Trellech, Wales
Trellech was one of the largest towns in Wales during the 13th century. Inhabited by royalty, knights, and rebels like Owain Glyndŵr, it was used as a hub for transporting medieval goods including weapons, iron, and armor.
Today, there is a small village left that includes a church building, but the area has been turned into a conservation area. It is surrounded by several nature preserves, which are owned by Gwent Wildlife Trust. The website lostcityoftrellech.org reports on annual archaeological digs that take place in the area.
Playcenter, Sao Paulo
Playcenter was Brazil’s first major amusement park that could be likened to one that would be found in the early 1970s in the United States and in Europe. It opened its doors in 1973 to a large, excited crowd.
The park saw over 1.5 million people every year and seemed to be doing well. But in 2012, the owners of the park decided to change its concept and create something aimed more towards younger children. They shut down that year for renovations, but they never came. Now, the area is covered in businesses and even one residential building.
Manly Fun Pier
The Manly Fun Pier was a small amusement park built on a pier in New South Wales, Australia. The park was in operation from the early 1930’s-the late ’80s and had a number of different attractions for families, including the ghost train, shark aquarium, wax museum, Ferris Wheel, and fun castle.
It went through several renovations over the span of its existence, but in 1989 the wharf was redeveloped, and the park was torn down. A new amusement center opened up in its place in 1990, but it closed once more the following year when the wharf was redeveloped again.
Lee Plaza Hotel, Detroit
The Lee Plaza Hotel building in Detroit, Michigan may still be standing today, but it’s anything but what it was in its days of glory. It was built in the late 1920s as an upscale apartment building with hotel services. But the Great Depression was just beginning, and everyone involved in owning the building found themselves with financial woes.
By 1935, the owner, Ralph T. Lee, and his building were bankrupt. In February of this year, the city announced they were selling the building to a development company to be made into a residential and retail complex.
Centralia, Pennsylvania
Centralia was a mining town that was a popular place for coal miners, but also unfortunately with the Molly Maguires, a 19th-century Irish secret society that had a taste for violence. Still, the town had 5 hotels and a couple of theatres, and at 1 point nearly 3,000 people lived there. But in the 1960s, an enormous fire was discovered burning through the mines below their feet.
Although no one took notice until things got so bad from the gasses that in 1992, the governor of Pennsylvania evoked the eminent domain act and condemned all property in the area.