All language subtitles for Abandoned.Engineering.S10E11.An.American.Exodus.1080p.WEB-DL.AAC2.0.H.264-squalor_track3_[eng]

A devastated Liberian
landmark with American origins.

They thought that they could
only fulfil their potential in Africa.

A Belgian town in the
shadow of its destroyer.

It had to expand or die

but one group of people
decided to do something about it.

An astronomical ruin above lake
eirie, a victim of its own success.

In an ironic turn of events,

it was the growth
of Cleveland itself

that led to the demise
of this observatory.

And a mountain top retreat in
Bolivia, drained of its lifeblood.

This building looks like it's
teetering on the edge of the world.

Decaying relics,
ruins of lost worlds.

Decaying relics,
ruins of lost worlds.

Sites haunted by the past, their
secrets waiting to be revealed.

In the heart of
Liberia's capital,

a disintegrating tower
dominates the skyline.

In the middle of
a busy street in

downtown Monrovia is
a run-down skyscraper.

What has survived are these
decorative concrete slabs.

Who are the people
depicted here?

The inside is every bit
decrepit as the outside.

Crumbling walls, rotting
stairwells, it's just a mess.

Crumbling walls, rotting
stairwells, it's just a mess.

There are still a few lingering
traces of its former grandeur.

The stand-out feature

is this massive abstract
stained glass window.

One large room looks
like an auditorium,

could this have been a cinema?

You would never
believe that this

was once one of Liberia's
most important buildings.

Erected by a centuries
old organisation,

with foundations in
an American exodus,

this hollow skyscraper would
witness their spectacular downfall.

Looking after this
decaying building

is an impossible task for
its caretaker losonny gray.

Is an impossible task for
its caretaker losonny gray.

Before its untimely demise,
this was Monrovia's cultural hub.

The building was a
combination of offices

and an entertainment centre,

housing the largest
auditorium in the entire country.

It even had the best
restaurants in Monrovia.

But its original function
was primarily political.

Built as the headquarters
of the political party

that would dominate a
century of Liberian politics,

it was named after the
organisation’s first president - ej roye -

an American.

Edward James roye was born in

Newark Ohio and when he was 31,
he decided to move himself to Liberia.

He became a very wealthy and
successful merchant, to the point

at which he could even travel to
the United States in his own ship.

Roye's rise to the head of one of
the world's oldest political parties

and the Liberian presidency began
in the turmoil of 19th century america.

In 1816, a group of influential
white Americans got together

in 1816, a group of influential
white Americans got together

to discuss what they
saw as the problem

of growing numbers of
emancipated African slaves.

They believed that with
their newfound freedom

the former slaves would
find it difficult to integrate

into white america

and they thought they could
only fulfil their potential in Africa.

So they established
an organisation

called the American
colonisation society or acs

to find and organise
the transportation

of former American
slaves to west Africa

and to set them up
when they arrived.

The federal government also assisted
the acs in buying an area of land.

This land would eventually
become part of modern Liberia.

Tempted by a new life away
from the nation that had seen them

enslaved for generations,
thousands set sail for Liberia's shores.

Enslaved for generations,
thousands set sail for Liberia's shores.

Altogether, some 15,000
African Americans settled

and they became known
as americo-Liberians.

They built
American-looking homes

that resembled plantation homes,

they built
American-looking churches,

they tried to create an American
society essentially in Africa.

Even its flag reflects
this relationship

to the United States because
the two flags are strikingly similar.

In 1869 a group of
these americo-Liberians

established the true whig party.

Only American settlers and their
descendants were allowed to vote

so this eliminated
any possibility

of competition from
competing parties.

When roye took office in 1870,

when roye took office in 1870,

he was immediately
faced with financial crisis.

His goal was to
modernise Liberia,

particularly its schools
and infrastructure,

but the way that he went about
raising money for these projects

would be his downfall.

He took punishing
loans from British banks,

which Liberia soon defaulted
on, spiralling in to recession.

Deep resentment grew towards
roye, he was accused of embezzlement

and even brought to trial

but managed to escape
before the sentencing.

Less than two years
after coming in to office,

he was overthrown
and died in 1872.

The exact circumstances
of roye's death are unknown.

One theory suggests he drowned
while swimming to the safety

one theory suggests he drowned
while swimming to the safety

of a British ship waiting
in Monrovia's harbour.

Although one might think that
roye's presidency ended in disgrace,

he is actually regarded
as a hero in Liberia,

which is why the party's
building was built in his honour.

Some believe that this headquarters
building was actually constructed

on the spot where he was killed.

Completed in 1965

nearly a century
after his death,

the ej roye building became the
headquarters of the true whigs.

And stood testament to an
era of americo-Liberian control.

But it wouldn't end up
being in use for very long

because Liberia was about to
be shaken to its very foundations.

In 1980, a coup d'etat would
bring an end to the party's long rule.

Aggrieved by centuries of dominance
by the americo-Liberian ruling class,

master sargent Samuel Doe led a
group of indigenous Liberian soldiers

into the president's mansion.

There they executed
the president

and began targeting his
ministers and party headquarters.

After they were
ousted from power,

the ej roye building was
confiscated and left to decay.

A government agency
eventually took over the building.

It became so derelict that it had
to be closed for reconstruction.

In 2005, the true whig party

made a bid to return to
frontline Liberian politics.

But reclaiming the ej roye
building is an uphill struggle.

They still see the building

as the party's and a fierce
legal battle is ongoing to stop

any construction or
possession of the building

by government officials.

The party has filed a
$us10 billion lawsuit

against the government.

Even in its ruined state,

this building is still regarded
as a symbol and an icon

this building is still regarded
as a symbol and an icon

of Liberia and Monrovia.

High in the andes mountains
above the city of La Paz,

a ramshackle complex
sits alone and exposed.

This building looks like it's
teetering on the edge of the world.

The paintwork is degraded,

roof panels are missing and
there's a faded grandeur to the place.

As you get closer,

other structures appear to
rise out of the barren earth.

This strange glass pyramid
looks more like an art installation.

Almost like a mini louvre.

Almost like a mini louvre.

Here the air is thin and
the weather is ferocious.

This is extremely high altitude,

17,500 feet above sea level,

that's higher than the
base camp a at Everest.

This place was once busy
and bustling with tourists,

who would come
from all over the globe.

You can see something
pretty dramatic has taken place.

This isn't an isolated case,

what happened here is
happening all across the planet

and the ramifications
are only just beginning.

This is chacaltaya
in western Bolivia.

Together, these
dilapidated structures

together, these
dilapidated structures

hold an extraordinary
claim to fame.

This is the highest
ski resort in the world

but it doesn't really
resemble a ski resort anymore.

The slopes are
empty, the bars silent.

Samuel mendoza is
the guardian of this site.

He still remembers what this
place was like in its heyday.

Skiing was brilliant
all year round

and it was rated
as a class one site

for international
skiing competition.

This place was so popular it even
hosted national ski championships.

After a day out on the slopes,

visitors could let their hair
down at the resorts central hub,

the club endino refuge.

Samuel would stay
up here most nights.

Living and skiing
this high however

was extremely taxing
on the human body.

Locals have another method of
dealing with the altitude sickness.

For a long time,
chacaltaya thrived.

But unbeknown to many
the resort was doomed.

A hidden threat was
about to change everything.

This used to be a full-scale
glacier that lasted all year round,

this used to be a full-scale
glacier that lasted all year round,

but as you can see from
the lack of snow and ice,

the situation has
changed in recent years.

Scientists set up
a measuring station

to monitor the
size of the glacier

and they noticed it was
losing mass every year.

As global temperatures increase,

the atmosphere gets
warmer and warmer

and the altitude at
which things freeze

keeps getting higher and higher.

Once the glacier
began to lose mass,

it only accelerated and
this is due to the colour

which determines
its reflectivity,

which determines
its reflectivity,

so is it lost ice the
colour kept getting darker

as the lower layers mixed
with more and more dirt.

Nobody appreciated quite
how fast this would happen.

In 2005, scientists predicted

that this glacier would
last another 10 years,

however, this was optimistic.

By 2009, this 18,000 year old
glacier had completely disappeared.

With it came the
closure of the resort.

The ramifications were
far greater in La Paz,

almost 6,000 feet
below the resort.

These glaciers are
not just commodities

for tourists to enjoy,

they're essential to supplying water
to the neighbouring communities.

They depended on the glaciers

to hold the water
during the rainy season,

acting like a dam so that it would
be available during the dry seasons.

And now that this
glacier is gone,

water rationing has become a
reality for people in these communities.

Today the mountain is silent,

yet Samuel still takes his familiar
route to check on the refuge.

For him not all hope is lost.

Unfortunately that looks more
and more like wishful thinking.

As the situation with global warming
only gets worse around the world,

the situation at chacaltaya is just
going to grow more and more extreme.

The glacier is likely
never going to return.

On the banks of
Belgium's river scheldt

lies the carcass of
a once thriving town.

We're in the
outskirts of antwerp,

Belgium's second city and a key
piece of real estate within Europe.

This is an ordinary working
class neighbourhood

sandwiched between the
city and acres of farmland.

And it looks just really,
really abandoned.

Remains of the lives lived
here point to a recent exodus.

There's hardly a window

that isn't boarded up and
the streets are quiet and silent.

It's almost like a time capsule
but from very recent history.

The dereliction on show
doesn't offer an easy answer

to what happened here.

This is not Pompeii,

there's no huge natural disaster
here, but where are all the people?

Dieter verschooren
is a local journalist,

he has always known
the Belgian town of doel

as a shell of its former self.

So this is the
main street of doel,

when you enter the village you
always come through this road.

When lots of people lived here,

you had a bakery and
you had grocery store

and even a gas station,
which is now all abandoned.

Some even find it ironic

that this once purposeful
community now stands neglected.

So sometimes you can see
in the poems on the buildings

that they have a small wordplay

with the name doel because doel
means purpose in English as well.

Although the majority of the
town is boarded up and empty,

there are signs that a
few stalwart residents

continue to live amongst
the relics of a better time.

Continue to live amongst
the relics of a better time.

This is one of the signs that
people put outside their houses

to show that the
house is still lived in.

This particular sign
says that this isn't a zoo,

just to prevent people or
tourists standing around here

and staring at their house,

because how would you
feel if someone just comes

and stand in front of your
house and takes pictures of it.

And as you can see,

everything is being closed watched
by cameras because they do have

a lot of vandalism and they're,

they're trying
everything to prevent it

and sadly, it's the only
way to give large fines

and have everything
monitored by the cameras,

which are all over the place.

This isn't just like a movie
set or a Hollywood theatre,

this actually is a village

and it's important that people
know so they stop vandalising it,

they stop coming here,

they stop coming here,

acting like it's an
amusement park, which it isn't.

Doel's inhabitants have been
locked in a battle for the survival

of their town for
over half a century.

The cause of this fight lies
just beyond its vacant streets.

So, right in front of me is a
nuclear power plant of doel,

it's really an institute here.

When you mention the name doel,
you immediately say nuclear power plant.

It's an eyesight that
you won't forget, er,

it's always spectacular to see

the large towers with
the steam coming out of it.

Yet it wasn't the spectre of nuclear
melt down that emptied the town.

But another mega project
on the far side of the river.

That's where all the
container terminals are,

that's where all the
container terminals are,

where the large
container ships come in,

the people of doel really
live on the, on the edge

of the harbour and
the industrial activities.

The port of antwerp is one of
the busiest and biggest seaports

in the entire world

and it has been at the top of
that list not just in recent history,

for hundreds and
hundreds of years.

But in that time,
shipping has changed.

As global consumerism took off in
the second half of the 20th century,

the infrastructure it required
began to feel the strain.

Trade is ramping up in really
fascinating dynamic ways.

There is not only food, there
are chemicals, there's clothing.

If the port of antwerp
were to stay competitive,

it had to expand or die.

Port authorities soon
turned their attention to doel.

Port authorities soon
turned their attention to doel.

They see this quaint little
village sitting just across the river

and they don't just see a
village, they see opportunity.

In 1963, the town was
earmarked for demolition,

to make way for an
expansion of the port.

The 50 year battle to
save doel had begun.

This is a tiny village
against the state

and an incredibly
wealthy port authority.

First they have to get rid
of the resident population.

The authorities began a
coordinated effort to remove

as many residents as possible.

It was actually made illegal
to construct any more houses

in this area.

Most folks just
gave up the ghost,

they packed up and leave and
the place starts its transformation

they packed up and leave and
the place starts its transformation

from thriving quaint
village to ghost town.

That must be very weird to
have to leave your homes,

leave everything behind,

everything you know
er, about your childhood,

that must have been
terrible for those people.

Despite the pressure,
the people fought back.

Local council member,
boudenwijn vlegels,

remembers how it played out.

The work of the activists
certainly raised the profile of doel.

Suddenly, people in antwerp
were aware that this area

was not going to go
down without a fight.

If the authorities
wanted a quiet land grab,

if the authorities
wanted a quiet land grab,

the activists made sure that
this was never going to happen.

By 1978, after 15 years
of battling the plans,

it seemed that David
had beaten Goliath.

The plans to clear the
village were placed on hold

but this is by no means
the end of the story.

By the 1990s, it became clear
that the fight wasn't over yet.

Starting in 1995, the authorities
again looked to empty the town.

They offered to buy the homes
of any remaining residents

and they gave the impression

that the longer the
residents waited,

the lower the offer on
the homes would be.

It's about this time that
the population of doel

goes from about
900 to 300 or 400

and things really become
desperate at this point.

Officially, the idea was that the
houses would be rented to residents

as the fate of the village
was being decided.

But what happened was
that a lot of the buildings

were simply abandoned
and start to fall in to disrepair,

which suited the
authorities just fine.

But just as the previous
generation had in the 1960s and 70s,

residents and concerned
citizens pulled together.

One group decides they're not
going to lay down and just take it,

they're going to fight.

There were protests,
there were rallies,

there were protests,
there were rallies,

there was petitions, people
wanted their voices to be heard.

The battle to save the town
raged for over a decade.

Despite all the
campaigner's efforts, in 2008,

all seemed to be lost.

Authorities took the brutal
decision to send in the bulldozers,

they knew it would
look bad and it did,

but the bulldozers went in and
started knocking down buildings.

But soon, there
was a breakthrough.

In 2009, it was ruled the
state could not forcibly remove

the residents, so the
bulldozing was stopped.

They were essentially
at a stalemate,

the state being stopped in
its tracks by the proletariat.

The state being stopped in
its tracks by the proletariat.

In 2018, more than 50 years
after the first plans to destroy doel

were announced,

the remaining residents
received a welcome bit of news.

It was decided that the port of
antwerp would be extended elsewhere,

leaving the
residents of doel safe.

In Cleveland, Ohio, sits
a once noble structure

intending to help satisfy
humankind's thirst for knowledge.

It looks like a pretty residential
road on the edge of east Cleveland

but if you look closer,

you'll see that it's a
Hawking building sitting

on a hillside
overlooking the town.

It's got odd wings going
off in different angles

but most dramatically, there
are two large domes on the roof.

The old domes are majestic but
they're completely falling apart.

Built at a time of
technological innovation,

this site played its part in
a great scientific discovery.

It's clear this was an observatory
meant for gazing into the heavens,

but the neighbourhood
it's in was not the kind

you would typically put
an observatory today.

You would typically put
an observatory today.

Vines and decay have
accumulated on the walls

but somehow the
academic grandeur

has remained intact
for all these years.

The overall aspect is
one of sadness really,

clearly this was an
important structure in its day,

and now it is neglected.

Who built this
centre of learning

and how did the march of progress
bring it all crashing back down

to earth?

I was here on my wedding day,

I was married in the
observatory 41 years ago.

I think to be back here,

it seems like it might be
a little bit daunting inside,

I'm a little bit worried about
the integrity of the building,

the integrity of the floors,
we'll just see how it goes.

Monica pershey lives locally.

Back in 1980, ed,
her husband to be

was studying the
history of astronomy.

The observatory was
their dream wedding venue.

So we were looking for a
place to be married and ed said,

“how about the observatory?”

Ed had his interest in
astronomy and in telescopes

and all sorts of
technological equipment.

My father, my uncles,
all worked at NASA,

so I grew up with space exploration
as a daily event in my household,

so it just seemed to
kind of fall together.

It was snowing, late December,

very, very cold, we were
married in the morning

so it was still kind
of dim and cloudy

and it was a beautiful
building at the time

and it was warm and cosy inside.

Like many of the
city's residents,

this building holds a
special place in their hearts.

This building holds a
special place in their hearts.

Which makes its demise
all the more upsetting.

I kind of feel like it
didn't have to be this way,

things do fall apart,

but the vandalism is
particularly heart-breaking to me.

It was very different
than it is now,

the room had a large
brass rail in the middle,

along the walls were murals,

notably astronomers,
Galileo, copernicus, as I recall.

There was a lot of woodwork.

It had a very
luxurious feel to it.

The observatory was
first opened in the 1920s,

but the story of its conception

dates back four decades
earlier when two men -

wooster Reid Warner and ambrose
Swayze - decided to go into business.

Wooster Reid Warner and ambrose
Swayze - decided to go into business.

So in 1880, Cleveland was one of
the most important iron-making centres

in the United States.

The Warner and Swayze
company quickly became

a leading manufacturer of precision
tools and machine instruments,

but it was with their telescopes
that they managed to change

the world.

They weren't academics,

they weren't scientists and they
certainly weren't astronomers,

they were just two
passionate individuals

who desperately wanted to know more
about what's out there beyond earth.

The successful businessmen
were also keen philanthropists

and tried to put their
wealth to good use.

Looking up at the stars on a
clear night was their shared passion

but they wanted it to be so
much more than just a hobby.

This is the Warner and
Swayze observatory.

Named after the two men
who funded its construction.

Named after the two men
who funded its construction.

For many years this is where
students from case western,

it's now case western
reserve university

did astronomical observations
er, there was a prime, prime site.

John graboski is a historian

at case western
reserve university today.

As a Cleveland native,

he understands the importance of
the observatory to the local community.

This site is really, it's a
landmark in the city's history

because it links
to several things.

One, it links to
the rise of science

and astronomy in Cleveland

and that really links
directly to the creation

of the case school of
applied science in 1881.

And it also really reflects on
the industrial history of Cleveland,

because late 19th century,

Cleveland was burgeoning
with industrial activity

and the science that was being
funded and really pushed forward

and the science that was being
funded and really pushed forward

by people like the
Warner and Swayze.

The telescope Warner and
Swayze made for this observatory

was a 9.5 inch
refractor telescope.

In 1920 when this
telescope was installed,

it wasn't really on
the cutting edge,

there were much larger telescopes
in use in other parts of the world.

Where we are now
in the dome room,

for the first telescope
that was here

and as we look around
the dome room right now,

you can see the mechanism
of rollers to move the dome,

you can see the slit where the
telescope would have been through.

So this was you
know, the mechanics,

the typical mechanics for
an observatory at that point.

As the decades passed,

the capability of the observatory's
telescope was soon eclipsed

by more powerful models.

If this site was to play
any meaningful role

if this site was to play
any meaningful role

in scientific advancement,

it was going to need
some serious investment.

In November 1941, a brand new
24 inch telescope was installed.

Well the second dome
was for a larger telescope,

it has a spectrometer,

it has technologies that
allow them to capture images

and that really
enhances the seeing here.

Over the next 20 or so years,

some really significant work
would be done at this observatory.

Scientists managed to prove
the theory that the milky way

was a spiral galaxy, and the cooler
stars were located near its centre.

This is a really
important discovery

in understanding both
the formation of galaxies

but also their
evolution, their life cycle.

But the observatory's
position at the forefront

of astronomical
research was under threat,

a powerful force was
encroaching from the west.

The outskirts of
Cleveland turned out to be

a really unfortunate place
to build an observatory.

As the city grew,

so did the halo of light that
surrounded its downtown and suburbs.

And with each new street light
and home and car headlight,

the skies became brighter
and the stars became dimmer.

The fact the city
grew around it,

this became a bad
place to look at the stars

because the light
pollution was so bad here.

It became pretty clear that
the golden age of observation

it became pretty clear that
the golden age of observation

was coming to an
end for the observatory.

The city's light pollution meant
the Warner and Swayze observatory

was now only useful

as a setting for local amateurs
to explore the heavens.

So the observatory transitioned
from being a place of science

to a place of the people.

This became a great place
for the public to come and learn

a little bit about astronomy

and get some wonderful glimpses
of the planets and the stars.

The observatory was hailed
as one of the best in the country

for public viewing.

But by the 1980s,

its star had fallen so low
it was entirely abandoned.

The observatory
lost its scientific value,

failed to pull in visitors

and it was the end of
an era for star lovers.

The impact of Warner
and Swayze's investment

can still be felt
all across the city,

the observatory that
bears their names

will always be
remembered fondly.

They created one of the
major industries in Cleveland

but both of them invested

their fortunes in
education and in science.

The domes are a place
where generations of students

and scientists looked at the sky

and tried to discern what was out
there, tried to discover new things.

And that makes it special.

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