A parade of vintage photos reveals quirky happenings and unexpected spectacles that once graced the streets of forgotten cities. These images burst with offbeat humor and a dash of mystery, capturing the eccentric spirit of urban life in a way that feels almost surreal.
1. The Austin Texas Pig War
2. The Holland Tunnel’s Catwalk Cars
New York City’s Holland Tunnel has thing pathway running alongside it that workers can barely squeeze through. Originally, these pathways were made for trolley cars city officials would ride through the tunnel. The cars are now obsolete, but the pathways are still there.
3. San Francisco’s Horse Drawn Houses
4. Millionaire Private Subway Stops
The NYC subway system is a terrible place these days. But way back when, it had private transportation of the city’s one-percenters. The Vanderbilts, Carnegies and other Gilded Age families had enough cash to fund private subway stations right underneath their mansions. All those people and their money are dead now, but there are still some abandoned private stations underneath the city.
5. North Brother Island’s Dark History
In the East River of New York City, there’s an abandoned island called North Brother. It was first used as a hospital, which became famous as the home of Typhoid Mary. She was spreading her illness all throughout New York, so the city forcibly quarantined her on the island until her death. Later, the hospital was converted to an insane asylum. It’s abandoned now, but its haunted ruins are still there.
6. San Francisco’s Deadly Senator Duel
7. The Ancient Egyptian Obelisk in Central Park
8. Chicago’s Secret Graveyard Park
Lincoln Park is known as one of Chicago’s wealthiest, nicest neighborhoods. But after the Civil War, there were so many dead bodies sent back to Chicago, they didn’t know what to do with them. Many were buried in unmarked graves under land that eventually became Lincoln Park. Some of the bodies were removed, but the Windy City’s nicest park is still secretly a graveyard.
9. New York City’s Abandoned Hippy Island
10. Empire State Building as a Blimp Parking Garage
When the Empire State Building was erected, blimp, dirigible’s and zeppelins looked like they were going to be the future of air travel. So the architects built a spire into their new building, which blimps could attach to, and empty the passengers into their office buildings below. It took too many workers to maintain, and it was insanely dangerous, so now the building has a giant, useless blimp dock on top.