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		Nine of the most fascinating abandoned mansions worldwide. Subby would haunt that (io9.com)		63
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21343 clicks; posted to Main » on 08 Apr 2013 at 7:21 PM | Favorite | Watch | share:

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Walker		2013-04-08 06:40:37 PM

Why doesn't anyone try and save these masterpieces?

I_Am_Weasel		2013-04-08 06:51:31 PM

Walker: Why doesn't anyone try and save these masterpieces?

Indeed. Just because trying to resurrect old things that are falling apart doesn't work or Joan Rivers, doesn't mean it wouldn't work or these.

gambitsgirl		2013-04-08 07:03:29 PM

After NYScouts in-depth research on buildings he photographed was green lit the other day - this was sparse on "interesting stories". :(

iheartscotch		2013-04-08 07:28:40 PM

Walker: Why doesn't anyone try and save these masterpieces?

Um; have you never read a Steven King novel?

/ two words: Rose Red

Arachnophobe		2013-04-08 07:28:53 PM

I know exactly where the Bennett School is, and would love to photograph in there, but it's both heavily fenced off and ridiculously dangerous to even get close to now. Half of the front section you see in that picture has collapsed already. Pretty sure another hurricane will bring it the rest of the way down. :(

PullmyHair		2013-04-08 07:31:56 PM

Walker: Why doesn't anyone try and save these masterpieces?

I can get a double wide trailer and a plot of land at a fraction of the cost of even purchasing and rehabbing one of these. Factor code. And wiring. Lovely old bones, but damn expensive.

thenumber5		2013-04-08 07:37:36 PM

while it would be cool as hell too own one of these properties with the idea of "Restoration" or just simply turn at least a wing in to a livable structure

God only knows what type of money pit and "Historical Society" hellhole they would find themselves in

Like the Welsh Manor house that was up the other day for under 1m, you would need a hell of a bank roll to first get it to livable shape + monthly maintenance/utilities to keep the house and grounds from returning to pot + Taxes

///Now give it 20 years for thorium breeder reactors to become common then you might be able to do something

organizmx		2013-04-08 07:37:51 PM

I live in a historic town in New Jersey, and with large properties like this (though not as big as most of these) and it is a CONSTANT battle to stop them from being bulldozed down and having condos put up.

It's rare someone other than a developer wins.

Tom_Slick		2013-04-08 07:41:40 PM

Unfortunately, by the time someone decides one of these structures needs saving it is too late, just like the old ships that used to live in Wiscasset Maine

andrikyrychok.files.wordpress.com

ReapTheChaos		2013-04-08 07:41:51 PM

Walker: Why doesn't anyone try and save these masterpieces?

If you have a few hundred million lying around have at it. It would be cheaper to build an exact replica than it would be to bring a place like that up to code and make it livable again.

organizmx		2013-04-08 07:43:01 PM

thenumber5: while it would be cool as hell too own one of these properties with the idea of "Restoration" or just simply turn at least a wing in to a livable structure

God only knows what type of money pit and "Historical Society" hellhole they would find themselves in

Like the Welsh Manor house that was up the other day for under 1m, you would need a hell of a bank roll to first get it to livable shape + monthly maintenance/utilities to keep the house and grounds from returning to pot + Taxes

///Now give it 20 years for thorium breeder reactors to become common then you might be able to do something

Here's a great example of a house near me that was about to meet the wrecking ball, but public outcry saved it, and a realtor did a total reno on it. Ended up going for way over asking. Again, not to the level of most of these, but still:

http://www.baristanet.com/2007/02/dazzling-duryea-road/

Apologize for non-linky. Am on mobile.

JasonOfOrillia		2013-04-08 07:43:30 PM

Walker: Why doesn't anyone try and save these masterpieces?

Because it is really, really expensive and the ownership isn't always clear?

thenumber5		2013-04-08 07:44:11 PM

Tom_Slick: Unfortunately, by the time someone decides one of these structures needs saving it is too late, just like the old ships that used to live in Wiscasset Maine

[andrikyrychok.files.wordpress.com image 765x511]

well i see one issue they had here

Storing wooden ships in the water, when they already need major repair work

Crackers Are a Family Food		2013-04-08 07:49:36 PM

Walker: Why doesn't anyone try and save these masterpieces?

They're more beautiful when they're decaying.

thenumber5		2013-04-08 07:52:47 PM

organizmx: Here's a great example of a house near me that was about to meet the wrecking ball,

not exactly in the same class, looks like a historical home that was in need of modernization vs a properly that has been exposed to the elements for who know's how long

with a lot of these it would take someone first doing a salvage operation on the "historical Fixtures" striping the whole structure down to the frame and rebuilding to the original plans + modern health and safety upgrades

///Live on the Mississippi coast, we had a lot of historical home and building majorly damaged in Katrina. Most just had to be taken back to slab because the family could barley cover the taxes pre-storm let alone rebuild. and the rest are just pooring money in to a hole to save there "Family Home" (some of which go back to the french colonies)

organizmx		2013-04-08 08:00:51 PM

thenumber5: organizmx: Here's a great example of a house near me that was about to meet the wrecking ball,

not exactly in the same class, looks like a historical home that was in need of modernization vs a properly that has been exposed to the elements for who know's how long

with a lot of these it would take someone first doing a salvage operation on the "historical Fixtures" striping the whole structure down to the frame and rebuilding to the original plans + modern health and safety upgrades

///Live on the Mississippi coast, we had a lot of historical home and building majorly damaged in Katrina. Most just had to be taken back to slab because the family could barley cover the taxes pre-storm let alone rebuild. and the rest are just pooring money in to a hole to save there "Family Home" (some of which go back to the french colonies)

Oh, no question. I just wanted to use this thread as a pedestal for biatching about historical homes in my town being torn down for condos.

GungFu		2013-04-08 08:01:21 PM

Walker: Why doesn't anyone try and save these masterpieces?

Because people who enter inside die mysteriously or disappear within its decrepit walls? As if the whole place is alive and protecting some evil, primal spirit?

Soulless Carbon Rod		2013-04-08 08:04:14 PM

FTFA:
The almost 500-year-old (built in 1628) building

Math fail!

Nick Nostril		2013-04-08 08:04:51 PM

I would love to poke around that Kasteel van Mesen joint in Belgium. Place is farking huge and spooky as shiat.

Fano		2013-04-08 08:09:49 PM

How's the old Stauf place holding up?

SuperNinjaToad		2013-04-08 08:22:42 PM

OK this one is kinda spooky!! I'll be hard press to spend a few nights there alone on a dare or even for some financial rewards afterward.

Perducci		2013-04-08 08:24:59 PM

Conclusions:
- Belgians hate old mansions
- if you want your building to last, don't turn it into a school for girls

star_topology		2013-04-08 08:28:39 PM

Versailles not on the list?

p89tech		2013-04-08 08:33:53 PM

tours of Bannerman's Island

http://bannermancastle.org/island-tours.html

it's a little over an hour north of NYC, easy to get to by train.

also, to the issue of reno, I can't believe no one has mentioned asbestos, lead paint, radium paint...

RatMaster999		2013-04-08 08:39:00 PM

Tom_Slick: Unfortunately, by the time someone decides one of these structures needs saving it is too late, just like the old ships that used to live in Wiscasset Maine

[andrikyrychok.files.wordpress.com image 765x511]

Hey! I know those. Too bad they're gone, too, I think. Used to be right next to the bridge...and near the music box museum

BizarreMan		2013-04-08 08:39:14 PM

thenumber5: ///Live on the Mississippi coast, we had a lot of historical home and building majorly damaged in Katrina. Most just had to be taken back to slab because the family could barley cover the taxes pre-storm let alone rebuild. and the rest are just pooring money in to a hole to save there "Family Home" (some of which go back to the french colonies)

The loss of homes along 90 due to Katrina is just heartbreaking. (The loss away from 90 was terrible as well, but for the tourist that is the most noticable.)

thenumber5		2013-04-08 08:47:55 PM

BizarreMan: thenumber5: ///Live on the Mississippi coast, we had a lot of historical home and building majorly damaged in Katrina. Most just had to be taken back to slab because the family could barley cover the taxes pre-storm let alone rebuild. and the rest are just pooring money in to a hole to save there "Family Home" (some of which go back to the french colonies)

The loss of homes along 90 due to Katrina is just heartbreaking. (The loss away from 90 was terrible as well, but for the tourist that is the most noticable.)

i rarely use 90 anymore, too much has changed, i cant even go to the point...its just too much

bearcats1983		2013-04-08 08:53:10 PM

My hometown used to be home to a US military base during the Spanish American and first world war. There is a whole neighborhood of awesome military housing the feds are allowing to fall apart instead of selling to the city. If the city had been able to purchase them a decade ago it would've been worth it, but they are almost a money pit at this point.

Tom_Slick		2013-04-08 09:06:13 PM

RatMaster999: Tom_Slick: Unfortunately, by the time someone decides one of these structures needs saving it is too late, just like the old ships that used to live in Wiscasset Maine

[andrikyrychok.files.wordpress.com image 765x511]

Hey! I know those. Too bad they're gone, too, I think. Used to be right next to the bridge...and near the music box museum

They are gone, my father told me they were in decent shape in the 1960s and probably salvageable, but no one was interested, by the 1980s when people thought they should be preserved they were beyond repair.

dogdave		2013-04-08 09:07:23 PM

I grew up near an abandoned mansion called Whitemarsh Hall (aka Stotesbury Mansion) and most of us neighborhood kids spent many hours kicking around exploring this place. In the early 80's, the bulldozers and wrecking balls came in and took it out to make way for a development of townhouses, and all that exists today are the pillars to the entrance and a few token statues.

i447.photobucket.com

IamPatSajak		2013-04-08 09:09:50 PM

The homes formerly owned by the DuPont family in the SE PA area are amazing. I am a photographer and rotate between a few of them every week. I love that some people had the forethought to donate their land or built a trust to keep it preserved for public use. I shoot around some crumbling mansions as well but Longwood Gardens and Ridley Creek State Park still look as beautiful as they did 100 years ago.

Bathia_Mapes		2013-04-08 09:14:11 PM

iheartscotch: Walker: Why doesn't anyone try and save these masterpieces?

Um; have you never read a Steven King novel?

/ two words: Rose Red

He wrote the screenplay for Rose Red, not a novel.

Dead_Cat_In_A_Tophat		2013-04-08 09:14:16 PM

Any of you farkers wanna move in and squat get as a mother farkin FARK mansion !? they're abandoned supposedly, looks like its easy nuf to get in without furthering any damage. Isnt that how the law goes?

miscreant		2013-04-08 09:27:11 PM

Perducci: Conclusions:
- Belgians hate old mansions
- if you want your building to last, don't turn it into a school for girls or boys

Granted... there was only one boys school in there. But I was thinking the same thing.

Nidiot		2013-04-08 09:28:05 PM

dogdave: I grew up near an abandoned mansion called Whitemarsh Hall (aka Stotesbury Mansion) and most of us neighborhood kids spent many hours kicking around exploring this place. In the early 80's, the bulldozers and wrecking balls came in and took it out to make way for a development of townhouses, and all that exists today are the pillars to the entrance and a few token statues.

It should be as illegal and immoral to destroy these sort of buildings as it would be to destroy an oil painting by a Renaissance artist. These buildings are as much a work of art as any painting or sculpture.

Even letting them decay and crumble naturally is better than bulldozing them, because we can at least have an opportunity to enjoy and photograph their beauty for a little longer. It's true that for some people they are more beautiful when they are decaying.

thenumber5		2013-04-08 09:30:51 PM

Nidiot: dogdave: I grew up near an abandoned mansion called Whitemarsh Hall (aka Stotesbury Mansion) and most of us neighborhood kids spent many hours kicking around exploring this place. In the early 80's, the bulldozers and wrecking balls came in and took it out to make way for a development of townhouses, and all that exists today are the pillars to the entrance and a few token statues.

It should be as illegal and immoral to destroy these sort of buildings as it would be to destroy an oil painting by a Renaissance artist. These buildings are as much a work of art as any painting or sculpture.

Even letting them decay and crumble naturally is better than bulldozing them, because we can at least have an opportunity to enjoy and photograph their beauty for a little longer. It's true that for some people they are more beautiful when they are decaying.

i am all for preserving history, but there are times when you just have to let them go

katerbug72		2013-04-08 09:32:49 PM

Fano: How's the old Stauf place holding up?

The cheat code is zaphodbeeblebrox.

RatMaster999		2013-04-08 09:35:15 PM

Tom_Slick: RatMaster999: Tom_Slick: Unfortunately, by the time someone decides one of these structures needs saving it is too late, just like the old ships that used to live in Wiscasset Maine

[andrikyrychok.files.wordpress.com image 765x511]

Hey! I know those. Too bad they're gone, too, I think. Used to be right next to the bridge...and near the music box museum

They are gone, my father told me they were in decent shape in the 1960s and probably salvageable, but no one was interested, by the 1980s when people thought they should be preserved they were beyond repair.

Yeah, they were pretty far gone when I saw them in the mid-90s.

abitofbuffalo		2013-04-08 09:39:22 PM

There are a few amazing mansions still standing in the West Adams neighborhood of LA. Most of them are used for filming now and are completely derelict. I shot a movie inside one of them, the place was in terrible shape and the neighborhood is pretty rough. Amazing place for someone one to restore, but no one with that kind of money wants a place near the ghetto.

C_Canuk		2013-04-08 09:44:19 PM

KrispyKritter		2013-04-08 09:52:45 PM

the photos give me a sad. i've read that there are many old money mansions in the South that are rotting away, once owned by well to do farmers whose family fortunes ceased long ago. abandoned buildings and fun parks are almost hypnotizing.

Nuclear Monk		2013-04-08 09:58:23 PM

Well, for the standard equation of:

1. Buy old mansion
2. ??????
3. Profit

Step 2 is apparently not 'Open a School for Girls'

studebaker hoch		2013-04-08 10:28:37 PM

A structure can only be renovated if there is good structure beneath the damage.

If you keep opening up ceilings, walls and floors and keep finding everything rotted out, then there's nothing left to save.

Wood doesn't survive neglect.

just_another_asshole/jaa		2013-04-08 10:40:46 PM

Bathia_Mapes: iheartscotch: Walker: Why doesn't anyone try and save these masterpieces?

Um; have you never read a Steven King novel?

/ two words: Rose Red

He wrote the screenplay for Rose Red, not a novel.

The novel "the Diary of Ellen Rimbauer; My Life at Rose RED" by Ridley Pearson, writing as Joyce Reardon is the basis for the movie of the same name, Pearson also did the teleplay. It was produced by Stephen King and Mark Carliner.

The movie "Stephen King's Rose Red" was written by Stephen King!

zez		2013-04-08 10:57:34 PM

SuperNinjaToad: [img.gawkerassets.com image 800x533]

OK this one is kinda spooky!! I'll be hard press to spend a few nights there alone on a dare or even for some financial rewards afterward.

I think that was the house in the Undying video game

Gyrfalcon		2013-04-08 11:14:35 PM

Walker: Why doesn't anyone try and save these masterpieces?

Sure, I've got a few hundred million just lying around I can spare, howabout you?

DigitalCoffee		2013-04-08 11:32:23 PM

Walker: Why doesn't anyone try and save these masterpieces?

Three words: location, location, location.

Russia, Ukraine, Belgium, etc. Who wants to go to these places in the first place let alone go to one of these places to sink millions into a money-pit. Most of those look like they're already beyond the point of salvage. 25 - 30 years ago some of those might have been salvageable, but they would have still cost a fortune.

Even if you did buy and somehow manage to fix one of them up, the taxes would kill you.

DigitalCoffee		2013-04-08 11:45:37 PM

SuperNinjaToad: I'll be hard press to spend a few nights there alone on a dare or even for some financial rewards afterward.

Especially if Barbara Steele is involved.

/do mind the gate on your way out

Langdon_777		2013-04-09 01:02:32 AM

Urban Exploring at its best!

Would so like to explore those buildings.

freetomato		2013-04-09 01:18:37 AM

p89tech: tours of Bannerman's Island

http://bannermancastle.org/island-tours.html

it's a little over an hour north of NYC, easy to get to by train.

also, to the issue of reno, I can't believe no one has mentioned asbestos, lead paint, radium paint...

Not to mention bringing them up to ADA code (in the US). It's not nearly in the same ballpark as far as the enormity and grandeur of the structures in TFA, but my family lives in the Gold County in California and historic structures are falling apart for a different reason. Many Gold Rush-era buildings are still in use. The guy who was the subject of a fark thread a while back, a Bay Area disabled attorney who makes his living solely by sending scouts out to find non-compliant businesses to sue, has managed to shut a half dozen or so mom and pop businesses down because the ramps up to their 160 year old buildings were not perfectly up to ADA code. They could either go broke fighting for a time extension to come up with the thousands to get an old building modernized, or walk away paying out a settlement to an SOB who wouldn't recognize the business if he woke up on their floor. So either way, the business owner is screwed and the local economy is screwed. There are too many empty storefronts where there used to be businesses that thrived on local business alone, not tourism. If it's that expensive and tough to bring a simple, Gold Rush era wooden building to modern code, I can't imagine the nightmare a gigantic castle would be. And that's a damn shame. I'm all for disabled Americans having access to everything possible, but shouldn't those who own historic properties be given time to do it right, without bankcrupting themselves?

/My train tends to derail this time of night.

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