Most people travel to see famous tourist attractions. But there’s a niche developing that’s growing more and more popular each year of people visiting sites that most of the world has long forgotten. These urban explorers find abandoned places across the nation, and even the world, to see what society has left behind. There is something eerie, yet fascinating about these locations, making one feel like they’ve stepped into some post-apocalyptic world. Each one has a unique story behind its demise, which is perhaps what most attracts the curious and adventurous.
We’ve pulled together nine of the most famous of these places where the premises have been vacated… permanently.
1 ) Lyric Theater – Birmingham, Ala.
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The curtain has long since dropped on this playhouse in Birmingham’s historic Theater District, with its last lyric performed in 1958. In its heyday, the Lyric Theater featured an A-list of performers that included the Marx Brothers, Mae West, Milton Berle, Roy Rogers, and Gene Autry, the Singing Cowboy. But now, the 1,300-seat vaudeville venue and movie house built in 1913 is a shell of its former self, though you can still see signs of tinsel and glory among the dust and decay. Rumor has it that it will one day be restored, but for now, “The show must go on,” are hallow words echoing among the emptiness. If you visit, be careful not to break a leg among the unstable infrastructure.
2) Candler Mansion / Emory Asylum – Atlanta, Ga.
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Many things have roamed the grounds of this National Historic Site. First and foremost was the son of Coca-Cola’s inventor, Asa Candler Jr. There were also elephants and giraffes that were part of the Candler family’s personal zoo, and countless party goers who enjoyed the third-floor ballroom. But alcoholics and mental patients also called this place home after the property was sold to the State of Georgia who converted it to a rehabilitation center and then a mental health institute. The abandoned property on Briarcliff Road is owned by neighboring Emory University today, but it’s supposedly haunted by some of the ghosts of its past. Have a Coke and a smile when visiting.
3 ) Tugboat Graveyard — Staten Island, NY
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Davy Jones’ Locker is supposed to be at the bottom of the ocean, but here in New York City, the place were ships come to die—or rather left for dead—is the Tugboat Graveyard near the southernmost point of Staten Island. “Abandon ship!” indeed… Here hundreds of half-sunken, ferries, tugboats, barges, and other types of watercraft from the early 20th century sit in various stages of decomposition atop the water’s surface, where the term “seaworthy” is never uttered in their company. Perhaps the sinking ship that is the New York Knicks will wind up here one day as well.
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The scenery changed dramatically on the 90-minute ride west from Reno, from desert dunes and red-gold canyons and cliffs to beautiful pine forestland dotted with one-stoplight towns. We were headed to northern California for a Quincy vacation, specifically to the 20th annual High Sierra Music Festival, a four-day event jam-packed with music and merrymaking drawing tens of thousands from around the country. The car weighed down with camping gear and coolers. This trip was more than just an excuse to jam out to more than 50 bands playing everything from funk to bluegrass, country to jazz—it was opportunity to relax and breathe in one of the most beautiful spots in the Sierra Nevada Mountains.
Everything in New Orleans is done a little differently than the rest of the country–that’s part of what makes it one of the most unique places around, and why everyone should experience it at least once in his or her lifetime. The holiday season is no exception, though it’s a wonder N’awlins even knows that Christmas is coming, 
