All language subtitles for Mysteries.of.the.Abandoned.Hidden.America.S02E03.1080p.WEB.h264-CBFM_track3_[eng]

[narrator]
Abandoned structures

hold the secrets
of America's past.

A sprawling campus

witness to unspeakable horror.

[Mark Lukens] This place
was set up

with the very best
of intentions.

Unfortunately it turned into
a hell hole.

[narrator] A decaying suburb

which redefined
national labor relations.

[Susan Bennett] People,
they were
allured by the history

and the narrative
and the mystery.

[narrator]
And crumbling structures

that withstood an attack
on America's shores.

[Tom Modugno] They were
scared to death.

So sure enough,
the next night,

they start shooting up
into the sky

because somebody
saw something.

[narrator] Scattered across
the United States

are abandoned structures.

Forgotten ruins of the past.

Monuments to a bygone era.

Each shines a light
on the story

of this land and its people.

These are the secrets
of hidden America.

On the outskirts
of the Windy City

lies a suburb full of
dilapidated structures

which defined
America's industrial past

and shaped its future.

[Dr. Auerbach]
Where we are now

is 13 miles
from downtown Chicago.

When it was built,

it would have been a distinct
and separate community.

[Sarah Churchwell]
We are in an area

that seems maybe suburban,

except as you get
closer to it,

it's clearly not an average,
modern suburb.

[Susan] People that come
to Chicago

and stop here
are always surprised.

It's like stepping back
into the past.

It's just wonderful to live
in a rich, historical place

that attracts new interests,
new culture.

This is a little slice
of old-school Chicago.

[narrator] As the nation's
second city boomed,

this place was built
with a plan in mind.

[Sarah] These elaborate
red brick buildings,

they're very grandiose,
they're very ornamental.

And they're actually
also quite uniform.

You can see that
they're all designed together.

[narrator] The bones
of old construction

leaves clues
as to when and why

this place was founded.

[Dr. Mitchell] I see
the date 1889,

which is the height of
the Gilded Age in Chicago.

[Dr. Auerbach] In the later
19th century,

Chicago was the gateway
to westward expansion.

This community was at
the center of all of that.

[narrator] National Parks
Assistant Superintendent

Susan Bennett has been handed

a unique opportunity
with this project.

I was very excited
to be the first person

assigned to this building

as we were beginning
to develop it.

The stories that happened
with the company

associated with this town,

starting in the 1880s,
all the way today,

still show up in
our headlines every week.

[Sarah] In the 1880s,

the railroad industry
really exploded

across the United States,

and particularly in Chicago.

And it was associated with

an industrialist
named George Pullman.

[Dr. Auerbach] Pullman was
originally an engineer.

He built his career
helping construct Chicago,

creating solid foundations
in this wet, swampy ground.

He then took
the fortune that he made

and reinvested it.

And his new business
was called

the Pullman Palace
Car Company.

[narrator] Pullman set up
this company

to overcome
one glaring problem

of early train travel.

[Sarah] George Pullman took
a couple of long train trips

and realized how
totally uncomfortable it was,

and thought there was
really a space there

for making
something comfortable

for travelers.

[Dr. Auerbach] Pullman
designed special compartments

with flip-down beds,

so you could sleep
when you wanted to,

and then you could put them up

and you could sit easily
and move about the cabin.

[Sarah] The Pullman car
was born,

which became, eventually,

the kind of standard
of luxury travel

for railroad passengers,

not just across
the United States

but across the world.

[narrator] Fueled by
the booming demand
for his railcars,

George Pullman
decided to build

a carriage works
and staff accommodation

on 4,000 acres
just outside Chicago.

This is the Pullman factory
and company town.

[Susan] The town of Pullman
and its design

in its original envision

was a fabulous place
to live and work.

[Dr. Auerbach]
Pullman really cared about

the moral, physical,
intellectual wellbeing

of his workers.

So this town was gonna have
a library,

a church.

He wasn't just trying
to make better workers.

He was trying to give
those workers better lives.

[narrator] Pullman established
a monopoly

on the sleeping-car market.

And demand for labor

led him to make

some progressive decisions.

[Dr. Mitchell] By 1900,

African Americans were
40% of Pullman's workforce,

which means that
they were pretty vital.

These were maids and porters,

many of whom
were formerly enslaved

or were first-generation
free men and women.

At one time,
the Pullman Company,

here in Chicago
and nationally,

hired more
African American workers

than any other business
in America.

[narrator] But when
the Pullman Company

faced its first
economic shock,

a series of bad decisions

would almost start
a revolution.

There's also a dark side
to company towns,

in that they're constructed

to keep all of the value

of the workers' wages
within the system.

So, sure, you get
dedicated living quarters,

you get a library,
you get a canteen.

But you also spend
all your money

at the company store.

And part of your salary

goes into your rent.

[narrator] At the end
of the 19th century,

failed harvests
and overextended railroads

led to an economic panic.

The Pullman Company
faced its first crisis

and decided its workers
would take the hit.

In response to the crisis,

Pullman sacks some employees,

they lowered wages
by between 20 and 30%,

but they left rents
and the prices

in the company store
exactly the same.

And so he said,
"We will not negotiate."

So the workers
walked off the job,

the gates behind us were shut,

and the great
1894 Pullman Strike began.

[narrator]
But the local strikes

that began here
at the Pullman factory

soon became
a nationwide problem.

More and more train workers
around the country

struck in solidarity,

and by the end
of the Pullman Strike,

125,000 strikers
had struck in sympathy

with the Pullman workers,

and it brought absolute chaos.

[narrator] As the strike grew,

federal mail deliveries
were stopped.

President
Grover Cleveland's response

would be brutal.

In 1894, a series of strikes
that started here

in George Pullman's
company town

paralyzed
the American economy.

In Chicago,
the conflict turned violent.

Railway workers on strike

destroyed hundreds
of railway cars.

And the troops on the ground

responded by opening fire,
killing 30 workers.

[narrator]
After the military crackdown,

the rest of the strikers
lost their nerve,

and were rehired
by the Pullman Company

on the condition
they did not unionize.

But the company's
African American workers

were heavily
discriminated against.

[Dr. Mitchell] Despite the
vital role that they played,

porters were often mistreated.

They had to put up with
a variety of racial epithets

which were common at the time.

And many passengers
would simply call them

by the name of George,

which was the first name

of the company's founder.

[Susan] Pullman porters
had a good job on the cars.

They did get a wage,

but they weren't paid
very well.

They knew that to survive
and thrive,

they would have
to hustle for tips.

[narrator] Three decades
after the Pullman strikes,

the company's porters would
once again band together

to fight for better treatment.

[Dr. Auerbach] In 1925,

the Brotherhood of Sleeping
Car Porters was created,

led by A. Philip Randolph.

Their motto, appropriately,

was, "Fight or be slaves."

[narrator] The nation's first
African American trade union

fought for better conditions
and wage increases,

changing its members'
lives forever.

[Susan] Many of the porters
were well-esteemed

within their communities.

They owned homes,

they sent their children
to school and to colleges.

They became a part of
the American middle class.

[narrator] The influence of

the Brotherhood
of Sleeping Car Porters

would soon be felt
across the nation.

[Dr. Auerbach]
A. Philip Randolph would also

work with a young
Dr. Martin Luther King,

helping organize
his march on D.C.

when King would give
the famous
"I Have A Dream" speech.

[narrator] But by the time
of Dr. King's speech in 1963,

the Pullman company's star
was on the wane.

Across America,
during the 1950s and '60s,

the car and the plane
simply defeated the train.

There wasn't call anymore
for the rolling hotels.

[narrator] The Pullman factory
finally shut in 1969,

and was vacant for decades.

[Susan] And regrettably,

there was
an arson fire in 1988.

The clock tower collapsed.

The bell
that was in it melted.

Fire caught
to the front-directing shops

on the south side
and took them down.

[narrator] Many parts of
the old factory

and company town
still lie in ruin.

Today, this model town
and factory

which once stood
alone on the prairie

has become
just another neighborhood

on Chicago's southside.

But one Chicagoan
has not forgotten about

George Pullman's company town.

[Susan] President Obama
used a law

called the Antiquities Act,

and therefore
he was able to create

a National Park Service unit

called
Pullman National Monument.

[narrator] President Obama
has a personal connection
to this site.

[Obama] Pullman porters
helped push forward our rights

to vote and to work
and to live as equals.

One of those
porters' great-granddaughter

had the chance to go to

a great college
and a great law school,

and had the chance to climb
the ladder of success.

And I know that because today,

she's the First Lady of
the United States of America,

-Michelle Obama.
-[cheering and applause]

[narrator] Since 2015,

efforts have been made
to maintain and repair

many of the historic buildings
in the Pullman town.

The clock tower was restored
after the devastating fire,

and has been turned into
a visitor center,

so future generations
may learn

about how this town
changed the nation.

Labor issues,
government regulation,

manufacturing, capitalism,

the balance of all of these
powers are still playing out

in an American economy

and the lives
of Americans today.

[narrator]
In the Empire State,

there's a group of buildings

whose horrors
led to a new hope.

[Mark] When I first came here,

we went into the big building,

and the first thing
that hit you

when you walk in the door

was this incredible stench.

It's almost like a kind of
living death to be here.

[Jim Meigs] We are in
the beautiful
Hudson River Valley

about 45 miles north
of New York City.

We see a sprawling complex
of buildings,

well-made of stone,
kind of a neoclassical style.

[Katherine Alcock] There are
lots of strange signs

of habitation
like play equipment

and multiple basketball hoops,

far more than
any ordinary town would need.

[narrator] To the west
of the site,

a copse of trees
hides a ghostly secret.

We come to these rows
and rows of metal signs

that look almost like crosses.
This is a cemetery.

[narrator] For some,
this place offered a reprieve.

[Wilbur Aldridge]
This was a facility

that maintained life
24 hours a day,

and provided love to those
who needed it.

[narrator] But for many who
called these buildings home,

the dream
turned into a nightmare.

Just north of New York City,

a set of buildings
lie abandoned.

Reverend Mark Lukens
knows them well.

[Mark] I grew up
about 10 miles from here.

This very pastoral,
beautiful campus,

it looked like a university
or something.

I came here for training.

And it would seem like
it was deserted.

You never saw the people
who lived here.

[narrator] Mark came here
to help residents

with developmental
and physical disabilities.

And this site
was built to revolutionize

how they were treated.

[Dr. Szulgit] This was
a radical departure

from the idea
of putting people

out of sight, out of mind,

into these
sort of high-rise asylums.

[narrator] First opening
its doors in 1911,

this 130-building campus

was the vision of a man
ahead of his time.

[Mark]
William Pryor Letchworth

was considered a great man.

He was a person who was
very concerned with

people who in those days

were called morons and idiots
and imbeciles.

[Katherine] Thanks to his role
on the State Board
of Charities,

William Letchworth
ended up visiting

a lot of asylums, and he was
shocked and horrified.

[Jim] He found people with
developmental disabilities

imprisoned, kept away
from their family.

He had a dream of taking
a beautiful, scenic spot

and building a town

for people
with mental disabilities

where they could live
and be safe.

[narrator]
William Letchworth convinced

New York State
to act on his vision.

This 2,300-acre campus
is Letchworth Village.

But before construction could
be completed, tragedy struck.

Letchworth died just a year
before the facility opened,

and so he wasn't able
to see his vision realized.

[narrator] Even without
its champion,

Letchworth Village
began enriching

the lives of its patients.

Wilbur Aldridge
first worked here in 1964,

aged 17,

and stayed
for the next three decades.

The goal was to provide
as much normalcy

as one could have

out in the world.

There were farms here.

The patients, they loved
working on the farms.

[Mark] It was supposed
to help them

with the community,
help them to learn skills.

[narrator]
To enrich their lives,

the patients
also learned sewing,

gardening and toy making.

But the success
of these schemes

would become
the facility's downfall.

As news spread
of the good work,

demand for places
grew out of control.

Patient numbers
just kept rising and rising,

and soon they couldn't let
the people out anymore.

[Wilbur] I mean, at one point,

there were
over 3,000 patients here.

So that was
the biggest problem.

There was
also a lack of staffing.

[narrator]
The low staff numbers

and swelling
patient population

meant outdoor activities
ground to a halt.

And in the 1960s,

authorities shut the farm.

[Wilbur] The patients
weren't being paid

for working on the farm.

With the Age of Enlightenment,

there were people who felt
was a form of slavery.

[narrator] With the patients
now stuck indoors,

Letchworth Village had become

the very thing
it had set out to end.

It's something
Mark experienced firsthand.

[Mark] Everything was done
in the most dehumanizing way.

Nobody wore their own clothes
unless it was visiting day.

[Wilbur] On an average day,
they would wake up

at around 6 o'clock
in the morning,

go for breakfast,
come back to the cottage.

They would then remain
in that cottage

pretty much all day.

Till then they were just idle,

except for the fact the staff
interacted with them.

[narrator] Out of public view
for decades,

the residents
suffered silently.

But in 1965,
there was a glimmer of hope.

[Jim] New York senator
Robert Kennedy

became very concerned about
facilities like Letchworth.

He conducted a tour
across the state

to see
what was really going on.

Kennedy was pretty horrified
by what he found.

[narrator] In an impassioned
plea to the American people,

Kennedy proclaimed that
the horrors he'd seen

bordered on a snake pit.

[Jim] Robert Kennedy
talked about

the crisis
in these facilities,

but not a lot
of change happened.

The sad reality is,
out of sight, out of mind.

So it's easy for the public
to forget it.

[narrator] Yet just
seven years later,

another visit
would throw the future

of Letchworth Village
into doubt.

In Letchworth Village,
New York,

Senator Robert Kennedy
had failed

to stop
the patients' suffering.

But life here was about to be
thrown into chaos

with the visit of
an ambitious young reporter.

[Mark] 1972, Geraldo Rivera

visited various institutions
including this one

with his TV cameras.

[Dr. Szulgit] He purposely
shows up two hours early

with his crew,
and what does he find?

He finds
exactly what he feared,

is that the people
are terribly treated.

And he exposes this all
to the world.

[Mark] Suddenly,
on the 6 o'clock news,

you could see the horror.

People in big, open rooms
with nothing to do.

After Geraldo's exposé,
everything began to change.

[Jim] What happened was,

the idea that these
institutions were just bad...

there was a movement
for deinstitutionalization.

To let these people
out of these facilities.

[Mark] A dehumanizing system
was changed

by the fact that
people looked at it and said,

"Those are human beings.
That could be my son.

That could be my daughter.

And we're gonna change this,
damn it."

[narrator]
Over the following decades,

as a reaction
to the horrors seen here,

people with
developmental disabilities

were no longer locked away,

and the population
of Letchworth Village dropped.

Until in 1996,

it shut its doors for good.

Nearly 30 years on,

the majority of the campus
still lies abandoned.

Yet some of the buildings have
been given a new lease of life

by a neighboring town.

Some of the buildings
have been restored

and being used
as government offices,

and there are plans
to restore others as housing.

[narrator] While many
of the buildings

have been adapted
for their new roles,

today, attitudes towards
disabled people

are still evolving,

as we learn from
the suffering of the patients

of Letchworth Village.

[Mark] It was
a terrible place.

But the horror
sparked a revolution.

A revolution
that changed for the better

the lives of
tens of thousands of people.

[narrator]
On California's coast,

one building
saw global conflict

come to the shores
of the United States.

[Dr. Davis-Hayes]
Santa Barbara is one of

the most beautiful
coastal cities

in California.

It is sought after
for its resorts, its hotels.

But it also has
just excellent real estate.

[narrator] But one property

stands out from the rest.

[Rob Bell] Traveling down
this road,

out of nowhere,

this distinguished-looking
building appears.

[narrator] For a building
so modest,

what happened here
had a monumental impact.

[Tom] They wanted
to make a statement,

and they spent
a lot of time and effort

on making it special.

This was their way
of showing appreciation

and making something
that they could be proud of.

[narrator] There are hints
near and far

to what this place was.

Just down the road,
there seems to be

some kind of
oil-related infrastructure.

And off in the distance
of the ocean,

you can see some kind
of structure out there.

But what we don't know
is how they're all connected.

[narrator]
And a legendary tale

has consumed this area
for decades.

[Rob] Even though
the building may be small,

what happened here is huge.

This is where global conflict
reached American shores.

[narrator] Tom Modugno
has lived here all his life,

and is proud of
his town's history.

[Tom] If you look at
the side of the hill there,

you can see
a big cactus patch.

That has been there
for a hundred years.

And we call it Kate's Cactus.

The reason is, Kate Den Bell

was the woman that owned
this ranch at one time.

She said, "If you drill
where that cactus grows,

you will become rich
beyond your wildest dreams."

And she was right.

[Linda McRobbie]
California was synonymous

with the gold rush
in the 1800s.

But by the turn
of the century,

there was a new product
that was interesting people -

black gold. Oil.

[narrator] And this place

proved to be
a black gold mine.

This is the Ellwood Oil Field.

[Rob] It was one of
the largest oil fields
in California.

It was even the most
productive oil field

in the world at one point,

producing over 100 million
barrels of oil

in three decades.

[narrator] And this is
the flagship building

of the company that once owned
this whole oil field.

This is
the Barnsdall-Rio Grande
gas station.

[Tom] So, it opened in 1929,

and they chose this location

because of its proximity
to the original oil field,

but also this was
the main highway.

This was Highway One.

It was quite a gathering spot
for the community.

Everybody out here,
all the farmers and stuff,

this would be
the place to meet

and, you know, catch up

on the neighborhood gossip.
[chuckles]

[narrator] These oil fields
were so large,

they extended
beyond the shore.

[Tom] The whole look
of the whole coast

changed dramatically in
a very short period of time.

By late 1930s,
this whole coastline

was just covered with
pier after pier after pier.

[narrator] And Platform Holly

was built
to exploit this resource.

[Linda] At the time, Holly had

some of the deepest oil wells
in the world,

reaching oil deposits
as far down as 3,500 feet,

and stretching 10,000 feet
to the north, east and west.

[narrator] But in 1942,

a secret attack would turn
the whole nation's attention

to this quiet oil field.

During the 1940s,

the Barnsdall-Rio Grande
gas station

was supplying fuel to drivers

on California's
main coastal highway.

But a very different vehicle

would throw this place
into chaos.

[Tom] It was
February 23rd, 1942.

A short time after
Pearl Harbor.

California was
already very tense.

Everybody was gathered around
their radios listening to

President Roosevelt's
fireside chat.

[Linda] At around 7 p.m.
that night,

a 365-foot Japanese submarine

made its way silently up
the Santa Barbara channel

and stopped off the coast
of Ellwood.

[narrator] The commander
of the submarine,

Kozo Noshino,

who was apparently
familiar with Ellwood,

ordered his crew to fire
the deck guns for 20 minutes.

There was shells
flying everywhere.

But luckily they missed
the gas station.

[narrator] This was
the first time

mainland America
was directly attacked

during World War II.

All of California
was in panic mode,

and that next night
it was full blackout,

everybody had to keep
their lights off.

[narrator]
But this sneak attack

would be followed by something
much more dramatic.

[Linda] On February 24th,

several hours after
the initial attack on Ellwood,

the American military
was alerted to enemy activity

120 miles west of LA.

Air raid sirens sounded

and troops
took to their posts.

More than 1,400 shells
were fired

in the space of a few hours.
It was chaos.

[narrator] But when
the all-clear sounded,

there were no signs of downed
Japanese aircraft.

Troops had spent hours

firing at what they thought
was the enemy.

But it turns out they'd been
shooting at a weather balloon.

[narrator] Luckily, the impact
of what came to be known as

the Battle of Los Angeles
was superficial,

and was put down
to war nerves.

Yet in the aftermath of
the bombardment of Ellwood,

many questioned
why this small town

was singled out

to wreak havoc on America.

[Dr. Davis-Hayes] The story
goes that Kozo Noshino,

who was the captain
of a Japanese oil tanker,

stopped at
the Ellwood Oil Fields

for refueling.

[narrator] Noshino took
a stroll along Ellwood's beach

and spotted
an unusual-looking cactus.

Determined to take
a cutting back home,

he climbed the fence
that surrounded it.

[Dr. Davis-Hayes]
According to the story,

while climbing this fence,
he lost his footing

and fell headfirst
into this cactus.

[narrator] A group
of local oil workers

watched and laughed
as Noshino struggled

in the thorny cactus patch.

[Dr. Davis-Hayes]
Noshino is mortified.

And from that moment,

he vows to seek revenge.

[narrator]
According to legend,

World War II
grants Noshino his opportunity

as he is chosen
to command a submarine.

His attack on Ellwood
was retribution

for his earlier humiliation.

Now, all of this
makes for a great story.

But the reality is that
there's no evidence

to suggest that
Noshino ever was the captain

of a Japanese oil tanker,

nor that
he'd ever visited Ellwood.

[narrator] This station
continued to pump gas
after the war.

But in 1947,

the main coastal road,
Highway 101,

was rerouted,
which completely bypassed it.

That was the beginning
of the end for this

being a popular gas station.

This became just a road
used by locals.

[narrator] And in
more recent years,

Platform Holly has been
mired in controversy.

The oil company was weathering
some very serious complaints.

There were concerns
over fracking.

But there was also a lawsuit

led by famous environmental
activist Erin Brockovich.

[narrator] Then in 2015
a pipeline cracked open.

140,000 gallons of oil
spilled out into the ocean.

And within 24 hours,

production was shut down
for good.

The Ellwood Oil Field
was a rich mine

of black gold for decades.

But now these structures
stand barren.

Platform Holly
is in the process

of being decommissioned,

while the Barnsdall-Rio Grande
gas station

has been gifted
to the city of Goleta.

[Tom] I think
it's very important

that this gas station is saved

because of the architecture

and the effort
that went into it,

and also that it is a symbol

of the oil industry
in California.

While it was
an ugly period of time,

it was a very important one,

and this is the last sign
of it that we have.

[narrator]
In northeastern Pennsylvania

sits a structure
built by a secret society

which welcomed some of
America's biggest stars.

[Mark Mettler] When I first
walked into this building,

I was floored by the size
of it, the architecture.

Once you walked in here
when it was in good shape,

you'd never forget it.

[narrator]
In downtown Wilkes-Barre,

this relic of the region's
glory days sits abandoned.

[Dr. Kwami] What's really
unusual about this building

is that with its domes
and its structures,

the architecture would suggest
it is a mosque.

The thing is, on the banks
of the Susquehanna

in Wilkes-Barre,

would we expect to see
a mosque of that size?

[Dr. Thomas] You can tell
that it's seen better days.

There are tiles
missing from the spires

and there's grass
and moss growing

out of different parts
of the building.

[Jim] You can see that
it cost a fortune to build.

And that makes its current
state of disrepair

all the more poignant.

[narrator] Inside,
the decay continues.

When you come
to this building,

it is really dark.

And then you start to see that
the plaster's crumbling,

and there's dust
and cobwebs throughout.

[narrator]
But some strange clues

to the building's
origins remain.

[Dr. Thomas] On one
of the walls

is a plaque
with a bunch of names on it,

and it says,
"To the Memory of Nobles."

[narrator] In Wilkes-Barre,
Pennsylvania,

a mysterious building
holds secrets

known to very few men.

Mark Mettler is one of them.

[Mark] When this building
was built,

the intent was to make it

the most impressive
in the United States.

And that dream was realized.

[narrator] Construction began
in 1907,

at a time when
Wilkes-Barre's prospects

were very different
to what they are today.

[Jim] Wilkes-Barre dominated
the coal mining industry

in the late 19th century.

And not just any coal,
but anthracite coal.

Some people call it
black diamond.

[Dr. Kwami] The key thing
with anthracite is that

it burns longer
and more constant than coal,

which during the industrial
period of the United States

was essential.

[narrator] The black diamond
gave Wilkes-Barre

more millionaires
than anywhere in America.

And many would join
the elite ranks

of one of the country's
most prestigious
secret organizations.

A group who left their mark
on this building.

A clue for what this building
may have been used for

is above the doorway.

There's an acronym,
A.A.O.N.M.S.

[Mark] What those letters
mean is,

the Ancient Arabic Order
of the Nobles
of the Mystic Shrine.

We are also known as Shriners.

[narrator] Some of the most
powerful men in the country

were part of
this secretive group.

And this building

served as their
Wilkes-Barre headquarters

for almost a century.

This is the Irem Temple.

We are in a Shrine building.

This is my Shriners head garb.
It's called a fez.

I hope it's on straight.

[narrator] The Shriners
attracted members

as diverse as
President Franklin Roosevelt,

John Wayne and Duke Ellington.

This was one of
the organization's
flagship temples,

and their secrets are
still held within its walls.

[Mark] The ceremonials
we used to have here

were just filled with
pomp and pageantry.

It's something that stays
with you forever.

[narrator] Despite
the clandestine nature

of the events
that took place here,

it's known that they had roots
in another secret society,

the Freemasons.

[Dr. Thomas] In 1870,
a group of Masons

decided to form
a new fraternity

with the tenants
of Freemasonry still in place,

but with the added spirit
of fun at heart.

[narrator] But a voyage
across the Atlantic

gave the group
an unexpected theme.

[Jim] One of their members,

an actor
known as Billy Florence,

had been on a trip to Europe

and went to a party
hosted by an Arab diplomat.

[Mark] He witnessed all
these, uh, beautiful turbans

and these beautiful gowns,

and came back and reported
to his brothers that

this is theme that...
that we want to adopt,

because it's mystic.

[narrator]
Today, this Eastern influence

can still be seen

in the crumbling ruins

of the Irem Temple.

It's where Shriners
in the Wilkes-Barre area

began their journey
into the brotherhood.

[Mark] Tens of thousands
of Shriners

have actually gone through
the initiation process

on the stage behind me

in front of thousands
of their fellow Shriners.

[narrator]
According to legend,

these initiation rituals

involved Shriners
being sworn in

with a copy of the Quran.

Many ceremonies
took place in this building

that were secretive

to the point where
no one was allowed in.

[narrator] Yet this temple
offered far more

than just
these clandestine meetings.

The Shriners opened
this building to the public

because we are a
community-based organization.

[Dr. Thomas] Everything from
school proms

to rock concerts
to Star Wars conventions

were featured
in this building.

Even local religious
organizations used it.

[narrator] But the Irem Temple
also got national recognition,

as it attracted some of
the nation's biggest stars

to perform
in this state-of-the-art,
1,400-seat auditorium.

[Mark] Tammy Wynette
did a concert here.

And probably the most
famous person that stood

on the stage behind me
was Bob Hope.

George Gershwin did
one of the first performances

of "Rhapsody in Blue" here.

Rachmaninoff,
probably the most famous

piano player in history,
did a performance here.

[Mark] The acoustics in
this building are incredible.

I could whistle now
and they could hear me
in the men's room.

[narrator]
Despite the acoustics

and star names,

near the end
of the 21st century,

the Irem Temple
faced new competition.

[Dr. Thomas] A new theater
was built nearby in 1986,

and with the interest waning

for large music
and performance venues,

the place
just fell out of use.

[narrator] In 2002,

the Irem Temple
shut its doors for good.

[Mark] The way we felt
when we shut the doors

was not a good feeling.

It felt horrible.

Guys were shaking their heads.

It was depressing.

[narrator] Today,
over two decades

since the Irem Temple shut,

there are plans
to bring it back to life.

Mark is part of
the restoration group.

[Mark] My main role here

at the Irem Temple
Restoration Project

is to be the key link between
the actual Temple Project

and the Shriners.

I love the role
and it's very gratifying.

[Jim] They wanna reopen
this building

as a concert hall,

and also a museum
to Wilkes-Barre history

in part of the facility.

[Mark] Tell you what,
when this building's finished,

when I walk in this place,

I don't know how I'm gonna
hold back my emotions.