Popular Places That Are Now Ghost Towns

The Sochi Olympic Village was never the most pristine of homes for the worldwide games, but they managed to hold the entirety of the Olympics without too many attacks by stray dogs. Six months after the Closing Ceremonies, the town was empty. Huge hotels sat unused, and the grand buildings that had been packed with excitable sports fans were now eerily quiet. A five-story parking garage was created to fulfill the tourist demand. Now, there's nary a car in sight, though there are a few broken toilets, so it's not completely empty. The Olympic Village itself looks like Disney's Main Street if Mickey and his friends had to move out due to rising crime.

In April 2017, the city hosted the Grand Prix and at least got some use out of their Autodrom. Hopefully those tourists enjoyed the double toilet bathrooms more than Olympic visitors. The Fisht Stadium that housed the Opening and Closing Ceremonies sat completely empty for a year but was remodeled to host games for the 2018 World Cup. So, there's some hope that the home of one of the most expensive and controversial Olympics in recent memory might be revived from its ghost town status.

The Isle of Wight, just off the coast of England, once housed the bustling Wight City, an arcade by the sea. Now, arcades have faltered all over the world since most gamers would prefer to use their systems in the comfort of their own homes rather than waste quarters on the low-fi games of the '80s and '90s. But few arcades were left perfectly intact while they rotted behind closed doors.

Wight City Arcade, Bogey's Night Club, and The Jolly Roger Restaurant all shared a building, and all shut down in 2012. The city planned to raze the building, but it stayed just as it was. Though the lights are off, none of the games were moved and look as though they're just waiting for a new group of gamers that will never come. The arcade also had a small bowling alley, where the floors are rotting away. But one of the weirdest things is the pool table. It's not particularly decrepit but looks like someone walked away in the middle of a game for a smoke and never came back. As of 2017, the site has just been sold with the intent to knock it down and probably build condos. Hopefully, someone will finish that pool game before the wrecking ball comes in.

Cleveland had a little aquarium that was a very popular place from the mid '50s to the '70s. But with all that disco music and platform shoes with fish in them, people weren't going to the aquarium anymore. Ticket sales weren't covering costs, and when they found the aquarium would need major structural updates, they just shut it down. In 1985, they shipped all the sea life away and closed the doors. But they forgot to lock up.

The building was left abandoned, and people assumed that it was boarded up and impossible for passersby to enter. Instead, a news crew found the door was wide open, and they waltzed in with ease. Sure, there was a sign that said "Keep Out," but oh well. Inside, the floor is covered in broken glass, and it's apparent that squatters are living there. The residents even put up a provisional basketball hoop, so you know they feel at home. One room is full of student desks and a rotting sofa, which looks just as creepy as you're imagining.

Everybody loves waterparks, right? People always need water in the desert, right? A desert waterpark! It's the perfect idea.

Somehow, the moment of brilliance quickly turned into an abject failure. It all started at the man-made Lake Delores located in the middle of Mojave desert. In the '60s, Bob Byers decided to build a bunch of waterslides that emptied into the lake. First it was a private waterpark of sorts, just for him and his family, but he opened it to the public and added additional attractions. By 1990, the park was closed.

But you couldn't just leave a precious waterpark to melt away in the desert. So, in 1998, the park was renovated and turned into a '50s-themed fun zone and renamed Rock-A-Hoola Waterpark. Sadly, in its first year, an employee took a slide into a half-full pool and wound up paralyzed. His lawsuit hit the park hard, and it closed down for good in 2004. All the fake '50s decor stayed right where it was, now faded from the constant sun. The slides are breaking down, and the pools are bone dry. This former oasis is slowly settling into the desert dust.

If you've seen Dirty Dancing, you're familiar with the exciting world of Catskills resorts. Grossinger's opened in Liberty, New York, and slowly expanded till they had pools, golf courses, and a ski slope by the '50s. The resort was big enough to get its own post office, and Grossinger, New York, was born. But once again, the 1970s came along to ruin things, and attendance at the resort dwindled. With lower prices of air travel, people ventured farther than the Catskills, and all the resorts in the area faced problems.

After Grossinger's was sold in 1986, it passed from owner to owner, never coming close to its former glory. Now, this ex-popular place is empty. Graffiti covers the crumbling walls, and a fetid puddle sits where the glorious pool used to be. Moss grows the floor of the lounge, and the chairs look like they're slowly sinking into the Earth. The current owners want to tear the place down and put up a casino, but there's no telling when or if that will happen.

A former first-class cruise ship sits and rots on the Welsh coastline. The Duke of Lancaster took passengers around the British Isles and Europe from 1956­­ to 1979. When it was time for the ship to retire, a company bought it and docked by Llanerch-y-Mor, Wales. They weren't going to let such a grand vessel rot — they planned to re-christen the boat as The Fun Ship. There would be hotels, attractions, and oh so much fun! But after the owners got into legal problems with the city and the popular place wasn't shaping up, they ditched the dream of "The Fun Ship" and let the Duke of Lancaster rust in the sea.

It's been sitting there since the mid-1980s. John Rowley owns the ship and claims that legal difficulties have kept him from doing anything with the Duke for over 30 years. Rowley let street artists use the ship as a canvas with some really impressive results. Less impressive are the growing rust stains. While parts of the interior are falling apart, others give a glimpse into the fine world of '70s decor. One lounge has all the bright red velvet chairs intact, while a hallway adorned with clown paintings is in great shape. Plus, it has a bonus abandoned arcade! This time with more water damage.

The Duke of Lancaster is a wonderful snapshot of a moment in time and a complete waste all at once.