Original subtitles

[narrator] A war hero's odd Alaskan invention.

It's phenomenal that one guy built it all.

An old guy with a dream.

[narrator] An Alabama ghost town

where a revolutionary leader made hell on earth.

There's so many secrets here yet to be dug up.

[narrator] And an Oregon fort

that mysteriously refused to defend the nation.

[Martin] If the Japanese torpedo had succeeded

in bringing down the Golden Gate Bridge,

that image would have been burned into the American psyche.

[narrator] Scattered across the United States

are abandoned structures

and those who know their stories.

These forgotten ruins reveal the past

of this land and its people.

These are the secrets of hidden America.

[narrator] In Alabama, there's a deserted town

where a revolutionary hero caused an economic disaster.

So many people love this place for different reasons.

History is hidden in the landscape everywhere.

[Michele] We're right next to Selma.

In recent times, it's most famous for its civil rights history.

[narrator] Ten miles outside of town,

a network of roads hints at an ambitious past.

[Martin] This is strange.

You've got a grid of roads that are laid out under the forest.

Where are the people?

[narrator] These roads are not alone.

Hidden in the undergrowth are abandoned structures.

This is weird. It's lots of different buildings

of different eras.

[narrator] This place tells one of the most twisted tales of the South.

There's all these clues that something incredible once happened here.

We remember him as the savior of the Revolution.

The visit was earth shattering to the people that lived here.

[narrator] But fake news began a spiral of events here

that ended in nationwide tragedy.

To this day, it remains the greatest maritime disaster in American history.

[narrator] For over 38 years,

Linda Derry has been uncovering the secrets of this place.

[Linda] There is something very special about this site,

but it's hard to put your words around it.

It's very magical and mysterious.

[narrator] This 850-acre plot

is littered with clues left by its previous inhabitants.

[Linda] You can read the landscape

just like you can read a history book.

Out of the corner of your eye, there's a tree that doesn't belong

or there's a little chimney base.

[narrator] At its peak, this was one of

the richest towns in America.

But it was born out of bloody conflict

when the indigenous people got caught in the crosshairs of warring nations.

[Greg] In the early 19th century,

this area is still under control of Native Americans.

But they're starting to come into conflict

with European powers

and with the newly formed American government.

Sadly, things did not end well for the indigenous people,

and the land fell under control of the United States.

[narrator] The change in power allowed for this region

to experience one of its most momentous days.

On December 14th, 1819,

Alabama became America's 22nd state.

At the confluence of two major shipping rivers,

this became its first state capital.

This is Cahawba.

This was the capital, but it was a frontier capital.

[narrator] Jonathan Matthews has spent the last 20 years

studying Cahawba's layers of history.

[Jonathan] During that period,

there was log cabins, wood frame structures.

But the statehouse was a two story brick structure.

[narrator] Just six years after incorporation,

the prominence that this building brought to Cahawba

attracted a celebrity from overseas.

A European noble who had helped shape this nation.

[Jonathan] In 1825,

Cahawba welcomed Marquis de Lafayette,

this famed revolutionary war hero

who helped America secure its independence.

Marquis de Lafayette was a French aristocrat,

off his own back, came to the United States in 1777.

[Martin] Lafayette was a kid when he came.

Washington nevertheless embraced him.

And they employed him as a general in the Continental Army.

[narrator] Fast forward nearly half a century,

and he was back in the United States,

charged with a very different task.

[Martin] Lafayette was making this 50th anniversary hurrah tour

to remind people of the principles,

the ideology that began the American Revolution.

[narrator] The climax of his tour in Alabama

was a party here in Cahawba.

The party to welcome Lafayette

was the party to end all parties.

He was really a rock star from that era.

They had Jamaican spirits, rum, uh, Spanish cigars, Madeira wine.

[Linda] They had 13 toasts for the 13 colonies,

and they would fire a cannon or some sort of gun

after every toast.

By the end of the day, there were some injuries.

In fact, one death.

But other than that, they had a lot of fun.

[narrator] Despite the good times,

as the sun rose on the morning after

Lafayette had left behind

far more than just the spirit of the revolution.

To welcome Lafayette, it cost $17,000.

How much was that at the time?

More than it cost to build the statehouse in Cahawba.

[Linda] In fact, it sort of bankrupted the state's treasury.

So he left a little poverty wake... [chuckles]

...in his travels here in Alabama.

[narrator] Yet going bankrupt

was only the beginning of Cahawba's troubles.

Rival cities in Alabama vied for its role as the state's capital.

[Jonathan] In 1826

rumors of flooding plagued Cahawba, fake news from the era.

They were spread by the good newspapers

of Tuscaloosa and Montgomery.

[narrator] Born from jealousy,

these tales of destruction were a plot

by Cahawba's rivals to steal the state capital.

The worst flood stories came from Tuscaloosa.

And in 1826, they voted to move it there.

So they actually ended up with the statehouse.

[narrator] But in an ironic twist,

with the politicians gone, Cahawba prospered,

thanks to a unique natural resource.

Cahawba was built on a part of Alabama known as the Black Belt.

[Martin] We call it black because this dark, rich earth

produces some of the best cotton harvests in the United States.

[narrator] Due to this nutrient rich soil,

for the next three and a half decades,

cotton was king in Cahawba.

It had the fourth wealthiest...

per capita income in the whole United States.

[Jonathan] It had reached its Gone with the Wind era with beautiful mansions.

[narrator] But these riches didn't just come from cotton.

Cahawba has a dark side to its history.

It's wealth literally came from enslaved labor.

[Jonathan] That's who we call Cahawba's silent majority.

Cahawba was 60, 70 percent African American.

[narrator] This silent majority would soon be liberated

as civil war ripped across the nation

and another set of people

found themselves incarcerated here.

Just imagine what that was like.

Shoulder to shoulder with 3000 men

in floodwaters up to the waist and you all have diarrhea.

[narrator] In Alabama, the town of Cahawba

had prospered from cotton production and enslaved labor.

But in 1861,

as the nation's civil war played out across the Confederate South,

it became a place of torment and torture.

One of their cotton warehouses was converted into a prison

for captured union soldiers.

[narrator] This prison became known as Castle Morgan.

Even though it's not standing,

you could still trace the walls.

It was the most crowded prison in the Civil War.

It was only a 150 feet wide and 200 feet long.

And there were as many as 3000 prisoners in there.

[narrator] But in early 1865,

overcrowding was the least of the problems

that the prisoners faced here.

The Alabama River flooded,

pouring water into the confines of Castle Morgan.

[Linda] They were standing waist deep in floodwaters,

and all they had was cornmeal most of the time.

And if you eat raw cornmeal, it gives you diarrhea.

So they're basically standing shoulder to shoulder

in an open cesspool.

[narrator] On April 9th, 1865, the suffering at Castle Morgan came to an end

when the Confederacy surrendered

and the prisoners were released.

Yet in a cruel twist,

their reprieve was short lived.

[Jonathan] The POWs were sent to Vicksburg, Mississippi,

where they were boarded on a boat called the Sultana.

[Martin] It was transportation back to the north.

This steamer was built to hold 376 passengers comfortably.

And instead it's transporting over 2000 people.

[narrator] What the union soldiers didn't realize

is that prior to picking them up in Vicksburg,

the Sultana had run into trouble.

Sultana was having problems with one of her boilers.

The captain authorizes a quick patch up.

The ship proceeds upriver.

[narrator] Desperate to get home,

the POWs boarded the ship.

But little did they know,

its boiler had become a ticking time bomb.

When it's seven miles north of Memphis, Tennessee,

the boiler explodes.

That explosion causes a fire.

The thousands of people

who were on board are either trapped on a sinking steamer

or thrown into the cold waters of the Mississippi River.

[narrator] It's estimated up to 1800 passengers and crew died.

The Sultana is the largest maritime disaster in US history.

[narrator] Despite the tragedy,

in the aftermath of the Civil War,

Cahawba got a new lease of life.

Cahawba becomes a place where a large number

of emancipated African American former slaves began farming.

[narrator] But the real driver for the South's economy

after the Civil War bypassed this town.

The railroads came in in force,

and they went to Selma.

[narrator] After this transportation revolution,

many of Cahawba's businesses also moved to Selma.

In the following months and years,

due to a lack of jobs,

those who had stayed in Cahawba were forced to move away.

By 1870, there were only 300 people left living here.

Cahawba didn't die overnight,

but it did transform in a slow dying fashion.

[narrator] By 1900,

the last resident left

and Cahawba became a ghost town.

Today, over a century after its demise,

Cahawba is a state archaeological park

where Linda works as the site director.

Cahawba is the history book still being written.

There's so many secrets here yet to be dug up.

[narrator] By studying the remaining buildings and landscape,

Linda and her team are piecing together the town's history.

[Jonathan] Cahawba is a place that some have called the antebellum Pompeii.

There is literally a lifetime's worth of work to be done.

For me, Cahawba is pretty much the center of the universe.

It does have my heart.

[narrator] Where the Columbia River meets the Pacific Ocean,

a set of structures is central

to one of America's greatest military mysteries.

[Corina] This is the coast of Oregon.

A beautiful place with pine trees, rocks and beaches.

[Katherine] Along this expanse of unspoiled coastline,

one object sticks out like a sore thumb.

This spooky shipwreck.

We're only seeing a section of the remains here.

This must have been an enormous vessel,

hundreds of feet long.

[narrator] This ship is not alone.

[Martin] Just a stone's throw away

you have these massive concrete structures.

This place looks old and creepy.

The doors are these thick, rusting metal doors.

The concrete has begun to crack.

It's classic military fortifications.

[narrator] Despite their ominous appearance,

when these beaches were under attack,

the guns here stood silent.

[Adrianna] This is where the mystery really began.

The infamous call not to attack back

came from within this room.

[narrator] On Oregon's west coast,

a shipwreck stands out against the sandy beach.

This is the Peter Iredale,

once a proud merchant vessel from England.

On October 25th, 1906, tragedy strikes.

The ship hit some very thick mist.

And then between the strong winds, and the rising tides,

it was dragged on to the beach, where it shipwrecked.

[narrator] This cargo ship has been grounded on the beach for over a century.

But for the 27 people on board,

their story didn't end here.

Park Ranger assistant Adrianna Nickerson

has walked in their footsteps many times.

The people that were on the Peter Iredale

were eventually found and brought here.

[narrator] These structures gave the sailors shelter

until they were able to leave.

They had been constructed in response

to recent new threats to America on the high seas.

[Sascha] The end of the 19th century

saw a revolution in metallurgy and marine technology.

New armor belted warships could easily bypass the old type

of coastal artillery.

By 1897, the United States

had faced a couple of critical threats from the Kingdom of Spain,

and as a result of that, we were more concerned than ever

that it was necessary for us

to improve our coastal defenses.

[narrator] Built on Oregon's most northern point,

these structures were part of this fortification process.

This is Fort Stevens.

It was designed to protect the nation from European threats

attempting to attack America from the Pacific Ocean.

The genius of its design is that it's not visible

from either of those locations.

So a ship making its way up the coast

wouldn't know it was under attack until it was too late.

[narrator] The secret behind the fort's stealth attacks

was a set of disappearing guns.

At the time, this was a state of the art military equipment.

The guns were on disappearing carriages

so there would be a counterweight

that would drop down, bringing the rifle up.

And then as it was shot, the recoil would bring it back down

and bring the weight back up,

like a Whac-A-Mole sort of game for attackers.

[narrator] For over four decades,

during the early 1900s,

this fort succeeded as a deterrent to intruders.

But that quickly changed

when America was pulled into World War II.

December 7th, 1941,

the Imperial Japanese Navy launches a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor,

destroying several important ships

and killing thousands of seamen.

[narrator] This infamous sneak attack was just the beginning

of Japan's reign of terror on America's western edge,

which would explode here, at Fort Stevens.

[narrator] On the mouth of the Columbia River,

Fort Stevens was built to defend America's West Coast.

But after the bombing of Pearl Harbor,

it was in Japan's crosshairs.

The Japanese embark on a campaign

of naval interdiction.

They used their submarine fleet

to blockade American harbors.

[Katherine] These submarines were spread out all along the West Coast,

meaning that no matter how ships tried

to cross the Pacific,

they were going to encounter this channel of death.

One of them was stationed in the waters

just outside of Fort Stevens.

[narrator] But an offensive wall of submarines

along America's western ports

was only the first step in a bigger plan.

[Sascha] The plan hatched was for the submarines

to simultaneously attack coastal targets.

These submarines were going to begin an attack on Christmas Day.

[Sascha] Imagine just as Americans across the country

are tucking into Christmas dinner,

a flash over the radio,

"West Coast attacked by the Japanese."

[narrator] Yet with everything in place,

just three days before the attack,

the commander of the Japanese Navy got cold feet.

[Katherine] Admiral Yamamoto started to get second thoughts

about conducting an attack on Christmas Day.

He was worried that his German and Italian Christian allies

might not support him.

[Martin] The attack is postponed to the 27th of December,

a date less meaningful to Japan's allies.

[narrator] But an error in the Japanese calculations

forced this attack to be called off.

By that point, many of the submarines were running low on fuel

and the order was given for them to return to base.

But one submarine decided it wasn't gonna give up

without firing a single shot.

And he goes towards San Francisco.

It fired one Type 93 Long Lance torpedo

toward the Golden Gate Bridge.

But luckily it missed,

and the great landmark was saved.

[Martin] If a torpedo had hit one of the bridge supports,

that could have potentially brought it down.

And I can't think of anything

that would crush American fighting spirit

greater than the image of a collapsing Golden Gate Bridge.

[narrator] On returning to Japanese waters,

the submarines were reassigned to new missions,

and in June 1942,

one assignment brought the I-25 back to American waters

into direct conflict with Fort Stevens

and the 2500 men stationed here.

[Corina] On the night of June 21st 1942,

one of the most bizarre events

in American history happened here.

The Japanese submarine suddenly surfaces

and opens fire on Fort Stevens.

As the Japanese shells began falling around Fort Stevens,

the entire post goes under full alert.

Men come stumbling out of bed.

Some men still in their underwear

report to their duty stations, and they're prepared to fire.

[Sascha] Here's where things get really weird.

With all the guns ready to fire on the Japanese sub,

the order comes down,

"Hold your fire."

And the personnel are even threatened

with court martial if they disobey.

[narrator] With the I-25 bombarding the American mainland,

hundreds of confused soldiers on duty stood silently

by their guns.

[Sascha] Here's a real mystery.

The veterans were adamant

they could have hit and sunk that sub

if they'd received the order.

[Adrianna] The Japanese submarine attack lasted

about 20 minutes, letting off 17 shells

and hit in different points all around the fort.

The damage done to the fort was minor, to say the least.

The only thing that got destroyed, was the backstop

on the fort baseball field.

[Adrianna] This was the only time in World War 2

where a mainland military facility was attacked.

The craziest thing is,

we didn't do anything to defend ourselves.

[narrator] Despite the damage being inconsequential,

the I-25 scored a psychological victory.

It rattled both Fort Stevens and America.

Following this attack,

the American government weren't taking any more chances,

and they installed barbed wire

right along the coast,

including within it, the shipwreck.

[narrator] Today, the mystery of why the colonel here refused to fight back,

lives on.

There's lots of theories

on why he may not have engaged.

But the number one reason is, that he didn't want to give up

specific coordinates of where we were.

[narrator] But some believe

giving away the fort's position,

would have been a minor consequence

in defending the United States.

[Sascha] If serious damage had been done

or lives had been lost,

one could imagine there would have been an inquiry

into why the fort had not returned fire.

[narrator] Adding to the mystery,

the official report of the attack has disappeared.

[Sascha] Without the official record,

was it the result of some strange cover-up?

We don't know.

[narrator] Although questions around this attack

still linger today,

Fort Stevens' military service came to an end

just two years after America

and its allies defeated the Japanese.

In 1947,

warfare was evolving.

The artillery that they had,

the equipment they were using was far out of date.

We're entering the Cold War and the age of missiles.

[narrator] Despite sitting silently for seven decades,

today, Fort Stevens is serving the nation

in a very different way.

[Katherine] Fort Stevens has become the centerpiece

of a 4300-acre state park.

People come to visit the area

to camp, to enjoy the great outdoors,

and also to learn about

this incredible part of American history.

[narrator] In the Sunshine State,

an unassuming set of buildings stand as a relic

to the city's silver screen golden age.

[Devan] It's almost hard to really encapsulate this place, because it's...

it has such strong meaning

for multiple avenues of history.

[Philip] We are in Jacksonville, Florida,

in the Arlington neighborhood,

which has an extremely rich and exciting history.

[narrator] A forgotten site sits tucked away

among the trees.

You see a dignified white building.

It almost looks like it could be a schoolhouse or a town hall.

And then behind it are several small outbuildings.

Clearly, this was some kind of community.

Architecturally, they're certainly of a distant past,

but they look very well-preserved, almost renovated.

And that makes me think

that this must be an important site.

[narrator] Inside, years of deterioration have taken their toll,

but hints of a departed industry still remain.

You see a bunch of rusty old canisters of film,

and there's a torn movie screen.

So, perhaps it was some kind of theater.

Everybody else went to California.

[chuckles softly]

All the African Americans, they came from near and far to be a part of this.

[narrator] These buildings in Jacksonville, Florida,

have sat dormant for years,

their historical significance all but forgotten.

But Devan Stuart Lesley knows

the incredible legacy this place holds.

It's important to our city's history.

But most importantly, it's an amazing,

but largely unknown part of civil rights history.

[narrator] Jacksonville's glory days go back to a time

when a brand new industry was taking the world by storm.

[Linda] In the early part of the 20th century,

New York had established itself

as a center for the silent film industry.

But New York was also really difficult to film in

during the winter.

[Devan] It was cold, the starlets didn't want to be outside. And also,

it would sometimes cause

the film stock to freeze together.

And it would cause, like a staticky look on it.

[narrator] In search of year round sunshine,

the industry began to look south.

Some filmmakers had already staked out spots in Hollywood,

but LA was really far away.

Jacksonville, Florida, provided a nice alternative.

It was easy to get to on the trains,

and it had great weather.

[Philip] In 1908,

the first silent film studio opened.

And it led to 30 other film studios

opening up in Jacksonville,

one of which was Metro Pictures,

which today, we know as MGM Studios of Hollywood.

[narrator] It wasn't long until Jacksonville became known

as the "Winter Film Capital of the World."

It would even birth one of the biggest names in show business.

[Philip] Oliver Hardy,

of Laurel and Hardy,

got his start in Jacksonville.

[narrator] But of all the movie studios in this town,

one had very ambitious ideas.

This collection of buildings were built in 1916

by Eagle Studios. Now, this was a...

a film outfit, and they had big plans

to turn this whole area into their set.

But they soon ran out of money.

[narrator] From the ashes, would rise a revolutionary studio

that would do things differently and cater to a brand new audience,

when it fell into the hands of a young filmmaker, ahead of his time.

[Philip] In the early 1920s,

Richard Norman purchased the buildings.

[narrator] This is Norman Studios.

Here, Richard Norman would cement his legacy as an iconic filmmaker,

having first cut his teeth in an early genre largely lost to history.

Norman was from Florida originally.

But for many years, he traveled around the country,

making what were known as "home talent" films.

[Devan] He had a script and footage of a train wreck.

He shot in, uh, different cities,

same film over and over,

and invited the... the locals to... to be in that film.

[narrator] This proved to be a very profitable venture.

Naturally, everyone in town

would want to come see themselves and their friends

in the movie.

Norman would keep 60% of the profits himself.

And 40% would go to the town.

[Meigs] One thing the "home talent" movie era shows us,

is what a novelty movies were.

It was such a thrill just to go see moving pictures on its screen.

It was almost like going to a magic show.

[narrator] By the time Norman finished his "home talent" movies,

and was settling into Jacksonville full time,

local resentment toward the film studios had spread.

Things like shooting a bar scene on a Sunday

did not set well with a very conservative crowd.

And also, they did some things

that were a little bit dangerous.

[Meigs] One time, some filmmakers

were shooting a brawl.

And somehow, they sparked an actual riot.

[narrator] This led to a vote that would put Jacksonville's film industry under threat.

[Meigs] The good citizens

of Jacksonville elected a mayor,

who ran on an anti-movie campaign.

[Linda] A number of studios decided to pack up and leave to another city

that seemed to be a bit more amenable

to what they were doing,

Los Angeles.

[narrator] But Richard Norman chose to stay in Jacksonville,

where he could retain his independence.

As local resident, David Williams, knows well,

the movies he would make here would be a source of pride

for the city for years to come.

[David] He could have very easily said,

"You know what? I'm doing what everybody else is doing."

But when you have a dream and you have a goal,

you have to go with it.

[narrator] He decided to court an audience ignored

by his rivals.

[Devan] Mr. Norman, he was a white filmmaker,

but he had a heart for race relations.

He also saw a wide-open, growing niche market

for African Americans.

Norman devoted the next few years of his life

to what were called "race films."

They included a predominantly Black cast,

and it was made for a Black audience.

[narrator] Norman's films proved to be a welcome antidote

to the depictions that were coming out of Hollywood.

The mainstream media's portrayal

of African Americans

was an abomination.

-[muffled screaming] -It was an embarrassment.

We were depicted as villains,

servants, mammies, buffoons.

And some Hollywood movies cast white actors in blackface,

which even at the time,

was considered pretty offensive.

[narrator] Norman would draw from the widely untapped pool of local Black talent.

The actors who worked and lived here, they played doctors,

they played lawyers, they played investigators.

They played the beautiful heroine

and the hero.

[David] It was letting African Americans

at that time, know that there were other African Americans

that were holding some incredible positions

in life.

[narrator] Norman would make movies across all genres,

from comedies to thrillers and westerns.

His most famous film was shot in this very location.

The Flying Ace, it was inspired by Bessie Coleman.

She was, uh, the first Black female aviator in America.

[narrator] But making these films

in the segregated South,

was a risky business.

[narrator] In 1920s Jacksonville,

Richard Norman would have to work against dark forces

to make his groundbreaking movies

starring African Americans.

[Devan] This was a Klan stronghold back then.

African Americans, who served not just in front of the camera

but served as crew as well, and would stay here.

They sat down at the table and had,

you know, breakfast, lunch and dinner with the Normans.

This was not heard of, you know, back then.

[narrator] But race relations would not be what derailed Norman Studios.

Instead, a failed attempt to harness the power of synchronized sound,

would prove Norman's undoing.

Norman came up with his own system

to link a sound recording

and image recording on film.

[Devan] He sold about half a dozen of them

until along comes Thomas Edison,

and he figures out how to put sound on film.

Mr. Norman's system, and all those like his,

were immediately obsolete.

[narrator] Richard Norman was forced to spend

the last years of his career focused on distribution

and corporate training films.

He died in November, 1960.

And like the pioneering movies it produced,

Norman Studios faded into obscurity.

Today, many years on,

the city of Jacksonville is determined to preserve

this crucial part of its history.

Devan Lesley is part of a team turning Norman Studios

into a silent film museum and learning center.

This is one of the first places in America

where films were made, starring Black actors

who played the good guys and the bad guys.

And that is something that we as a city can be very, very proud of.

The history is just... incredible.

I think once... once people do find out about it,

they'll feel the same way that I feel about it.

[narrator] In a remote part of the United States,

a unique passion project led

to one of the most bizarre buildings in the last frontier.

[Brad] You can go anywhere in Alaska

and everybody knows it.

But, what the story was behind it, is pretty phenomenal.

[Bell] We're in Alaska, about halfway

between the cities of Anchorage and Fairbanks.

And when people talk about being in the middle of nowhere,

this is exactly what they mean.

[narrator] Next to the highway,

a set of abandoned structures

is the only sign of habitation for miles.

[Kyle] There's a building here

that was clearly a part of a gas station.

But the real feature,

is this massive white dome.

[Bell] This must be one of the weirdest-looking, abandoned buildings

I've ever seen.

But if there's one thing I know,

weird looking buildings

often have weird storage behind them.

[narrator] Inside,

the level of craftsmanship is unexpected.

This place is beautiful.

It is a wooden cathedral.

[Dr. Davis-Hayes] This type of place

would only be built

if you truly loved it.

So, why would it only be half-built?

This place represents a dream.

He was a... a tough, old Alaskan.

He was a little bit genius and a little bit crazy.

[narrator] For many, the Alaskan wilderness is known for amazing wildlife,

stunning views and gold, but not much else.

Yet for Brad Fisher, it's home

to a bizarre set of buildings close to his heart.

[Brad] When I first came up here,

I was 18 years old.

So, to me, I thought, "What crazy person would want to live up here?"

Now that I'm in my 60s,

I'm thinking maybe I might have become that crazy old guy, too.

[narrator] This 105-foot-wide structure was built to cash in

on one of America's greatest natural wonders.

This is right next to a national park,

which contains Denali,

which used to be known as Mount McKinley,

America's tallest mountain.

[Brad] It was a hotel and a convenience store

to catch the tourists.

[narrator] This is Igloo City.

Its story begins with a reclusive soldier.

After fighting for his country abroad,

he returned to the US in search of a place

to get away from it all.

This place was the dream of Leon Smith,

a World War II veteran who fought the Japanese

in the Battle of Guadalcanal.

[Brad] Leon was a very stubborn old man,

a typical Alaskan old guy

that had been... spent too much time

in the wilderness, as far as I'm concerned.

But... [laughs]

But he was nice,

and we became real good friends.

[narrator] After failing to find somewhere to settle

in the Lower 48,

in the 1960s, Leon moved to Alaska.

On arrival, he bought a parcel of land in a remote area.

This larger piece of property is 40 acres.

And I think he just fell in love with it.

[narrator] But little did Leon know,

that this land would start an obsession

that would eventually bring about his downfall.

[narrator] After returning home from World War II,

veteran Leon Smith found a piece of land

in the Alaskan wilderness,

where he could get away from the commotion

of the Lower 48.

But the remoteness wasn't all that attracted him here.

When he moved here,

the highway hadn't been built yet,

but he knew

that it would be soon.

He knew there was going to be a lot of people here,

and, uh, he was going to take advantage of that.

[narrator] Leon's plan was to build a one-stop shop

for weary travelers driving through Alaska.

[Bell] Knowing that trucks would need to fill up with fuel,

he decided to open up this gas station.

[narrator] Next door, he began building this themed hotel

to attract another type of visitor.

[Kyle] Leon wanted this hotel

to become a destination spot,

somewhere that hikers and skiers would stop.

And he just happened to shape it after one of the most iconic structures

of Alaskan history,

an igloo.

[Dr. Davis-Hayes] Igloos are traditionally linked

to the local Inuit population,

which were structures made out of snow

to protect them from the cold

during hunting expeditions.

[narrator] But this igloo was built

out of a very different material.

[Dr. Davis-Hayes] All the wood you see inside,

is said to be worth

at least $2,000,000 today.

[Brad] It was originally supposed to be

a 20-room hotel.

Leon built all the woodwork himself,

all the brackets and everything.

[Bell] Leon sank any spare dollar he had into this place.

He was once quoted as saying,

"Anytime I get enough money, I build another room."

[narrator] Despite Leon spending decades building this one-man passion project,

in the late 20th century,

a visitor forced it into the limelight.

[Bell] In 1989,

a 32-year-old man was hiking just

half a mile away from here,

when he was surprised by a grizzly bear.

[Kyle] It bit him on the head,

lifted him up into the air,

-and threw him around. -[growls]

Amazingly, the man survived.

[Bell] A passer-by on the road saw the hiker

and brought him to this gas station.

It's crazy to think

that had Leon Smith not built this place,

that hiker would probably have died.

[narrator] Shortly after this grisly headline made news across America,

Leon had his own tragic accident

when he fell from a height.

[Brad] He just never had the balance after that.

He didn't connect with his legs as well as he used to,

but he didn't trust himself on a ladder or anything.

[narrator] Yet, it wasn't the end for this igloo.

Leon became keen on selling the Igloo,

and he did find potential buyers.

But he had to take the igloo back,

because they did not actually have the funds.

[narrator] With his time running out,

in 1996,

Leon turned to a man he knew he could trust.

And he finally just got tired of it

and walked in my office one day. And he says,

"I need to sell the igloo and I want to sell it to you."

And says, "Well, I don't really need an igloo,

so this is all I'm going to offer you."

Him and his wife said, "We'll take it." [chuckles]

[narrator] Three years later, Leon Smith passed away.

But his legacy lived on,

with Brad and his partner keeping the gas station open.

We actually fixed it up a lot,

cleaned up the gas pumps,

put the canopy up.

[narrator] Yet the Igloo remained empty.

And despite the gas station struggling on,

eventually, rising costs forced it to shut down.

[Brad] In about, like, 2007,

the price of fuel got up to about $5.

We couldn't afford that.

We closed it.

I felt sad.

[narrator] Today, Igloo City is still an oddity

on the side of the George Parks Highway.

Ironically, despite never officially opening,

it attracts visitors from around the world.

Dale F. Chouinard is working on regenerating the site,

and knows this firsthand.

[Dale] We have people, while we're working out here,

stop every day, pull into the parking lot

and take pictures.

[narrator] With Brad's blessing,

Dale and his nephew have now closed the site to visitors,

and are revamping the Igloo for an ambitious new use.

Our plan for the property will be to start

a micro distillery there.

And we will have a bar and restaurant.

[Brad] And I told him, "It's rough.

It needs a lot of work."

I think that Leon

would like the idea that it's being used,

people are coming again.

I think we'll be able to keep Leon's legacy.