Haunting Photos Of Abandoned Olympic Stadiums. It's Scary To Think Sochi May Be Next...
As quickly as cities rise
up to host the Olympics, they seem to fall even faster. After the final
national anthem is played, the only thing left for these epic coliseums
is wither and decay. It’s an eerie reality. Billions of dollars,
thousands of hours of labor, and years later, this is what remains...
Sarajevo 1984 Winter Olympics
Mount Igman Ski Jump in 1984
Sarajevo
was the first Communist city to host the Winter Olympics, part of an
effort by the Olympic Committee to include all nations regardless of the
politics at the times.
Present Day
Only
10 years after the Olympians left, Yugoslavia split apart into Bosnia
and Herzegovina. War broke out and Sarajevo was under siege for the next
four years.
The olympic site became a war zone, as both sides battled for control of the ski slopes.
Top of Jump
Ski Jump Medal Podium
Judges stand
The judges’ stand provided a vantage point for sharpshooters from both sides.
Overgrown Bobsled Track
For some time, the bobsled track was turned into an artillery fortress.
Graffiti on bottom turn of the track
Remains of the Olympic Village
By
the end of the siege, the former olympic village was a landmine-ridden
graveyard, which the people of Sarajevo would rather forget.
Athens 2004 Summer Olympics
Main Fountain Entrance
Ten years after spending $15 billion on the 2004 Summer Olympics, most of the venues in Athens are now crumbling.
Aquatic Center in 2004
Diving pool at Aquatics Center in 2012
The economic downturn drained the wallets of Greece and as a result, drained this pool of all its life.
Volleyball Arena
OAKA Main Sports Hall
Field Hockey Stadium
Multi-Million dollar softball complexMost of the stadiums were poorly designed, focusing only on one sport that had little local interest.
1972 Munich Summer Olympics Abandoned Train Station
2008 Beijing Summer Olympics
“Bird’s Nest” Opening Ceremonies Venue
China spent $40 billion on the 2008 Olympics, this is what that investment looks like now...
Present day state
Beach Volleyball Stadium in July 2008
Current state
Rowing Canals
Left abandoned to waste away
Angelos Tzortzinis/AFP/GettyImagesAs quickly as cities rise
up to host the Olympics, they seem to fall even faster. After the final
national anthem is played, the only thing left for these epic coliseums
is wither and decay. It’s an eerie reality. Billions of dollars,
thousands of hours of labor, and years later, this is what remains...
Beijing Baseball Stadium in 2008
Current state as of 2012
Olympic BMX Track
1936 Berlin Summer Olympics
Olympic Village
You
can't really blame a county for abandoning the creepy site of an
Olympics hosted by the most evil man in history, Adolf Hitler.
John Macdougall, AFP/Getty ImagesMain Amphitheater
The Olympics are a
wonderful way to bring the world together, but this is an aftermath most
people don't see. With the 2014 games wrapping up in Sochi, you have to
wonder what the $50 Billion pop-up city will look like years from now.
Beijing Baseball Stadium in 2008
Current state as of 2012
Olympic BMX Track
1936 Berlin Summer Olympics
Olympic Village
You
can't really blame a county for abandoning the creepy site of an
Olympics hosted by the most evil man in history, Adolf Hitler.
Main Amphitheater
Diving Venue
Helsinki 1952 Summer Olympics
Main Swimming Stadium
The Olympics are a
wonderful way to bring the world together, but this is an aftermath most
people don't see. With the 2014 games wrapping up in Sochi, you have to
wonder what the $50 Billion pop-up city will look like years from now.
Route 66;
where all those wonderfully off-beat attractions of ‘Roadside America’
culture first sprouted. By the 1920s, Route 66, known then as the
National Trail, was fast-becoming the most popular road in the country
for Westward pioneers travelling across the Diablo Canyon. A 19th
century isolated trading post in Arizona suddenly became a bustling stop
for drivers seeking gas, food, lodging and entertainment. Today, the
only thing you’ll find in the barely-there town of Two Guns is the
extensive ruin of a 20th century tourist trap.
The last caretaker’s mobile home has been deserted and stripped, and the rare visitors passing through can roam the site freely. It is believed the roadside town is
cursed by a ghost tribe of Apaches who were burnt alive in a nearby cave
in 1878 by the Navajos. Looking back at the events, it would seem the
site was doomed shortly after an eccentric entrepreneur Harry “Two Guns”
Miller came into town with dollar signs in his eyes.
Mr. Miller had got wind of the growing
prosperity at the canyon lodge and made a deal with the landowners,
Earle and Louis Cundiff, to lease a business site. He transformed the
desert land into a full-blown tourist trap, complete with gas station,
lodging, food emporium and of course, a zoo.
Miller, who claimed to be full-blooded
Apache, also started giving tours of the canyon, which during the 19th
century, was the site of the gruesome confrontation between the Navajos
and the Apaches. He cleaned up the cave which had essentially served as
a tomb for the remaining skeletons of 42 Apache men that had died there
in a surprise angry retaliation from the Navajos for attacking their
villages.
Miller called it the Apache Death Cave and built
fake ruins around it and sold the Apache’s skulls as souvenirs. To make
it a little less morbid, he later strung some lights, added a soda
stand and renamed it the “Mystery Cave”. This is when things started to go very wrong for Two Guns.
A series of unfortunate events began to
plague Miller and the tourist town. Two Guns suddenly spiralled into
misfortune after a major robbery of the trading post. Tension between
Miller and his landlords, the Cundiffs, resulted in a heated dispute
where Miller shot and killed Mr. Cundiff. He was acquitted at trial but
incredibly, he was soon after mauled by mountain lions, twice,
on separate occasions. Next he was bitten by a native venomous lizard
known as the Gila monster which left him with a disfigured arm. Finally in 1929, a devastating fire
engulfed the roadside town of Two Guns. After losing his greedy court
battle with Mrs. Cundiff to keep the land, Miller finally left. Louise Cundiff and her new husband tried
to rebuild the site but by this time, the heyday of Route 66 was over.
It had been rerouted to the opposite canyon and the tourists had stopped
coming.
A derelict Two Guns was sold and leased
numerous times during the 1950s, remaining in a sorry state. In 1960s,
as a new Interstate 40 was being built that would give the old
attraction its own highway exit and new visitors, an ambitious new owner
began re-building a restaurant, souvenir shop, gas station, another
zoo, and restoring the tourist trails to the Apache tomb cave. Things
were looking up for the attraction but in 1971, it all went up in flames
again when another devastating fire swallowed up the last hope for the
Two Guns. It has never been inhabited since.
Dare to visit? The barbed-wire fences
have open gates so all of the old and newer buildings are accessible.
The old stone buildings are intact, despite heavy graffiti. Today, Two
Guns has an unlikely Hollywood guardian in Russell Crowe, who purchased
the property in 2011 to film a remake of WestWorld. No word on
when production will start (status: ‘in development’ on IMDB.com), but
it would probably be wise to make a ‘no smoking rule’ a priority on set.
Until then, the site is completely abandoned; no caretaker, no soda
stands, no nobody…
Follow the Yellow Brick Road to the Abandoned Land of Oz
By Messy Nessy 31st May, 2013
When I was a kid, I was cast as Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz
for my school musical. I was a very serious ten year-old and so I took
the role very seriously. Another student had been cast as Dorothy’s pet
dog, “Toto”, and stood next to me the entire time on stage wearing a
fluffy bear costume (they couldn’t find a dog one), panting and barking
after I delivered every line. Looking back, it was the performance of a
lifetime. And so friends, I felt most compelled to share a recent
‘forgotten’ find, the 1970s defunct theme park, Land of Oz….
In the resort town of Beech Mountain,
North Carolina, lies a neglected theme park that survived for just ten
years before it closed its doors and fell into disrepair.
Entrepreneur Grover Robbins opened the park in 1970 with the investment
of veteran Hollywood actress Debbie Reynolds, who bought several props
and costumes from the 1939 Wizard of Oz film from MGM studios
to display in the small museum. Visitors could walk down the Yellow
Brick Road, “experience” the tornado which struck Dorothy’s house, and
visit with the Scarecrow, Tinman, the Lion, and the Wicked Witch of the
West.
But don’t forget the munchkins! As you
can see, they look super friendly and cute– not at all like ghost
children that have been turned to stone and sentenced to live in the
overgrown woods of an abandoned theme park….
In 1976, a fire destroyed the park’s
Emerald City at the end of the yellow brick road and some artifacts in
the museum, as well as one of the dresses worn by Judy Garland as
Dorothy in the movie. Despite attracting over 20,000 visitors on it’s
opening day in 1970, the park failed to bring in the crowds in later
years and finally closed in its tenth year. Left to the elements and
vandalism, props and entire houses were stolen. Some efforts were made
to restore parts of the park after a decade of abandonment, but the Land
of Oz would never be the same…
I’ve found some photographs from an old album on flickr of a family who visited in 1973. Photos by Billie Nenninger.
The Land of Oz in it’s prime, 1973:
An artificial balloon ride (a specially modified ski lift) allowed
visitors to get a bird’s-eye view of the park and breathtaking mountain
scenery before leaving Oz…. (c) Billie Nenninger
You’ll be glad to know that the Land of
Oz hasn’t been totally forgotten however. In the late nineties, former
employees began organising a reunion at the decaying park once a year
and bringing it back to life for a day. It eventually became an annual
two day festival called Autumn in Oz. The yellow brick road might still
be missing quite a few of its yellow bricks, but locals and non-locals
now travel to the park every year to resurrect this surviving relic from
its slumber.
“This
perfect private farm tucked away atop Beech Mountain has an antique
kitchen & parlor, 3 bedrooms, 1 bath, down comforters, every
appliance, great views, lots of adventure!”
Rates start at $165 per night, $400 for
the weekend and $1000 for the week and you’d be renting it from Cindy
Keller, Oz’s keeper for the past 17 years. The park also can be rented
for private parties and weddings.
I’d had serious relationships before
meeting my fiance, with a couple lasting for years. I thought I was an
adult; I thought I knew how to be a great girlfriend. Meeting someone I
had a serious connection with taught me that nothing I had experienced
before was real. True love feels different than casual relationships –
even if those relationships lasted for years (often well past their
expiration date!). When you’re in a good relationship, you learn things.
You act differently; you think as part of a team, not as an individual
making your way through the world. You’ll be more understanding and
accepting of your partner, instead of just getting frustrated with them
like you may have with past relationships.
1. Misunderstandings are inevitable.
Misunderstandings are going to happen. If you
take your partner’s words one way, then learn they meant something
totally different, don’t punish them. Let it go. Bringing it up all the
time is only going to bruise the relationship and cause communication
problems later. Sometimes what you say or do will be taken the wrong
way, and you’ll get frustrated that your partner doesn’t understand.
Take a step back and realize it’s not a big deal. Misunderstandings are
made to be swept under the rug because they’re so minor. They only
become problems if you let them grow bigger and mean more in the scope
of your relationship. Be laid back and forgive misunderstandings.
2. Learn to trust them.
You have to trust your partner. Why would you
share your life with someone when you think they’re doing something
wrong every time you turn your back? If you don’t trust your partner to
be faithful, honest, caring, or anything else, then you’re not in a good
relationship. The best relationships begin with a deep trust, and even
if problems come up (and they will!), the trust is strong enough to keep
you together.
3. Let yourselves miss each other.
You’re in love, so you want to be together
all the time! It’s so fun to cuddle all night and be together all day,
but when will you have time to experience different things? When you go
to separate workplaces or schools, you experience things that will give
you something to talk about later. When you go out with your friends and
your partner spends time with theirs, you have time and space to
yourself and come back to each other refreshed. You have a chance to
miss each other, and it helps you really understand the value of your
relationship. Missing someone is great because getting to see them after
that period will make you so happy and so sure of your relationship.
4. Encourage growth and change.
In a good relationship, both partners are
encouraged to grow and change. You have one life to live – you should
explore it to the fullest! If you want to quit your job and go back to
school, your partner should support you. If you want to try something
new or go back to something old, you should find support in your
relationship. And you should give this support in return. Encourage your
partner to explore hobbies and interests and meet new people. If you
want your partner to stay the same, you’re going to have a very boring
life together.
5. Compromising doesn’t mean you’re weak.
Compromising doesn’t mean “giving in.” It
doesn’t mean that you’ve lost the fight. In fact, it’s the opposite. Do
you know how hard it is to compromise sometimes? You want your way
because it sounds right and makes sense to you. Your partner is way off
base with their suggestions. Take a step back and look at the argument
diplomatically. What’s the logical conclusion? If your partner is right,
don’t be afraid to say so. Accept their way, or modify both of your
solutions to be half and half. The important thing is not getting your
way, it’s staying in your relationship and helping it grow. Compromising
will definitely help your relationship grow.
6. Admit your weaknesses.
Your partner doesn’t expect you to be a
superhero, and hopefully you don’t expect that of them! We’re all human;
we all have flaws. It’s ok to let these show. In fact, to have a
stable, serious relationship, you need to let your weaknesses be known.
Your partner will be more sensitive to things that bother you, and can
help build you up in areas where you need some help.
7. Sometimes you can only accept things, not fix them.
People have baggage. You have some. Your
partner has some. Can you go back and erase all of this? Nope! You’re
stuck with it, and have to learn to deal with it. Some things are easier
to get over than others, but the reality is that sometimes, you can’t
fix things. You can’t make problems go away. You have to accept them and
get over them and move on, or else your relationship will crumble.
8. Forgive quickly and truly.
Whenever you have a fight, don’t worry about
who wins or who loses. Learn from the fight – from what was said as much
as from how it was resolved. Once you learn from a fight, you can apply
that lesson to your relationship to avoid trouble later. That’s all
well and good, but you’re not done! Forgive your partner! Forgive
yourself. The fight is over, you’re past it, now let it go. Never hold
anything against your partner because the resentment will build until
you don’t want to be with them.
9. Never expect anything.
Don’t expect your partner to read your mind,
or to bring you breakfast in bed, or to offer to wash the dishes. It’s
not going to happen. You can’t expect anything from anyone – you have to
make it known. Communicate. Make sure your partner knows what you
expect from the relationship, as well as your opinions on a wide variety
of issues. This will help them act considerate towards you, but still –
don’t expect anything!
10. Show your feelings.
The worst thing you can do in a relationship
is play games. Don’t tease your partner; don’t “reward” good deeds with
love and affection. You have to make sure your partner always feels
loved. You can be happy with them or be mad at them – it doesn’t matter –
they just need to feel loved. They need to know your feelings in the
moment as well, don’t get me wrong. But make sure you’re showing your
feelings in a way that they won’t be misunderstood.
