The Toll Tomorrow Takes.

A look at what once was.

The Toll

TomorrowTakes.

It's something that has fascinated me for years. Abandoned and derelict places. I see them on rare occasions. Perhaps a condemned building or a defunct school, lost to the ages. These places always seem to stir a feeling of wonder and sadness in me. Because at one time they were alive with activity, vibrant and occupied. Now their only silent, lonely testaments to the ravages of time.

Abandoned resort outside of Taipei.

RetroJunk is about remembering the past. So I would like to devote this article to examining some of these forgotten places. Finding information on these obscurities was difficult and in some cases, nonexistent. So where I can, I'll try and fill you in with a little background and also my impressions on the images. So let's start our journey back in time...

Amusement Parks.

Rocky Point, Rhode Island USA

Rocky Point, Rhode Island USA. Hailing all the way back to the 1840's, Rocky Point amusement park was once one of America's premier parks. It's most famous rides included the classic "Corkscrew Loop Coaster," and the now common "Log Flum" water ride. The park was closed and abandoned in 1995 due to financial difficulties. The story of Rocky Point is quite famous, being the subject of a documentary entitled, "You Must Be At Least This Tall: The Story of Rocky Point Park." Sadly, the park is frequently hit with vandalism, the worst of which being a fire started in the main building. It is a shame, as Rocky Point is truly a small piece of American history. -Excerpt taken from weburbanist.com

For me it's surprising that this place would still be around. Usually after a foreclosure the place would be demoed. And all that would remain is a field or something. We can see in the pic that that people still frequent the place often as evidence by the graffiti. I never really thought about all the damage until now. It's not like the owners ransacked and destroyed the place before they left. I think that most of it is due to vandalism. Or else the place would most likely be in the same basic condition as when it was first closed.

Okpo Land, Geoje S. Korea

Okpo has an abandoned amusement park, Okpo Land, on the outskirts of the city. It was shut down in 1999 after a number of fatal accidents.-Excerpt taken from Wikipedia, so it's probably 35% true.

I would love to spelunking around in that building. This place seems like a obvious public health hazard though. I like the generic copyright infringing pic of Mickey on the entrance gates.

Even in places where nature was demolished to make way for man made structures, after awhile of neglect, nature reclaims it's land. Just look at this barely discernible Ferris Wheel. It's chocked with vegetation and has a tree growing in it!

Tsuga Amusement park, Japan

It's in Japanese, and is apparently a amusement park that closed in Heisei 11 - 1999 - after being "renewed" in 1982. Exact location is unknown - it's simply listed as "Abandoned Amusement Park T" in the Touhoku region - but it appears to be in the boonies. Excerpt taken from Avoidinglife.com

This was one of the first images I came across. And perhaps the most ominous. The mist really makes the Roller Coaster look huge, almost as if it runs through a jungle mountain range over the canopy.

Pripyat Park, Ukraine

Titled "Prypjat VergnÃ¼gungspark," this amusement park was never actually opened! The park was completed and scheduled for a grand opening just a few short weeks before the disaster at Chernobyl in 1986. The park has been left abandoned ever since the evacuations. The gloomy atmosphere of the park reminds us of the horror that was Chernobyl and serves as an eerie anomaly of chance.-Excerpt taken from Weburbanist.com

Chernobyl was a nuclear reactor that exploded. It released such a tremendous amount of radioactive fall out that the nearby city of Prypiat had to be abandoned. Basically the WHOLE city is like this. A modern day ghost town. Look it up. It's really interesting.

Places of Business.

Change is the only constant. And it proves true time and again. How many of us remember our favorite stores or hangouts growing up? Then looking for them now only to find out they have been replaced,rebuilt or just plain forgotten. The age of the Mom and Pop store is fading. Big corporations are buying them out and replacing them with huge shopping Utopias. Call it progress, if you want. Here are some places that I found on my internet journey in search of abandoned places. Info was scare, so I won't bother too much. But just try and imagine these places in there prime, and then now.

Toys "R" Us. What can I say?"Old gray mare ain't what she use to be." I remember working for Geoffrey, a few years back. Before I was hired the manager was telling me how the company was in sore straits. How 80% of their profit came in at the Holidays, and how WalMart had replaced them as the worlds leading Toy store. Dang.

Although this isn't the particular Toys "R" Us where I live, it might as well be. Every time I go there the place is under new management. The store is empty and the employees looked tired. It sucks because this place was a delight back in my younger days. They would have large events like Pokemon tournaments. One of earliest memories was looking with awe at the Super Scope through the glass, when all of a sudden a huge Giraffe mascot startled me and gave me a free gift bag. Things are different now.

Arcades.

I know for a fact, people here can relate to me on the disappearance of Arcades. They used to be everywhere! Like a liquor store and check cashing business's in the ghetto. You could not ignore the lure of the Arcade. The above picture I first saw in an article by LuckyHawk. Tried as I did, I could not really find any info on the pic. But it's one of many closed gaming establishments.

Here's the Surfside arcade located in Delaware. Looks to me like it was a pretty cool place at one time. Located on the Boardwalk, I bet this place was a hot spot for kids in it's heyday.

But here it is now. With the advent of home video gaming, the popularity of Arcades fell. Especially when the home games started looking as good as the Arcade versions. But I blame the owners themselves for their untimely demise. Charging a dollar to play a game was almost the norm towards the end. Inflation I guess.

This was taken in Athens. So the demise of the Arcades apparently was a global pandemic. It's almost shameful seeing them there. Like Kings of Old, reduced to homeless vagabonds.

Malls.

I was surprised to notice that there is a almost cult like following for "Dead Malls" as they are often called. Usually they consist of bankrupt complexes that could only be abandoned. There are some great sites that really go into detail like Deadmalls.com. Do a quick search and I'm sure you will find many amazing examples of derelict shopping malls.

This is one of the most intriguing pictures I found. Imagine wondering around that place at night, armed with only a flashlight. I'm surprised the place still has electricity. Notice the graffiti and old Burger King sign.

Here's one special place that I couldn't leave out.

Hey Dude. I loved this show as a kid. About 5 years ago I stumbled onto this great little fansite. The site itself looks about as empty as some of the places noted above. But it's still a great little nook on the internet. http://www.swlink.net/~danichi/heydude/ -Check it out sometime. That site is where I found some images of the now defunct set of the show.

Remember the intro to the show and they would show the entrance to the ranch? Well here it is now, years later.

Not sure what this part originally was. Perhaps the lobby. Hard to imagine it was once a teeming TV show set.

Believe me when I say that I could on and on about this stuff. But I don't want to overload you guys. So here are just a few more brief and random places I wanted to include.

This is an old Drive in theater in New Jersey. You can barely tell with all the overgrowth. It's really a nice picture though with all the Fall colors.

This is taken from a school in Michigan. I hear Detroit is practically filled with examples like this.

Well, I hope you enjoyed this little trip.

I can say that this was one of the few articles that I am not satisfied with. The reason being is that there quite literally dozens more of examples I wanted to mention. From famous places in movies to once popular land marks. I really hoped you enjoyed this article as much as I enjoyed writing it. I also want to express my thanks to the photographers who took these sobering images. I'd also like to leave the comment section to your personal experiences with these types of things. Thank you once again for reading!

Comments

great read, loved the hey dude part

This article was GREAT! Makes me want to go visit the ruins of old Opryland theme park in Tennessee. I want to congratulate you, as I do believe you have helped me make up my mind about what my first article should be about: Orpyland! I used to go there all the time as a kid and it went under in the late 90s. So thanks for getting me pumped!

Great article, awesome pics, two thumbs up! I want to explore just about every abandoned building/house I pass on my lifes journey. Sometimes I find it sad when I pass by long lost landmarks of my childhood. Not cuz there gone, but that no one can enjoy it like I once did. Until you post Part 2, I'll be checking out the website you referenced.

Actually, I know where the sign from the Bar-None is located. If you go to Pellissippi State Community College in Knoxville, and you go to the Media Center the sign is hanging over the door of one of the meeting rooms. This is because the company that produced "Hey Dude", Cinetel Productions" is located in Knoxville, and built the media center for the campus.

OMG I LIVE IN DELAWARE AND I REMEMBER SURFSIDE ARCADE!!!!

Great article, and more than a little sobering. Thankfully we have our memories as time is not the friendly fellow.

The overgrowth one is really a nice one. Good job!

I took a picture on my cell phone at a Circut City. I'll send you the picture as soon as I can. VKIMO

Very interesting. A topic few have touched upon despite the fact that this site is based on the past. Thumbs up.

I know i site that s soo many abandon places. I don't remember if it is okay to post iy here, soo if anybody want to know the site, pm me.
Great readidng

I wish I could favorite this article.

i liked this article alot.
there used to be an amusement park in my hometown called whalom park in massachusetts it had one of the world oldest merry go rounds and like the 7th oldest wooden rollercoaster, they used to give away tickets for whalom night in school and everyone in town would go there.

it has since been demolished. they sold the merry go round for a few million dollaqrs and closed down the park. i went to see it last year and its nothing but rubble and some lamp posts. its hard seeing places that were bubbling with excitement now nothing but rocks and dirt

DUDE! WE NEED TO DEMAND ARE ARCADIAS,AND EVERYTHING ELSE IN HERE BACK! WE HAVE THE RIGHTS TO DEMAND! WHAT R THEY THINKING! WERE NOT GONNA LET THEM DEMOLISH OUR WHOLE MEMORIES! HOW LONG WILL IT BE WHEN CHUCK E. CHEESE'S IS DEMOLISHED! HOW LONG WILL IT BE WHEN MR. GATTI'S PIZZA IS DOWN FOR GOOD!

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! NOT ARCADE GAMES! THE CRAPPIN HORROR! I CAN'T TAKE IT! (Gone Freakout Crazy)

i loved this article.

Good work man!!!

Very nice piece, and interesting subject matter. I can particularly relate to the malls, the arcades, the TRU, and Hey Dude.

As an aside, I wish there were more pics of how TRU used to look on the inside.

Funny thing, though: there was an article in a recent issue of Nintendo Power for a game which takes place in a similarly abandoned Japanese city, Tokyo I think, and it had a sidebar about stuff like this and sites that check it out. Seems such photography is something of a hobby.

Here's something to think about: You ever visit a place as an adult that you used to frequent a lot when you were a kid, and the first thing you notice is how SMALL everything is? Everything looks so big and enchanting when you see it as a kid, but when you see it as an adult it just looks so small and sad that it just breaks your heart.

Another top-notch article, albeit slightly depressing. Just today I was talking with someone about how you don't see arcades ever these days, or pinball machines for that matter, this generation is really gonna miss out. And you're right about Toys R Us, every one I've been in these days looks like ghost towns, and it amazes me they continue to stay in business. However, in this day and age where Circuit City can disappear forever, the end of Toys R Us could be coming. You should do a second part to this article sometime, thumbs up!

Man this is a great article! After reading it I see why the score is so high.

Love Canal is a neighborhood in Niagara Falls, New York, which became the subject of national and international attention, controversy, and eventual environmental notoriety following the discovery of 21,000 tons of toxic waste buried beneath the neighborhood by Hooker Chemical....

Great story, not so for the people who lived it.

I would suggest doing a follow-up!

Very intriguing article! I myself have also been drawn into these mysterious places of the past. Another intresting place is love canal. Look this ghost "town" up when you have time.

cool...man i wish to see an arcade in its glory again

Thumbs up from me. Excellent article! I live 5 minutes from a mall listed on Deadmalls.com, Parkway Center Mall. It's not closed yet. It is a 3-story mall with the 2nd floor being the main entrance. The 1st and 3rd floors was closed a few years ago. They put up barriers to the escalators. Kmart is the only store that survives. Usually there is a max of 8 customers at Kmart. There is other smaller stores that come and go like the wind. Great article. I really enjoyed this one. You should do a part 2!!!

Drive ins are America past time it like baseball cant be forgot or taken away but it can be run by forgers but arcades damn i remember them spading coins and dollars i lost while not me my parents

I share your intrigue for abandoned places. Something about the hint of life that once was now crumbling with decay.
Thanks for including Rocky Point. I used to go there every summer as a kid, very fond memories. It's a shame it's no more.
There's a few malls within driving distance that are dead. One used to have a really sweet arcade I used to go to all the time. The token machine gave 5 tokens for a dollar, instead of the usual 4. I thought that was so great. But as mentioned in your article, it went extinct due to home gaming many years ago. $1 for a game was ridiculous.

I miss Arcades and Local Amusement Parks. I know they were fading out in the early 90s already when i was a pup, but still, wish they were still around.

For some reason that Abandonedbutnotforgotten site no longer works

Really good article, one of the best articles I've read yet.

Last year, I was at a Cheapskate in Burnsville, a suburb in the Twin Cities in Minnesota. It looks like it's been through hard times. It hasn't been
remodeled in years. An old roller rink, it needs to be redone because it looks a 1970s disco place that the rest of the world has forgotten. The place is dirty and rundown with old videogames.

I really enjoyed reading this. I remember a mall just like the one you mentioned over near Pittsburgh It was called Eastland Mall. When it first opened it included JC Penney, Sears and Gimbels. Towards it's final days it held a local indy wrestling fed's show and an indoor flea market. A common site was buckets allover the place since the roof was falling apart and leaking everywhere. The building was torn down a couple years ago supposedly they're building a hospital or an office park.

Wow. That is one of the more thorough and well-written articles I've read on here. It's unfortunate that it's also without a doubt the most DEPRESSING.

Put in more examples next time, I enjoyed reading it.

Ah yes abandonded places they always tend to spark my interest, make me wonder what was and what places were like when life filled their halls andd corridors.

We have plenty of interesting places that have been abandonded around here, including an old hospital that still has an old labotomy machine in the basement.

Anyway great article ^ ^

This was nice, and a bit melancholy. Abandoned places can be so powerful on film, and you have some good examples. Your writing is on point and your topic is first rate. I'd like to see more of this, part 2? T.U #55

gaijinninja.

When I was a baby there was this really cool mall in my neighborhood. But they built a bigger mall in a better location. By the time I was 13 the mall couldn't even afford electricity to any of it's stores. Not even the mall! By the time I was 14, it was demolished. Very sad. Now the mega mall might shut down due to the recession. 12 stores have already closed!

Very good but sad article! Thumbs up for you!

-BarBarax

"We can see in the pic that that people still frequent the place often as evidence by the graffiti." Not quite sure what the graffiti is trying to prove.

The topic is great, and there are some great pictures. The writing's good (although the omnipresent grammar issues on Retrojunk are...well...omnipresent) and thoughtful, although I felt you didn't inject quite enough personality to make your article really compelling. Visiting abandoned or otherwise off-limits places evokes tremendously powerful and personal feelings for me, and many others by the sound of it. Giving us a little more insight into that side of your story would have been an improvement, in my opinion.

There'd be a thumbs up...if only you hadn't gone and dissed on the Wikipedia! >

Benesato.

Kudos on the article,dude. I share a similar love for derelict places that have been long abanddoned. I remember I once visited with my father this old health spa/bathhouse near Augusta (GA) that dated back to the 1920s. Man that place was just magical. It's the same with the house of an aunt of mine that used to be a hot social spot during the late 50s. But when I visited it in the 80s it was all decrepit and its once beautiful gardens had all these rusty fountains filled with all kinds of bugs (kinda like Satis House from Great Expectations).

(sigh) The memories...

This article inspired me to finally go see a movie at a drive in. I just got back about 20 minutes ago.

its sad seeing some of these places that were once the site of happy memories turned into junk piles and rusted out buildings. I always see places like this and wonder who used to enjoy them, why they aren't still used, and why nobody bothered to take care of them anymore. It's really sad and makes me wonder...

Great article! =) We need part 2.

Wonderful article. Big thumbs up!! Would like to see you continue this project. I got a little misty eyed -- particularly the drive-in shot.

I couldn't relate more on this. There are literally hundreds, if not thousands of places that I see like this and wonder what they used to be like in their hey-day. Still dozens more that were great places of my youth that are gone or abandoned too. It's so sad. While in some ways stores and other places today are much more convenient, in more ways I'd give up the convenience to have some of the oldies back. In the toughest of financial times right now, I find myself having to shop at Wal Mart quite a bit even though it really offends me to do so. I hate that they've killed so many other smaller businesses and everything from the products they carry to their employess to many of the general type of people who SHOP there really bother me. But what can you do when push comes to absolute shove. I also have such fond memories of Toy's 'R Us. That was MY store back in the day and it was like heaven. I can remember going in there and wanting to look around for hours. I was really into Legos and video games and they had pretty much every single Lego model and every video game known to man. I'll never forget their little rooms near the front where all of the actual video games and consoles were locked up like a little bank vault. You see most Toys 'R Us stores either closed now or really hurting for business with the big box stores though. Arcades and theme parks? Oh, couldn't agree more with those too. I would still go to arcades even if they had the exact same games and game quality as the home consoles now. Just so that I could get out and interact with other people face to face and have a place to hang out. I miss that a lot. Everything is done remotely from home now. And theme parks? Well, I live in Orlando, Florida so you can imagine how much I've loved theme parks over the years. To tell you the truth, most theme parks I went to growing up are still around, like the Disney Parks, Sea World Parks, and Cedar Point. There was also a park in Michigan where I grew up called Michigan's Adventure that is still in operation. But I can only imagine if any of these places went away. It's strange to think about.

But great article! I too am constantly seeing places, even if just an old strip mall or building, and wondering what they were in their new vibrant days and it makes me sad. Another side area of this for me are old movie theaters being that I work in TV and film. Many are gone or abandoned now. A great site for history and pictures on these all over the world is cinematour.com. There are a lot of great sites out there devoted to certain things like this. At least if we lose them today, we have the internet to remember them. Although it's actually pretty scattered or non-existent information on some even with the vastness of it. Love to see more of these articles if you have more thoughts. I may just write one myself!

This was cool, most of the places from my own childhood are either gone or abandoned now. So sad

I remember there was an arcade that I use to love. It had two stories to it and filled with games. My favorite there was Captian America and the Advengers. One day my family goes sailling (which was a favorite Barbarian pasttime) While on board I got a little sick so to make me feel better, my parents took me to that arcade. Only to my horror did I see that the arcade was just suddenly gone. Close up and moved out. A few years later the whole mall was demolished and turned into a strip mall. Very sad.

I'm crying after seeing those abandoned arcade machines and that abandoned mall. T_T

Great article. There are some abandoned places nearby me as well. There's a factory that's somewhat has been abandoned for nearly 80 years. It was a Michelin Tire factory, and it was actually the first ever Michelin Tire factory in North America. It closed in 1930 because... well you you can easily guess why, if you've been paying attention in history. Some of the factory buildings have been used for other stuff throughout the years, but some other buildings have been abandoned since it was closed. There's also an abandoned school in my town, and it's near an operating elementary school. It opened in the 1920s, closed in 1978, then used as school offices until 1989, and it's been abandoned ever since.And I've been inside those abandoned places that I've mentioned.

I remember when our local Arcade went out of business, it was in the back room of the local Laverdiere's (also now out of business) five and dime. They sold off all the machines for like $150 each (1989 price). I had enough saved up from my paper route to buy Double Dragon but bought a Mountain Bike instead. Still kicking myself for that one 20 years later. Great article, would've given 2 thumbs up.

i dont know why but when i tried to give this article a thumbs up rj said i wasnt logged in when i was. but the article about kids world was mine.

Great Great artical

I did my whole art project about places like these I stumbled across many of the images from above its sad that they where just left but I would love to explore them.

Hey Dude! = Fantastic childhood memory, thanks for including that. I had no idea it would be abandoned. Lots of places to remember including arcades. Man, my older bro brought me to one in the early 80's and I was in heaven. Classic period in our culture! Neat article.

the after picture of toys r us made me a little sad, the toys r us in wellington florida that closed down looked exactly like the one in this article.

When I saw the AFTER picture of Toys R Us...i felt so hurt.

bob_500000, my parents took my sister and I to that Flintstones park up in BC back in 1990. When did it close?

One of my favorite parks from when i was a kid that is now closed is Flintstones Park in Kelowna, B.C. Canada.

There's a great site you should check out if you really like abandoned places. It's called abandonedbutnotforgotten.com. My favourite on the site is the abandoned renaissance festival in Virginia.

wasnt that place in Ukraine in Call Of Duty 4?

some of these places look perfect for a horror movie or post-apocalyptic setting..especially in your first pic

This was great, very much enjoyed the pictures. There's a wonderful little abandoned park in Maryland called The Enchanted Forest. Fairytale themed, you can look it up online, very popular. I went there as a kid.

Seeing abandoned places always gives me a depressing feeling. There used to be a video store that I would go to on a regular basis to rent all of my favorite movies that I didn't own, and now it's out of business. There used to be an amusement park close to were I live called Idorah Park. It went defunct before I was born because of a fire, but my mom told me all about it, and I was actually in a musical about it at a local playhouse (which is now closed) to start my acting career (I was 9 at the time). I wish I could've experienced it...

DalmatianLover: You are the mastah of articles, vkimo! Yet another thumbs up from me!

Thumbs up here. I actually grew up about an hour's drive from Rocky Point. It was tradition at my middle school for the 8th graders to have a field trip there at the end of the school year so that was my first time there. The corkscrew coaster was fun but you had to pay extra to ride it (in addition to having the "all rides" hand stamp). I went a few more times after 8th grade but I don't remember many of the rides. I think that the park was even in disrepair when it was open, though. Just one of 3 or 4 childhood amusement parks I went to that are gone now.

Fun topic. I too enjoy a good exploration of an abandoned building. In fact here's a link to an adventure I accompanied some friends on like 10 years ago to an abandoned marine base:

http://rotteneggs.com/r3/show/se/10462.html.

BTW, I also used to work for Toys R Us and Kay-Bee. Did you ever notice that the number one shoplifted item was Hot Wheels cars? To this day I have no respect for Hot Wheels enthusiasts.

Whoah an abandoned mall would be so fun to go to.

Seeing that abandoned Toys R Us reminds me of when I was a kid, and the Lionel Playworld went out of business ("turns a frown upside down!"

. I think Toys R Us undercut their prices and took Lionel to the ropes. Now the same thing is happening to Toys R Us.

Just goes to show you -- never have a toy store with an animal mascot (Geoffery the giraffe, or that goofy kangaroo Lionel had). When I open my own toystore, the mascot is going to be a robot (that eats animals).

Another great article Vkimo, no need to be not satisfied with it since its better then most articles on the site anyways. The picture of the drive in theater just breaks my heart I always wanted to go to one but there weren't any around when I was growing up, and now these days, well forget it.

Arcades are the places I find abandoned the most these days, once virtually every arcade was packed with kids throwing away quarters like it was going out of style, unfortunately that was the right mind set to be in since they are all but extinct now thanks to online gaming.

You've given yourself too little credit. This is another exemplary piece of work from a man who knows what he's doing. It may be a small piece, but it still packs quite a whallop. Thumbs-up from me.

Thumbs up. This was unique and now I'm really interested in looking up some more of these kinds of places. Thanks.

Wow, seeing all those abandoned places almost brought a tear to my eye. It brings to my mind my local Discover Zone that we used to have. It was one of my favorite places to go when I was a kid. My mom would take my sister and I there on a regular basis, and we would spend hours there. About 1994 or so, Discover Zone went out of business...and was just a vacant building for about a year. A clothes store moved into the building finally and was open for a couple of years. Than in about 1997 or 1998, they completely demolished the whole building and built a parking lot over it. In about 2004 or 2005, they tore out the parking lot and built a Pet-Co and Best Buy over the spot.

Looking at all these abandoned buildings was pretty depressing. So depressing that I might just have to give you a thumbs up.

You know I'm going to have to give this one a thumbs up.

I have always loved researching abandoned places, especially old businesses and malls, both of which have been replaced by Wal-Marts.

You have such a great way of writing and I look forward to any more future articles you'll produce.