There have been countless architectural gems built over centuries that people have had the chance to admire. Everything from authentic houses of worship to spectacular bridges, stations, and entire old towns, among other structures, have been a mesmerizing sight for their eyes at some point throughout history. Unfortunately, we lost many impressive architectural structures like these that couldn’t stand the test of time and can now only be admired in photographs.
We have gathered some such photographs on this list to marvel at. They were shared by the ‘Lost Architecture‘ community—”a subreddit devoted to images and discussion of interesting buildings that no longer exist,” as their description reads. It covers all sorts of impressive structures destroyed by wars and other calamities, sadly leaving us with little more than a picture of what it once was. (H/T)
01. Salzhaus And Haus Frauenstein. Built Around 1600 In Frankfurt, Germany. Both Were Destroyed In 1944 By An Raf Raid
02. San Francisco’s Cliff House 1896–1907
03. Skete Of All Saints, Ukraine (Largest Wooden Church In Ukraine, Burned Down 2022)
04. Neue Elbbrücke Bridge From 1887-1959 In Hamburg, Germany
05. St. Peter’s Hospital, Bristol, England. Built In The Late 14th Century As A Merchant’s House, Destroyed In The Bristol Blitz In 1940
06. Graham House, West Vancouver, Canada, Designed By Arthur Erickson In 1962, Demolished In 2007
07. The Baths Of Diocletian, 298 Ad. A Couple Of Walls Are Left, Still Impressive
08. Los Angeles In 1918, Nothing Here Survived To The Present Day
09. Pennsylvania Station, New York City, CA 1910
10. Park Hotel Bremen, Bremen, Germany. Built In 1890 And Was Lost To A Fire In 1907
11. Base Of The Spire, Seen From The Southwest, Notre-Dame De Paris, 2018
12. 1905 Photo Of The Park Avenue Hotel (A.k.a. Working Women’s Hotel) At 32nd And Park Avenue In New York City. Opened In 1878, Demolished In 1925. (Partial Ai Colorization)
13. A Digital Reconstruction Of Old St. Paul’s Cathedral, Which Was Located In London, England. Completed In 1314, It Was Destroyed In The 1666 Great Fire Of London. The Current Cathedral, With Its Iconic Dome, Was Built Between 1675 And 1710
14. 1890 Sioux City Corn Palace, Iowa. From 1887 To 1891, Sioux Cityans Celebrated The Autumn Harvest With A Festival Featuring The Construction Of A Large Building In Downtown Called A Corn Palace Covered In Corn And Other Grains
15. Ancient Egyptian Fortress Of Buhen – Lost To The Aswan Dam (Lake Nasser)
16. Park Terrace, Duluth, Minnesota. Built In 1890 And Demolished In 1936
17. Cathedral Of Christ The Saviour, Located In Borki, Near Kharkiv In The Russian Empire (Modern-Day Kharkiv, Ukraine). Pictured In 1894. It Was Destroyed During The Second World War
18. The Old Times Square. (1904)
19. Helmond, The Netherlands (Demolished In 2019 For A Big Appartement Block)
20. Leaning Tower Of Zaragoza “Torre Nueva”(1504-1892)
21. Galloway’s Furniture Store, Sarasota, Florida, Designed By Victor Lundy In 1959. Partially Demolished In The 1970s, Some Of The Structure Still Survives Within A Nondescript Exterior
22. Steele High School, Dayton, Ohio. Built In 1894, Demolished For A Parking Garage In 1955
23. Denver 1880s: None Of The Buildings In This Photo Have Survived To The Present Day
24. Everything In This Photo Was Destroyed – Skopje, North Macedonia Before The 1963 Earthquake
25. Old City Hall Post Office, NYC. 1880-1938
26. Świnoujście/Swinemünde Pier, Poland (Formerly Germany). The Place Existed Between The 1890s And 1920s
27. Pittsburgh Was Once One Of The Most Beautiful Cities Not Only In The U.S. But In The World. Most Of It Was Demolished
28. New York World Building, Demolished In 1955 For A Ramp Extension Of The Brooklyn Bridge
29. Mount Adams Incline, Cincinnati, Oh (1872–1948)
30. The Beach Hotel, Galveston, TX. Built In 1882 And Destroyed By A Mysterious Fire In 1898
31. National Palace Of Haiti, 1912-2010, Severely Damaged By The 2010 Haitian Earthquake And Demolished In 2012
32. Palace Theater, Long Beach, Ca: Opened In 1916 And Demolished In The Late 1980s
33. Church In La Jalca, Peru. Built In 1538, It Collapsed In An Earthquake
34. Oklahoma City State Capitol Bank Built In 1962, Complete With A Conversation Pit Elevator! Since Remodeled
35. Color Photo Of Penn Station In 1963 Just Before Demolition
36. Venice, California Before The Canals Were Filled In And The Buildings Were Demolished, 1906
37. The Chicago Federal Building (1898-1965)
38. Prentice Women’s Hospital In Chicago
39. Palast Der Republik, Berlin. Demolished In 2008 Due To Asbestos
40. One Of Philadelphia’s Most Gorgeous Corners In The Year Of 1900, Broad Street Station. (Razed In The 50s)
41. The General Motors Pavilion At The 1964 New York World’s Fair, Aka’ Futurama,’ Also The Source Of The Name Matt Groening Gave His Show From Visiting The Futuristic Attraction As A Kid. Torn Down After The Fair Ended, 1965
42. Monroe Palace In Rio De Janeiro. Built In 1906 And Destroyed In 1976
43. The Old Tripe House, Digbeth, Birmingham, U.K. (1533-1893)
44. Paleis Voor Volksvlijt, Amsterdam. Finished Building 1864, Burned Down 1929
45. Saratoga Hotel In Havana, Cuba. Destroyed By A Gas Explosion
46. Culver House In St. Louis. Demolished 7/19/22 For Symphony Hall Expansion
47. City Hall Of Galveston, Texas. Built In 1888 And Demolished In 1966
48. Broadwater Natatorium, Helena, 1889. 100 Heated Changing Rooms, Electricity, Stained Glass Rose Windows. Demolished 1946
49. Trinity Episcopal Church. Washington, Dc. (1851-1936)
50. The Toy Building Was Constructed In 1913, And Anchored Milwaukee’s Small Chinatown Community, The Building Hosted A Restaurant And A Theater But Was Demolished In 1946
51. Great Ape House, Kansas City Zoo 1966-2015
52. Ibm Pavilion “The Egg,” 1964 World’s Fair. Charles And Ray Eames Architects
53. Transgas Building, Prague (Built 1978, Demolished 2020)
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