehouse area downtown as the first neon sign museum in Canada.
More info: https://www.edmonton.ca/city_government/edmonton_archives/neon-sign-museum
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Submitted Oct 18, 2025 at 1:28 PM• 9 months ago
Updated May 29, 2026 at 7:29 PM
• a month ago
Old barn, somewhat unstable.
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Submitted Sep 24, 2025 at 6:33 AM• 9 months ago
Updated May 29, 2026 at 7:29 PM
• a month ago
LA96C was one of 16 Nike missile sites that protected Los Angeles from a feared attack by Soviet bombers. It was an active battery from 1956-1968 with radar searching the sky for enemy airplanes. New military technology made the Nike missiles obsolete, and the site has been made into a park. Nature is reclaiming the military ruins.
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