Pabst Hotel, NYC
Pabst Brewing Company went on a buying spree in the 1890’s where they purchased multiple hotels and restaurants to incorporate their brand into the local nightlife. And so was born the luxurious Pabst Hotel in New York City.
The hotel was centrally located between 7th Avenue and Broadway and sat there for a few years until 1902, when the New York Times had it demolished to make room for their offices. Another one of the Pabst hotels, Frank Clayton’s Pabst Loop Hotel on Coney Island, burned down in 1908. Well, at least they’ve still got their beer, right?
Boblo Island Amusement Park, Amherstburg, Ontario
Boblo Island Amusement Park opened in Ontario all the way back in 1898. 18 miles away from Detroit, thousands of people used to climb onto 2 excursion boats – the SS Ste Claire and the SS Columbia, to island for a day of family fun.
But in the early ’90s, the boats were sold, and the park closed just a few years later in 1993. Before it’s closure, it held a host of fun rides, including the standard carousel and Ferris wheel, along with some thrill rides like the Nightmare and the Falling Star.
Camelot Theme Park, Lancashire
This theme park was medieval themed and based on the legend of Sir Lancelot, King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. The park opened in 1983 and was popular among families with young children. Owned by a group known as Knights Leisure, the park announced it would be closing its doors in 2012.
Since 2014, 2 attempts have been made by someone attempting to purchase the land to develop it for real estate, but both have failed. Many of the rides are still standing, but they are crumbling away and have not been operational for years.
Frontierland, Morecambe, Lancashire
This western-themed amusement park originally began as West End Amusement Park in 1906. But in 1987, the park’s owner, Geoffrey Thompson, decided to give it a makeover to increase ticket sales.
The change in name caused some excitement for a couple of summers, but a few years later and attendance was dwindling once again. In 1998, the park slowly but surely began to cease operations and by 2000, most of the rides had been removed from the lot. They had been in business for over 9 decades at the time they closed.
Bannack, Montana
Bannack is a ghost town that acted as the capital of Montana Territory for a brief period of time in the 1860’s. The town was very popular among miners, probably thanks to it being the site of a ton of gold. At its peak, Bannack had a population of over 10,000 residents.
But like most mining towns, when the resources ran out, so did the people. But even though the town is abandoned these days, Bannack State Park organizes a 2-day period once per year during the summers where they try and attract tourists by throwing “Bannack Days.”