All language subtitles for Abandoned.Engineering.S05E06.Ghosts.Of.The.Swamp.1080p.WEB-DL.AAC2.0.H.264-squalor_track3_[eng]

Tom ward (narrates):
Two lost fortresses

on the banks of the Mississippi.

Something bigger than
just the passage of time

has taken an even heavier
toll on these buildings.

A concrete monster that
withstood a fierce bombardment.

These structures are so massive,

they're so well-built
you can't get rid of them.

You can't level them,
you can't tear them down,

you can't blow them up.

And a ghostly ruin that's
home to an eerie presence.

There are reports of
apparitions in the corridors

and that's no surprise.

It has that kind of feel to it.

If you ever wanted to visit a
haunted mansion then this is it.

Decaying relics and
ruins of lost worlds,

they were forged
through years of toil

but now they are
haunted by the past.

Their secrets are
waiting to be revealed.

(Theme music)

Overlooking the sea on
the north coast of wales

stands an imposing castle.

This looks like something
out of a medieval fairytale,

like a home for
princes and princesses.

It's a grand palace of a
building with so many rooms,

embattled towers
and amazing windows.

Somebody clearly wanted to
impress and make an impact.

But as striking as it
appears from the outside,

it's only on the inside

that a visitor really feels
the creepy atmosphere.

If you ever wanted to
visit a haunted mansion

this place has got it all.

You've got your gothic
architecture, your faded grandeur,

your air of mystery and terror.

Rumours of hauntings
float around the place

and every wall tells a story.

Marriages gone terribly wrong,

battles and children fleeing

from cruel and deadly fates.

But the story here isn't
quite what it seems.

What's strange is that
although it looks ancient

there's parts of this building

that don't look
like that old at all.

You can see this was
once a glorious structure

but now it's just crumbling
away and disintegrating.

It's as though the life has
been sucked from the place.

It looks so sad and abandoned.

What went wrong here?

These crumbling walls hide
tales of vaulting ambition,

stories of families at war

and accounts of people
saved from certain death.

Without doubt there's
something very odd

about this great stronghold.

There's some clever
trickery a-play here

because it's clearly been made
to look like something it isn't.

Dr Mark barker is an
architectural historian.

He's spent the last 20 years

investigating the
castle's deepest secrets.

So, this looks like
a medieval fortress

but as we look around
we'll find out that

there's a lot more to
it than meets the eye.

Inside there are features
that betray its true age.

So, one of the
tell-tale signs that

you can pick up looking
around the building

that it's not as ancient

as you think are the windows.

And the window's
made out of cast iron

which was the wonder material
of the early 19th centuries,

the... the pvc of the day.

So, if this isn't a
medieval castle

then why did someone
spend a fortune

making it look like one?

And did those sturdy defensive
walls ever actually see a battle?

This place was commissioned
by the wealthy industrialist

Lloyd hesketh in 1812.

It was the largest structure

to be erected in britain
in the 19th century

and at its peak boasted an
estate of over 6,000 acres.

Many said that
hesketh was a dreamer

but he had a bold
and ambitious plan

one that he hoped

would influence
architecture forever.

It all seems to centre around

the loss of his
mother when he was,

um, round about 11 or 12.

And he wanted to build a...

A monument to her

and to immortalise
her in... in architecture.

This was Lloyd
hesketh's masterpiece.

A lavish 19th century
imitation of a much earlier time...

Gwrych castle.

So, in wales we are famous
for the medieval castles

of the native princes

and Lloyd knew this
when he was building here

and he set about looking
back at the medieval castles

but also, um, all the
medieval manuscripts

working out how they
actually did it properly.

It is a hugely
significant structure

as it was the first gothic
folly in all of Europe.

Lloyd's dream may have come true

but this story doesn't have
a happily ever after ending.

A bitter family
feud was brewing.

The horrors of war
were on the horizon

and a ghostly presence
would soon make itself felt.

Hesketh lived in this
castle for many years.

It was his home.

And then it got passed
down through his family.

Eventually coming
into the ownership

of his granddaughter in 1894.

Inheriting the
castle and the estate

meant that the
countess of dundonald

was a woman of very great means
like her grandfather before her

she left her Mark on the
castle in a very unique way.

The countess added her
own touches to the building

including this grand
marble staircase

and her influence
can still be felt here.

But it was her political
activities that caused a real stir

and that may have sowed
the seeds for what was to come.

She was a very
strong-minded person

who fought heavily
for women's rights

and was a key figure in
the suffragette movement.

This was
extraordinary at the time

but apparently the marriage
was a very unhappy one

and her husband
treated her cruelly.

She was really
very forward-thinking

and I think this was very
disturbing to her husband.

Um, he was a victorian
gentleman really,

um, that, um, he should have
complete control and she refused.

What's astonishing
was that in 1906

she did something
that was unheard of,

bear in mind that her husband had
all of the power over this property,

she actually banished
him from the castle

and cut him out
of her will entirely.

For 20 years, right up
until her death in 1924,

the countess managed
the estate alone.

When she died it
was put up for sale.

But its story was far from over.

As it turns out,

the countess's estranged
husband wouldn't let things lie.

He bought back the castle.

And he bought it
back out of spite

and it was a great
tragedy that occurred

that he destroyed
all of her papers,

the contents of the
castle were sold off

and his parting shot was
that he said to the children that

no member of the family
shall ever live here again.

According to legend,

the countess took her
revenge from beyond the grave.

Just a few years after
the countess's death

her estranged husband
bought the castle.

He sold off much of the
contents to finance the purchase

but he was determined
to make it his again.

Shortly after the collection
was broken up in 1928,

people start to see a figure
on the marble staircase.

A woman is seen
walking down the stairs

and also in the gardens.

One of the most famous,

um, sightings was by a
boxer called Randolph turpin.

He was training in the
park and he saw this woman,

um, in white walking
towards him crying

and then he turned to ask

what was wrong
and she disappeared.

Despite the rumours of hauntings
and the appearance of apparitions,

gwrych eventually became
an unlikely place of hope

for children fleeing the
horrors of Nazi tyranny

during the second world war.

This was a time when world
war ii was on the horizon

and britain knew only too well

what this would
mean for the children

so what it did was it evacuated

10,000 predominantly
Jewish children from Germany,

Poland, Austria,
czechoslovakia to britain.

It was known as
the kindertransport

and the children
were taken to farms,

foster homes and
schools across the country

with 200 of them
coming here to the castle.

It would've been heart wrenching

for these children
to be pulled away

from their parents
at such a young age,

brought to a completely
foreign country

but what is truly horrifying

is these children were often

the only surviving
members of their family

after the holocaust.

After the war, the castle
opened its doors to the public

one of the first country
houses in britain to do so.

That was until 1985

when maintenance costs
finally became too high.

As a result the castle was closed
and it quickly fell into disrepair.

The castle was extensively
looted and vandalised,

reduced to a derelict shell.

But then the final blow came
when a fire broke out and...

And caused devastating
damage to the structure.

For years the castle sat
neglected and forgotten

until an 11-year-old boy

fell under its spell.

The fairytale had
one final twist.

So, I'd pass the castle
every day to and from school

and it really kind of
invoked something in me

qwanting to save the place.

And that drove me
on to set up the trust.

Mark now leads a team
dedicated to restoring gwrych castle

to its former glory

and to securing its future
for generations to come.

In its short life

the castle has seen many
fascinating and important events.

Hopefully it can be
brought back from the dead

so that it can do so again.

In the busy harbour of lorient
on the west coast of France

there is a colossal relic.

As you approach the structure

you can see from miles
away how big they are.

It's in stark contrast
of what's surrounding it.

You've got these beautiful
luxury yachts and villas

and then you've got this concrete
what some would call a monstrosity.

What you see are
identical massive structures

just like this one
and you realise

you're not dealing
with just one structure,

you're dealing with an
entire complex of structures.

What are these
enormous structures?

And what part did they play
in the longest continual battle

of world war ii?

They are oppressive
in their scale.

They are absolutely huge
sat there on the waterline.

Vast concrete chambers,
heavy metal doors.

Whatever its original purpose,

this place appears
to have been built

to withstand more
than just the elements.

There's nothing fragile
about the construction of this,

it looks absolutely solid.

There's superficial
damage in places

but this is no way going to
collapse in the next few years.

But then when you go to other
parts you can see they're darker,

locked away and those are
windows to this structure's

rather sinister past.

What you have is a...

A strange-looking
man-made concrete tunnel

with large beams and
the light coming down.

You... you really wonder
what kind of facility this is.

What do the spooky submerged
vessels lying in the harbour

tell us about this
strange place?

Why are there ships sunk out
the front of these structures?

Was this a scene of a battle?

Or something else?

Construction here began two
years into the second world war.

At this dark time in
the history of Europe,

the French people were living
under the terror of Nazi occupation.

What was hidden inside
these walls struck fear

into the hearts of
the allied forces.

1940 was a game-changer
for the axis powers.

Germany went from having
just a small area on the baltic

that could have
access to seas from

to having the whole of
the coastline of France.

And that changed the face of
warfare for the next few years.

And what this meant was that

there was a change
in focus for the Nazis.

It went from very
much a land-based war

to being much more
focused on the sea

and particularly the Atlantic.

This place was so
important to the Germans

they went to extraordinary
lengths to protect it.

What made this place so great
for the Nazis and at the same time

dangerous for the allies
was the design of the roof.

The roof construction
itself is a very clever,

well-thought out
piece of engineering

to protect what's below
from the threat from the skies.

Maritime historian

christophe cerino

is an expert on the stronghold.

The three-part design was
repeated across the entire structure.

A concrete frame sitting above
a solid roof some 10ft thick.

What we see here with
the beams across the top

is they're almost sacrificial.

If a bomb was to hit those,

they could break but not
threaten the main structure below.

They're to absorb the energy

and thus protect
the structure below.

The design of the roof didn't
mean there was no damage.

There was just no damage

to the actual bit that
needed protection.

What deadly weapon were the
Nazis working so hard to protect

from allied bombers?

Now, the Germans have lost

the greater part of
their surface fleet,

damaged or destroyed
in the Norway campaign

but the German
Navy has one weapon

with which it can
bring a great deal

of power and force against
Great Britain and that's u-boat.

To house their deadly
submarines the third reich built this,

the keroman u-boat base.

The largest submarine facility

of its kind on the
west coast of France.

In order for the u-boats
to be most effective

they needed a quick
way to resupply,

refuel and then get
them back out in the sea

and that's what this
structure was all about.

Uh, you can see the effort
that was put into building it.

It is absolutely vast.

And it rises up

and it just is massive
imposing temple to u-boats

and it completely
dominates the area.

From here and four other sites
along the French west coast

the battle for the
Atlantic was fought.

It was the longest continuous
campaign of the entire war.

The Atlantic was a vital
theatre for Germany.

It was basically a
different way of fighting.

It was picking off the
enemy, hiding in the shadows.

Britain is an island.

It has to import key raw
materials, it has to import men,

it has to import oil

and if the Germans can establish
an effective submarine blockade

against Great Britain
they can win the war.

After the fall of France

Germany's newly-won
access to the Atlantic

meant that its Navy was
able to attack and sink

3,500 British merchant vessels.

In one devastating week alone

German u-boats destroyed
27 royal Navy ships.

We're talking millions of tonnes
of shipping that goes down

and shipping and carrying
supplies, carrying personnel,

carrying oil and raw materials.

This kind of warfare became
very successful for the Nazis

and so obviously when
you find something

successful you invest in it

and that's exactly
what they did.

Winston Churchill said
the one battle that kept him

awake at night was
the battle of the Atlantic

which lasts from 1939

until the last day of
the European war, 1945.

For the allies to be
able to stay in the war,

the German u-boat bases had
to be attacked and destroyed.

I've seen some of the aerial
photographs that were taken,

uh, post-mission

and 500lb, 1,000lb bombs,

direct hits all over these
massive concrete structures

and they barely
chip the concrete.

Underneath this
modern protective shelter

you can see a bomb crater,

you can see that there was
damage caused to the roof

but what you can
also see is that...

That damage is contained.

It didn't go through
to the actual building.

It wasn't just the roof of the base
that seemed to be impregnable.

Every inch was designed
with defence in mind.

There were gunning
placements on top

and in the waters in front

makeshift torpedo
barriers were built.

Those boats were scuttled
at strategic positions

so if a low-flying bomber came
in it would be those shipwrecks

that would take the impact

and not the u-boat
that's being prepared.

How did allied aircraft attack the
heavily defended u-boat bases?

And were they ever
able to destroy them?

In France, during world war ii,

allied aircraft were trying to
destroy German u-boat pens.

For many allied pilots attacks were
little more than suicide missions.

A new approach was
clearly needed to give

the allies any hope of success.

But the change of tactic
was very bad news indeed

for the town of lorient.

The allies very quickly realised

exactly how impenetrable
these u-boat pens were.

And they focussed their
efforts on the town beyond.

Something like 95% of that town

was taken out and
that meant houses,

that meant water,
that meant supplies.

By disrupting the supply lines,

by taking out the railway lines
bringing the raw materials down,

uh, they hoped that
they would be able to put

an end to the u-boat activity.

Although the allied bombers had
failed to destroy the submarine base

they were much more successful
in crushing its supply lines.

You can see there looks like
what would be a fourth bunker

and it was just that,

it was gonna be fourth bunker
but during the allied bombing

they just couldn't
continue its construction.

But success came with a heavy
price for the people of lorient.

Hundreds paid for
it with their lives.

After the war keroman
lay abandoned only briefly.

Soon the French Navy moved in.

The second world war left a
legacy of huge unique structures

across Europe

one of which is this massive
submarine refuelling station.

What do you do with
something like this?

It's difficult to repurpose
it to something civilian

so the French Navy continued
to use it for decades afterwards.

Today, some of
those extraordinary

concrete structures
have been repurposed.

They are now homes to a
host of commercial enterprises

including a theatre.

But there is also a museum

which keeps the history of
keroman very much alive.

On the banks of the
mighty Mississippi river

just north of triumph,
Louisiana, usa,

a structure emerges from the
thick foliage beyond the Levy.

Southern Louisiana is a land
that is just sinking into the sea,

everywhere you look
there's water, strips of land.

And then here you
see this large structure.

You know you've come
across something important

when you see blocks of
granite, masonry, concrete.

Somebody put a
substantial structure there.

It's in such a swampy place.

There's something that
looks like a drawbridge.

There must have
been a reason to...

To build something
so imposing here.

Across the drawbridge
inside the surrounding moat

an unusual complex is revealed.

It's quite a
sophisticated structure.

I mean, you come in and you
see these huge vaulted galleries

extending off into the distance
built at tremendous cost.

But this mysterious
site doesn't stand alone.

Across the river a
second set of ruins

are being slowly submerged.

This place is clearly on its
way to being washed out to sea.

It shows a lot of
damage and destruction.

The two are obviously linked

but what left them
in this condition?

And how did they work together

during a pivotal moment
in American history?

This is fort Jackson

a long forgotten relic
with a fascinating history.

Once the scene
of bitter conflict,

it helped shape the
future of america.

James madere is an expert
on the ruin's turbulent past

and is fighting to
preserve its remains.

Because we're almost 90
miles away from New Orleans

most people don't even
realise this place is here.

It's part of our history
and our heritage.

One thing that makes
this fort so impressive

is that it got built at all

and at such a scale
in this very difficult area

where transportation
is... Is difficult.

There's no firm
foundation to build on.

Ex-marine Mark sauer knows

better than anyone
how treacherous

trying to build in this
region can sometimes be.

From above, the challenging
nature of the terrain becomes clearer.

Headed to fort Jackson.

As can you see with the
terrain mostly all swampland

and intermingled canals.

This is the area
that is nearly cut off

from the rest of the
world and it's very difficult

and challenging to get to.

When construction
here began in 1822,

engineers found a novel way

to overcome the difficulties
of building on a swamp.

They literally laid down logs
of cypress as a foundation.

It sounds crazy but that
could sink down into the muck

and then create a
firm stable platform

upon which to build this
massive brick structure.

It's a beautiful thing.

It has its origins in
these bastion forts

that they were building
in renaissance Italy

which were considered this
huge innovation of warfare

because the fort is
shaped like a star.

Modelled on European castles

that were built four
centuries earlier

the layout was designed to inflict
maximum damage on an invading army.

(Cannon fires)

The importance of that shape

is always because a Cannon
has a wider sweep on a point

as well as the opposing force

would have to basically
go around more edges

where you could
possibly pick 'em off

with your sharp shooters

or your bastion cannons

that go from side to side.

That's what's
really interesting.

Even though this thing
is built in the 1800s

it's basically
rooted in the 1400s.

In this period this
fort was regarded

as being almost invincible.

Enormous effort was
required to build the fort.

Whoever was
responsible must have had

something very
important indeed to protect.

The key to understanding
what it was lies in the great

Mississippi river.

You simply can't underestimate
how important the Mississippi was

to American
history and still is.

It's like a superhighway leading
into the heartland of the country.

If you wanted to move
a lot of goods and men

you did it by boat in
that part of the country

or you didn't do it all.

This locale is on the river
right before it bends towards

New Orleans into the United
States so it's really a strategic point.

And defending New Orleans

was a big, big issue
from the very time

that the United States
acquired the territory.

So, who ordered the
construction of fort Jackson?

And from whom did New
Orleans need protecting?

To find out we
need to investigate

the crumbling relic on the
opposite side of the river.

You can see the...
The remains of it.

Pretty bad state of disarray

due to the high
water and the currents

and the uncertainty
of its location.

This is fort st Phillip

which was built by
the Spanish in 1792,

a time when the usa
was not in control here.

But fort Jackson was built
some four decades later.

This region of the Gulf of
Mexico was one that was actually

contested among the
great powers for a long time.

Spain claimed it at first
and then France controlled it,

the early United States famously
purchased Louisiana from France

and so it kept trading hands
but everyone recognised

it had enormous
strategic importance.

After the purchase of
Louisiana in the early 1800s

the fort passed into the hands
of the fledgling American states.

And when the us was fighting
to maintain independence

from the British empire

it was going to be
called into action.

The war of 1812 was coming.

(Cannon fires)

Britain attempted to
attack New Orleans

which was a pivotal
port at that time.

The ground troops
attacked and some warships

tried to sail up the
Mississippi to join that attack.

They were beaten back
by the gunneries in this fort.

They weren't able to get past
this particular bend in the river.

Having denied it Navy support

the American troops under
general Andrew Jackson

were able to completely
rout the British army.

If the British warships had
been able to get through

the outcome could
have been very different.

Fort st Philip is really
instrumental in the American victory

and the battle of
New Orleans in 1815.

This is the moment when
britain gives up on its dream

of re-conquering the
American colonies

and bringing them back
into the British empire.

From a strategic point of view

what we learned from
the war of 1812 was

it was very important to
defend the lower Mississippi

and defend New Orleans

and having forts on
the lower Mississippi

could make that possible.

Following the close
call with the British,

Jackson became convinced
that another fortification

was needed to protect
the largest city in the south.

Jackson was a national hero.

He was, uh, considered
a military genius

and a brave
swashbuckling character.

So, his word carried
a lot of weight.

But, in fact, his military
advice was dead on,

I mean, this was an
absolutely crucial Avenue

for the young
country to control.

What was the fortification
proposed by Jackson?

And what ingenious piece
of engineering did it employ?

It took a decade
but the stronghold

named after the
name responsible for it

was eventually ready for action.

Now, fort Jackson and fort st
Philip were able to work together

to repel enemy attacks.

Plaquemines bend
in the Mississippi river

is at such an angle
that any sailing ship

at the time predates 1860s

would have been very
subject to bombardment

from the opposing bank
which would've been

fort st Philip at the time.

By having this fort on the west bank
and having them trapped between

these two forts is
incredibly dangerous

for the sailing ships.

There was another
ingenious piece of engineering

that made the two
forts even more deadly.

The forts were designed
to complement each other.

They would run an
underwater chain

between the forts to
block any river traffic

so any ships trying to
push up the river would be...

Would be caught in this
chain and they'd be hung up

and then they'd exposed to fire

from the casemates of
the fort facing the river.

And they'd be
annihilated in this crossfire

so it made, uh,
exceedingly difficult

for anybody to contemplate
an attack on New Orleans

or an attack up
the Mississippi river

into the heart of america.

It would be another
three decades

before the defences of fort
Jackson and fort st Philip

were put to the test.

This time the enemy
was no foreign army.

The threat came from
much closer to home.

You have to remember
at the start of the civil war

New Orleans was one of
the world's top port cities

and a massive
quantity of goods were...

Were travelling
through it every day,

so whoever controlled it really
had their hands around the windpipe

of the economy
of... of the south.

In 1862, the two forts were under
the command of the confederacy.

Union admiral David farragut

was determined to break
through the blockade

and so he moved
his 40 ships up river.

About a week before the
battle there was barges,

wooden schooner hulls that were
stretched between the two forts

and chain links were
linked to each one of them.

Farragut's fleet approached on
the morning of the 18th of April.

Their ships are equipped
with the newer heavy guns,

they also bring in a lot of smaller
boats equipped with large mortars.

Now, the one vulnerability
that these old style forts had

is they were pretty
vulnerable to, uh, mortar fire.

That means high trajectory
coming up and down

and, uh, landing explosive
shells in the middle of the fort.

Farragut's ships
unleashed a fierce barrage

on the 1,000 confederate
troops holed up inside.

The bombardment of over 8,100
projectiles coming in at this fort

in fort st Philip must
have been incredible.

There were brave men
that were fighting hard

that didn't know the outcome
of what was gonna happen

after the thunderous cannons
had been rocketing this place

from those ships for
hours and hours and hours.

The confederate garrisons
of these forts would've been

subjected to just really
hellish bombardment.

They were taking, uh, you know,

more than 1,000 rounds a
day from these union warships.

For five murderous days the
union fleet bombarded the forts

as they attempted
to break through.

Meanwhile union soldiers somehow

cut the linking chain
between the two forts.

It was all part
of a daring plan.

They had to get
past these two forts.

And farragut did
something really brilliant.

They could've tried to wait,

bombard the forts until
they overpowered them

but it's very hard firing
cannons from a ship

to overpower a fort with
unlimited ammunition

and many more cannons all
protected by many feet of solid brick

so he decided to lead his ships

around that bend in the river

between the two forts
knowing they would be

taking fire from both sides

in a single file but
he did it at night

when the clouds of
smoke and darkness

would somewhat obscure his ships

and he gambled
they could get through.

Using artillery at night
is a very iffy proposition

even for well-trained
troops in those days.

Both sides were blazing
away with every gun they had.

Amid the noise and confusion,

13 union ships managed to
break through the blockade.

The route to New
Orleans now lay open.

Downriver the union success
had a devastating effect.

The morale effect of this
union victory at fort Jackson

is huge I mean downriver
you see a complete collapse

of confederate resistance as,

you know, confederate
ships surrender,

confederate troops
along the river surrender

and pretty soon this
important tract of the Mississippi

is entirely controlled
by the union facilitating

a push up the river.

New Orleans had fallen

but what became of
the confederate troops

that remained inside the forts?

Any civil war army has real,
real problems with disease.

And you put people way out in
the swamps of southern Louisiana,

a malarial climate sitting
until they're attacked

this is not really something

that's going to work
for your troop morale.

They were fed up,
they were dispirited.

The conditions were terrible.

They actually mutinied.

They refused to fight any more
and they walked out which meant that

when the union army
came to take these forts,

they were able to do
it without firing a shot.

Fort st Philip and fort Jackson
had managed to survive the civil war

but what accounts for
the great damage to them

we see today?

You have hurricane
season that starts

1 June through 1
November every single year

and just that warm
water from the Caribbean

and then from, uh,
from the Gulf of Mexico

that generates those storms

and just the way it kind of
channels them in up through,

uh, the lower
portion of Louisiana.

It is truly something that
you are eagerly awaiting

and praying that a storm
doesn't directly hit you.

Since 1960s, uh, there's
been several hurricanes.

None worse than
hurricane Katrina in 2005.

Devastated this fort,

17ft of water settled
in for six weeks.

Although badly damaged,

fort Jackson
survived the hurricane

but on the other side of the
river fort st Philip fared less well.

What ultimately leads to
the destruction it's not a war,

it's not an attack, it's
not an assault it's nature.

Their position on
the Mississippi delta

puts the forts very much at
the mercy of the elements.

While fort st Philip
is all but gone,

fort Jackson may well
have a brighter future.

We're trying to get the national
park service to take this over,

our local effort
just tried to save it.

It's part of our history
and our heritage.

The battle here was
one of the bloodiest

in the civil war history.

But not just the battle,
the people that were here,

there's lives and
stories that are untold.

These forts are
important to preserve

because they tell part of
the story of the United States

and really world history

because this part of Louisiana
and New Orleans and the Mississippi

was a crossroads of global trade,
a crossroads of many nations,

many different peoples

and that's what's so
fascinating about it

and it's not as well
understood as it should be.

Now they are abandoned,
crumbling ruins.

Many remind us of dark times.

But some were once
beacons of hope and progress,

lasting testimonies
to human imagination,

enterprise and spirit.

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