*Note as of sometime in late 2021 or 2022, the last of the buildings have been torn down. History of Santa's Land In Santa Claus, Arizona, sits a former Christmas themed park. In 1937, realtor Nina Talbot came up with the idea to help with the sale of nearby 80 acres of land that she had purchased and hoped to develop into multiple plots for family homes. Her idea was to create a winter wonderland in the middle of the desert. The town’s post office was billed as “Santa’s Workshop”. Kids could even send letters to Santa to that post office’s address. Christmas trees were planted all along ..read more

Forest Haven Asylum: A History of Neglect and Abuse I made a handful of trips to Forest Haven over the years. Even though it was already trashed from vandalism when I started exploring it and several of the buildings were already torn down (pool/gym), I always enjoyed my trips there. Mental hospitals and asylums are one of my favorite things to explore, and this was one of my first, so I’m probably a little biased. I’ve love to go back one more time to see a few final buildings I never made it to, and redo my photos, but the days of exploring Forest Haven are over.  What Was Forest H ..read more

Exploring An Abandoned Wedding Venue Pantagis Renaissance (Snuffys) in New Jersey operated for almost 50 years before closing in late 2020. Today, it sits abandoned by a busy highway. This was one of the more unique explores I’ve done. The abandoned building was covered in beautiful stained glass and detailed wordwork. The rest of the decor seemed like it was a bit dated, but was still an impressive venue (and really could have been great with some updated decor). *Update* As of January 2024, the building has been demolished.  I only hope they saved all the beautiful stained glass. The ..read more

Abandoned Fiesta Mall in Mesa, Arizona It took 9 years to build, but the Fiesta Mall opens in Mesa, AZ, in 1979. Sears was the first/original anchor store (actually opening in 1977), and was followed by additional anchor stores Goldwater’s, Diamond’s and The Broadway in 1980. The mall, along with other retail  were in need due to population growth, and the construction of the Superstition Freeway. Fiesta Mall underwent a renovation in 1989, replacing the orange and brown colors of the 70s and installing new skylights. Success of Fiesta Mall By the early 90s, Fiesta Mall was at the he ..read more

The Abandoned US Pipe Factory In the 1870s, businessman Andrew McNeal helped create a company in Burlington to produce iron pipe for this growing market. That company would eventually become Burlington’s largest industry and part of one the largest pipe manufacturers in the US. Then, in the 1890s, McNeal had built a three-story brick and stucco mansion at the edge of the property. When it was built, the 10,000 sq. ft. home was the largest and most elegant in the county. After McNeal sold his company, the mansion became the corporate headquarters and research facility of U.S. Pipe. Three win ..read more

Abandoned Roadside Attraction in Arizona Ft. Courage was not an actual military base, nor did it have any affiliation with the military. It was built as a novelty replica in an attempt to cash in on the popularity of the tv show “F Troop”.  The “F Troop” show was a satirical sitcom  based in the Western United States about U.S. soldiers and Native Americans in the Wild West during the 1860s. The show originally aired for two seasons on ABC. It debuted on September 14, 1965, and ran through April of 1967, totaling 65 episodes. The first season was broadcast in black-and-w ..read more

Casa Grande's Abandoned Domes The abandoned domes in Casa Grande, AZ, are one of the most popular abandoned sites in the state of Arizona. And, they probably have more conspiracy theories surrounding it than any other place. They were one of the first abandoned places I visited when I moved to Arizona. In the late 70’s, the domes were built by a company called Innerconn Technology to manufacture computers but were never completed as the company went bankrupt. They left the buildings to decay in the harsh Arizona weather. One of the buildings is shaped like a flying saucer, and the other thre ..read more

Abandoned Citrus Warehouse in Arizona Lots of  people wonder how I find abandoned buildings and places to go.  A lot of it involves scouring Google maps, and looking for certain characteristics that make a property or building look abandoned, and then doing some further research.  That’s how I stumbled upon this little plant, which looked to be an abandoned citrus warehouse.  I found it on the maps, looked intriguing, and asked another local explorer if they knew anything about it (since they were more familiar with this area of Arizona than I am). They confirmed it was a ..read more

The Abandoned Buckhorn Baths and Mineral Hotsprings Buckhorn Baths and Mineral Hot Springs was a quirky little roadside attraction that boasted one of the largest taxidermy collections in the state, a motel, gift shop, Barracks originally moved to the property from Falcon Field, and of course the hot springs baths. Original owners Ted and Alice Sliger bought the land for Buckhorn Baths in 1936. They then spent a decade developing the unique roadside resort in Mesa, AZ. They originally built a store and gas station to accommodate the growing auto tourism and sold Indian curios in the store, a ..read more

The Famous Abandoned Pink Diner Not much is known of the actual, or real history of the famous abandoned pink diner. It has been extremely popular in the urbex community for obvious reasons. It’s a mini time capsule, with lots of interesting details and aesthetic to photograph. Rumors are that it was from the 1950’s, and some think that it was a more modern diner, decorated to pay homage to the earlier era diners. The real truth is probably closer to the later, as there seems to be some signs and details that point to a more modern history.  Whatever the history is, it’s a fascinating ..read more