No-man's land where nobody has been: Haunting photographs of Brooklyn's Domino sugar factory pay tribute to its past

 

 

 

Travelers looking for an adventure might need to think outside the box - and choose destinations that are literally abandoned.   A list compiled by Smithsonian.com includes seventeen abandoned locations around the globe. The deserted locales include industrial facilities, amusement parks, military sites and even small villages and cities.   +17 Massive: The New York State Pavilion, one of the last architectural vestiges of 1964 World's Fair, is seen at Flushing Meadows-Corona Park in Queens, New York +17 Left: The abandoned Michigan Central Station is seen in Detroit, Michigan in this 2011 file photo +17 Abandoned: Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 34 is seen here US locations include the New York World's Fair site in Flushing, Queens; Michigan Central Station in Detroit, Michigan; and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 34. Plymouth, a town on the Caribbean island of Montserrat that was abandoned after a volcanic eruption in 1995, also made the list. Bolivia's Uyuni Train Cemetery, which is home to trains made between 1888 and 1892, is also on Smithsonian.com's list. +17 Empty: House ruins in the exclusion zone on the island of Montserrat are seen in this 2013 file photo +17 Graveyard: Bolivia's Uyuni train cemetery is seen here in 2013 Several European locations with ties to World War Two are also included. They include the Maunsell Sea and Air Forts built by the United Kingdom, Oradour-sur-Glane, a French village that suffered a Nazi attack in 1944, and Kaserne Krampnitz in Germany, a former Nazi facility. Elsewhere in Europe, Hadfodunos Hall, in Llangernyw, North Wales -  a property which has been used as a family residence, girls' school, and even a retirement home - is included. +17 Deserted: Maunsell sea forts in the UK are seen here Close up view of the Maunsell sea forts off the coast of Kent   +17 Wrecked: Oradour-sur-Glane, a French village that suffered a Nazi attack, is seen here +17 Alone: Kaserne Krampnitz, a former Nazi facility, is pictured +17 Ruins: Hadfodunos Hall in Wales is pictured In Africa, Kolmanskop, Namibia, a town whose buildings are now filled with sand, as well as Macassar Pavilion, a former resort along the South Africa's Western Cape, are also part of Smithsonian.com's list. +17 Former resort: Macassar Pavilion in South Africa is seen here +17 Sandy: A building interior in Namibia's Kolmanskop is pictured in 2012 Further east, the empty Turkish village of Kayaköy is featured, as is the Buludzha Monument in Bulgaria built in 1981 that honored an early form of the Bulgarian Community Party, Smithsonian said. Pripyat, a Ukranian town abandoned due to its proximity to the Chernobyl disaster, also makes the list. +17 Ghost town: The village of Kayaköy in Turkey is seen here +17 Monument: Bulgaria's Buzludzha Monument is seen here +17 Wooded: Prypiat, a Ukranian village evacuated because of the Chernobyl disaster, is pictured China, Japan, and Australia are also featured in the list of abandoned locations. China's Wonderland Amusement Park is featured, along with Hashima Island, a former coal mining site in Japan, and Australia's SS Ayrfield, a rusting ship now home to a tree forest. +17 Empty wonderland: Wonderland Amusement Park in Beijing, China is pictured in this 2011 file photo +17 Industrial: Coal mining site Hashima Island in Japan is seen here +17 Floating forest: The SS Ayrfield, seen in Australia's Homebush Bay, features trees growing on top of it   In the early 1970s, it was a top tourist destination, with golden sands, high-rise hotels and shopping precincts, frequented by the likes of Brigitte Bardot, Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor. Today, the streets on the shoreline of Famagusta's beach resort lie eerily silent, and have been for decades. Nearby, surrounded by barbed wire, a plane sits forlorn on the tarmac - its tyres deflated and colours faded. A control tower which once watched over the busy skies around Nicosia International Airport also stands derelict. Everything here has been frozen in time since 1974 - the year of the Turkish invasion of Cyprus. These are the haunting scenes inside the city of Nicosia, which is now the only divided capital city in the world - separated by a UN 'green line' buffer zone. Around 112 miles long, it divides the Turkish-occupied northern part of the island from the independent Republic of Cyprus. July 20 marks the 40th anniversary of the invasion, codenamed Operation Attila by Turks who opposed a union with Greece. Only Turkey recognises the breakaway Turkish Cypriot state that was proclaimed in the north. The July invasion resulted in some 37 per cent of the island being captured by Turkish forces before a ceasefire was announced. UN peacekeepers have patrolled the area for years to try and prevent clashes between the populations of the two halves of the island. In places the neutral zone spans miles, but in the old town of Nicosia, it is barely 10ft wide - and still filled with echoes of the past... A plane lies abandoned at Nicosia International Airport - a once-thriving hub until the Turks invaded Cyprus in 1974     These are the haunting scenes inside the city of Nicosia, which is now the only divided capital city in the world - separated by a UN 'green line' buffer zone Barbed wire fills the inside of the airport, where tourists once passed through on their way to Cyprus's popular beach resorts In the early 1970s, Famagusta was a top tourist destination, with golden sands, high-rise hotels and shopping precincts, frequented by the likes of Brigitte Bardot, Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor... ... but today, it is a ghost town - the hotels, beaches and boats abandoned UN peacekeepers have patrolled the area for years to try and prevent clashes between the populations of the two halves of the island Around 112 miles long, the green line divides the Turkish-occupied northern part of the island from the independent Republic of Cyprus. The buffer zone is just visible in the centre of the above image       In places, the neutral zone spans miles, but in the old town of Nicosia, it is barely 10ft wide - and still filled with echoes of the past   July 20 marks the 40th anniversary of the invasion, codenamed Operation Attila by Turks who opposed a union with Greece Everything here has been frozen in time since 1974 - the year of the Turkish invasion of Cyprus Under grey clouds, Nicosia International Airport stands neglected. Since its closure, other airports have sprung up serving Cyprus       Turkish and Greek Cypriot communities are making a new effort to reunite the island The year that changed the island... Smoke rises from bomb explosions during the Turkish invasion of Cyprus on July 20, 1974 The July invasion resulted in some 37 per cent of the island being captured by Turkish forces before a ceasefire was announced, while some 40 per cent of the island was occupied in the second Turkish invasion the following month Grief-stricken relatives contemplate the fate of their relatives who have gone missing during the invasion British troops hand out food rations to Cypriot refugees during the crisis +1 Islanders clasp photographs of their loved ones who have vanished Turkish troops during the July invasion. The Turkish-occupied north is only recognised as a separate entity by Turkey       Craters, rubble and burnt-out cars devastated the island in the aftermath of the invasion of Cyprus Beds, possibly in a dormitory or hostel, are caked in rubble after this building received a vicious pounding A displaced islander ponders what the future holds as he sits in a refugee camp          Eerie scenes of long-abandoned airport, empty buildings and streets criss-crossed with barbed wire in Cypriot no-man's land where nobody has been since 1970s Intimidating barbed wire curls across the landscape, as a watchtower commands the surroundings from high ground. Businesses, cars and buildings lay idle, as they have done for decades. A few miles away, an airport stands, thick with dust while old aircraft decay by the landing strips outside. No commercial flights have run from Nicosia International Airport since 1977, once Cyprus's air hub, in the wake of an invasion by Turkish forces. These pictures detail the eerie scenes in the UN's buffer zone which cuts through Cyprus, dividing the independent Republic of Cyprus from the Turkish-occupied northern part of the island. Peacekeepers from the United Nations have patrolled the area for years in an attempt to prevent clashes between the populations of the two halves of the island. In places their neutral zone spans miles, but in the old town of Nicosia, the island's capital, it is barely ten feet wide - but still filled with echoes of the past. +23 Forbidden: This bullet-marked house can be seen within the UN buffer zone, where a UN flag stands in a barrel +23 Rusting: The demilitarised zone has been managed for decades the the UN. This photograph shows the empty scene in the village of Pyla +23 Abandoned: Weeds can be seen growing through the concrete around this abandoned passenger jet at Nicosia International Airport +23 Decay: The huge vehicle, which has not moved an inch in decades, has gaps in the window and no nose +23 Disused: The last commercial flight out of Nicosia was in 1977 +23 Long departed: The unused lounge area inside the airport is piled high with dust and decay +23 Commanding: A UN watchtower stands on high ground in the buffer zone in Famagusta, northern Cyprus +23 Shuttered: This street in the old town of central Nicosia has also been untouched for years +23 Abandoned: These cars from 1974 have lain idle in an underground garage since the Turkish invasion of 1974 +23 Not gone far: Some of the abandoned cars have travelled less than 40 miles +23 Traces: This car has clearly had some contact with humans in the past years - but not recently, judging by the build-up of dust +23 Retro: These old-style drinks bottles have not moved in the decades since this kitchen was abandone +23 No entry: This intimidating sign marks the beginning of the buffer zone in Nicosia +23 Worse for wear: This stack of TV sets inside a central Nicosia shop would be little use today +23 Old style: This 1970s magazine was spotted in an abandoned commercial property +23 Aging: These elegant cloth billboards in Nicosia International Airport have been unseen for years +23 Borderlands: Children play under the watch of a UN guard tower in a partially restricted area of the buffer zone +23 Living on the edge: This group is sat at a wall preventing access to the controlled area +23 Eerie: The streets are quiet - but not deserted - in the areas just outside the buffer zone +23 'Get in the zone': Graffiti artists have tried to add some colour to the severe border control measure +23 Ruined: This café kitchen has decayed badly after decades of disuse +23 Divided: The city of Nicosia, parts of which are on each side of the border, can be seen below +23 Solitary: A single fisherman waits for his catch in coastal Famagusta, where the buffer zone meets the sea Kings Park is a small suburban town on the north shore of Long Island, New York. The town itself was created around 1885 as somewhere to live for the workers of the Kings Park Psychiatric Center, which opened that year. Then known as Kings County Asylum, it was an institution that housed some of the most psychologically ill and dangerous people, with a patient census of 9,303 in 1954. But after closing down in 1996, ending a 111-year-run, the sprawling 13-story hospital sits abandoned, towering over the tiny town. +14 The ruins of Long Island¿s Kings Park Psychiatric Center - which have been abandoned since 1996 - are often described as the perfect setting for a horror movie, and several have been shot there +14 Old patient beds can be seen sitting dormant at the site, which has become a mecca for trespassing, graffiti and vandalism +14 Spooky: Kings County Asylum followed the farm colony model popular at the time, designed as a self-sufficient community where residents were put to work raising crops and livestock to support the sprawling campus. The labor was thought to be therapeutic +14 Throughout its history, Kings Park was notable for staying on the cutting edge of psychological science, cementing its place in history as an early adopter and proponent of a succession of new procedures and medications that eventually led to the institution¿s decline, such as the lobotomy +14 The lobotomy is remembered as one of the most grotesque treatment methods of the era, in which a metal tool was inserted through the eye socket into the skull cavity, and wrenched around to sever the connections of the pre-frontal cortex from the rest of the brain +14 Today, covered in vines, the decaying hospital stands as a constant reminder to the residents of Kings Park about what their town is built around +14 Layers of colored paint peel from a hallway of isolation rooms +14 In the first half of the 20th century, the psychological community was in a state of desperation, charged with the task of caring for a growing number of mentally ill patients with few treatment options available aside from psychotherapy and the rampant use of restraints and confinement +14 Each floor was nearly identical, with subtle variations in color and layout According to the blog Abandoned NYC, Kings Park was known for its controversial use of psychological science, pioneering new procedures and medications throughout history, which inevitably led to the institutions decline. In the first half of the 20th century, the psychological community was in a state of desperation, charged with the task of caring for a growing number of mentally ill patients with few treatment options available aside from psychotherapy and the rampant use of restraints and confinement. Once a patient was admitted to an asylum, they had no right to give or deny consent for treatment. The 1940s saw the rise of two groundbreaking but brutual procedures - shock therapy and the lobotomy. Shock therapy was conceived when doctors observed that the mood of epileptic patients suffering from depression improved after a seizure, so the procedure attempted to replicate these benefits by inducing a seizure through electricity or insulin injection. Electroconvulsive therapy, as it’s known today, is still considered an effective treatment, even having a resurgence in recent years. The lobotomy is remembered as one of the most grotesque treatment methods of the era. It was a simple procedure, in which a metal tool was inserted through the eye socket into the skull cavity, and wrenched around to sever the connections of the pre-frontal cortex from the rest of the brain. It was an imprecise and brutal operation, which left lobotomized individuals with no trace of their former selves. The development of effective antipsychotic medication in the mid-1950s signaled the decline of these extreme measures and the institution system as a whole. For the first time, residents once considered hopeless were able to manage their mental illness and live independently because of medication, leading to a dramatic shift in institutions across the country from severe overcrowding to near-abandonment. Despite a population boom post World War II,  by the early 1990s, the Kings Park Psychiatric Center was operating as a ghost of its former self, with many of the buildings being shut down or reduced in usage. Eventually, the remaining patients were transferred the and the center closed in 1996. Apart from numerous documentaries, several horror movies have been filmed at the site, including Blood Night: The Legend of Mary Hatchet in 2009 and Peripheral Vision in 2010. +14 Kings County Asylum operated from 1885 until 1996, when the State of New York closed the facility, releasing its few remaining patients or transferring them to the still-operational Pilgrim Psychiatric Center +14 Post-World War II, Kings Park and the other Long Island asylums would see their patient populations soar. In 1954, the patient census at Kings Park topped 9,303, but would begin a steady decline afterwards +14 The hospital stopped the use of controversial procedures in 1955 following the introduction of Thorazine, the first widely used medication in the treatment of mental illness +14 Old tables remain in one of the cafeteria rooms +14 A lot of furniture and equipment were left behind on the ground floor of the building

Sweet memories: Haunting photographs of Brooklyn's Domino sugar factory pay tribute to its past before site is transformed into 2,300 new apartments The brick-and-mortar carcass of what was once the world's largest sugar factory has been photographed in all of its decaying beauty, complete with rusting machinery and abandoned desk chairs. New York-based photographer, Paul Raphaelson, got permission to explore the vast 12-acre Domino's plant in Brooklyn, which closed its doors a decade ago and has remained untouched since, due to legal battles over redevelopment plans. In its prime, the company employed over 5,000 workers and was capable of producing three million pounds of processed sugar a day. But with the introduction of artificial sweeteners and high-fructose corn syrup demand for natural sugar dipped and Domino was forced to sell its New York headquarters for $58million. +35 Skeletal: The brick-and-mortar carcass of what was once the world's largest sugar factory has been photographed in all of its decaying beauty, complete with rusting machinery and abandoned desk chairs +35 Get that hardhat on: New York-based photographer, Paul Raphaelson, got permission to explore the vast 12-acre Domino's plant in Brooklyn Mr Raphaelson's candid pictures of the giant dilapidated warehouse might be some of the last captured before it is transformed into 2,300 up-to-date apartment units. New York mayor Bill de Blasio and property firm, Two Trees Management, reached a deal on the ratio of affordable versus luxury accommodation last month. Now construction work is set to commence with a projected finish date of 2021.Developers estimate the project will cost around $1.5billion in total. The renovation couldn't come soon enough, as the Domino structure is looking particularity sorry for itself after Hurricane Sandy hit in 2012. The waterfront property on the banks of the Hudson river was drenched during the storm, leaving it in a dank and fusty state. The Domino factory has intrigued many over the years, with bypassers straining on their tiptoes to get a glimpse through its shattered window panes. Last year, a group of 50 intrepid scavengers dared to explore the derelict property and ventured inside armed with flashlights. +35 Abandoned: The factory closed its doors a decade ago - an old beer appears in one of the filing cabinets inside this office +35 The old locker room: The building has remained untouched since due to legal battles over redevelopment plans +35 From boom to bust: In its prime, the company employed over 5,000 workers and was capable of producing three million pounds of processed sugar a day +35 Waving goodbye: With the introduction of artificial sweeteners and high-fructose corn syrup demand for natural sugar dipped and Domino was forced to sell its New York headquarters for $58million +35 Landmark: Part of the complex was granted landmark status in 2007, and in 2010 was granted permission to be converted into residences Mr Raphaelson, however, told Curbed.com that he got the go-ahead before entering the building so he could get the shots he wanted without the fear of getting thrown out. 'As much as I would have liked to do it guerrilla-style,' he said, 'I needed more time and access than I could have gotten away with on the sly.' He managed to capture hundreds of images documenting the factory's past. In one office filing cabinet draws appear half open and electronic equipment litters the desk. An old beer bottle also sits on the shelf of a cupboard, maybe remnants of a celebratory post-work tipple. In the factory washing station a sign appears telling workers: 'If you get acid of your body or eyes wash thoroughly with lots of cold water,' highlighting the potential dangers of working at the refinery. Mr Raphaelson is currently working on compiling his photographs into a book with the help Pulitzer Prize-winning photo editor Stella Kramer. The duo want the tome to focus not just on the wreckage of the former sugar refinery, but on its history as well. Architectural historian and New York City tour guide Matt Postal will be submitting an essay and Mr Raphaelson is in the process of interviewing former workers from the Domino factory. He is appealing for those who have any connection to the building's past to step forward and contact him via his website. +35 Dangerous job: Here at the wash station a sign reads: 'caution: if you get acid on your body or eyes wash thoroughly with lots of cold water +35 Time to remodel: Clocks and gagues have fallen to disrepair +35 Set to go: Mr Raphaelson's candid pictures of the giant dilapidated warehouse might be some of the last captured before it is transformed into 2,300 apartment units +35 Finally! New York mayor Bill de Blasio and property firm, Two Trees Management, reached a deal on the ratio of affordable versus luxury accommodation last month +35 Rusted over: Many areas of the plant are covered in rust; here, the pipes have browned over +35 Get the sweeping brush ready: Construction work is set to commence on the building after a decade of waiting +35 Weather-beaten: The Domino structure is looking particularity sorry for itself after Hurricane Sandy hit in 2012 +35 Treacherous: Electrical cables hang overhead and dirt carpets the walkway +35 Landmark: The Domino factory has intrigued many over the years, with bypassers straining on their tiptoes to get a glimpse through its shattered window panes +35 Location, location: The Brooklyn site is a stone's throw away from the Williamsburg Bridge +35 Long way up: A conveyer belt at the refinery is still intact with its bright yellow paint +35 Decay: Many of the signs and stickers have already partially eroded, thanks to the briny air around the East River +35 Maze: A myriad of pipes jut out at various angles on the factory floor +35 Waterfront views: The Domino factory site is one of the most desirable locations in New York +35 Crumbling: The waterfront property on the banks of the Hudson river was drenched during Hurricane Sandy, leaving it in a dank and fusty state +35 Sense of history: The factory was operating for nearly 150 years +35 Final farewell: While it's set to be turned into apartments, there was a campaign running called Save Domnio, pushing for the factory to become a public place for art +35 Outdated: The paint is crumbling off the walls, and seafoam-green paint remains a reminder of trendy colors from the past +35 A lot of work to do: The transformation of the old sugar factory is set for completion in 2021 +35 Pricey process: Developers estimate the project will cost around $1.5billion in total +35 Sunlight and shadow: Beams of sunlight stream into the decay +35 Where the magic used to happen: Table sugar is extracted from the roots of sugar beets and the stalks of sugarcane +35 Control panel: Photographer Mr Raphaelson tests one of the antiquated switchboards, perhaps for controlling factory equipment +35 Derelict: The floors of the factory appear littered with scraps of paint +35 Going to press: Mr Raphaelson is currently working on compiling his photographs into a book with the help Pulitzer Prize-winning photo editor Stella Kramer +35 Haunting: The duo want the tome to focus not just on the wreckage of the former sugar refinery, but on its history as well +35 Team effort: Architectural historian and New York City tour guide Matt Postal will be submitting an essay and Mr Raphaelson is in the process of interviewing former workers from the Domino factory +35 Community spirit: He is appealing for those who have any connection to the building's past to step forward and contact him via his website The crumbling, foreboding Burwash Correctional Centre located in a remote part on Ontario, Canada, has been closed for nearly four decades, but it can still strike fear in the hearts of those few adventurers who dare enter its peeling corridors. One such daredevil is photographer Milke Palmer, who visited the long-abandoned prison last November to capture its eerie beauty before it is completed engulfed by the surrounding vegetation.  Armed with camera equipment and camping gear, and accompanied by a small band of like-minded friends craving an adventure, the team made their way in a canoe across the Wanapetei River. Scroll down for video +12 Ontario's Shutter Island: Toronto-based photographer and explorer Mike Palmer traveled to the long-forgotten Burwash prison in a remote corner of Ontario in November +12 Remote gaol: The faraway prison built to house up to 1,000 inmates opened its doors in 1914 +12 Burwash in its heyday was a self-sufficient town, boasting a 20-bed hospital, church, school, power station, post office, blacksmith, tailor shop, barber shop, and even a skating rink +12 Stripped of freedom: This peeling hallway once housed hundreds of inmates serving their sentences in cells located on either side The explorers had to brave snow, fierce winds, frigid temperatures and white-water before they finally reached shore, coming face to face with the large, dilapidated prison complex rising from a sea of overgrown weeds like Martin Scorsese’s sinister Shutter Island.  The faraway prison built to house up to 1,000 inmates opened its doors in 1914, according to the site Ontario Abandoned Places. Over the next 70 years, thousands of people served their sentences in its walls before Burwash was closed down for good in 1975.  Sitting on 35,000 acres of land, Burwash in its heyday was an entirely self-sufficient town, which boasted a 20-bed hospital, church, school, power station, post office, blacksmith, tailor shop, barber shop, and even a skating rink. +12 Long haul: Thousands of people served their sentences in its walls before Burwash was closed down for good in 1975 +12 Blighted: All the surroundings are scuffed, cracked or blanketed with moss, with rotten wooden beams jutting out of the floor like ribs +12 +12 Green and red: Rust and moss cover decaying metal all throughout the complex, which is gradually succumbing to the elements  +12 New life: In late 1970s, the 35,000-acre property was purchased by the Canadian government for $1.8million, and later it was leased for a goat farming outfit to produce mohair A cost-benefit analysis conducted in the mid-70s prompted government officials to shutter the jail because it was deemed too costly to operate. Following its closure, the property was purchased by the Canadian government for $1.8million, and later it was leased for a goat farming outfit to produce mohair. In the 90s, some of the land surrounding the Burwash complex was used for military training, which involved using explosives to knock down some of the homes that once housed the prison staff. Parts of Burwash are still used today by the Department of National Defense for training purposes. Palmer’s arresting photos taken inside the rambling building show weathered red-brick walls and long flaking hallways with cells on each side and daylight streaming through open windows.  +12 Some of the land surrounding the Burwash complex had been used for military training, which involved using explosives to knock down some of the old prison staff homes +12 Peculiar patterns: The photographer was especially captivated by the naturally weathered texture of the cracked paint on the walls and ceilings +12 Beautiful decay: Palmer's photos taken inside the rambling building show weathered walls with flaking green paint and daylight streaming through open windows All the surroundings are scuffed, cracked or blanketed with moss. Wooden beams are rotting, chunks of dirty plaster and green paint flakes litter every nook and cranny of the run-down prison, creating a uniquely haunting atmosphere. ‘Sometimes beauty is found in the strangest places,’ Palmer concludes in a six-minute video he shot during his expedition for the Toronto-based photography collective Roaming Focus.