5 largest abandoned houses in the world
Abandoned houses are the ones often ignored and left by the owners due to some tragedy or personal loss and which gets our imagination running the marathon. These beautifully crafted spine-tingling structures have a story to tell with varying genres, be it horror or emotional. It explains how the grandeur of places and excellence of architecture cannot cross particular emotional barriers and are not a deciding factor for people to stay in a place, and the biggest of mansions can lie in disrepair.
1. Lynnewood Hall, Pennsylvania | Abandoned Houses
A neo-classical revival marvel built in Elkins Park between 1897 and 1900 for someone considered as one of America’s richest people and copious art collector, Peter Anel Browne Widener, was once one of the finest real estate examples which are now dilapidated and abandoned. The owner got this house designed by architect Horace Trumbauer with 110 rooms on 70,000 sqft of land to move to someplace unfamiliar and new with his sons after the death of his wife.
The grandeur, intricate detailings, elegant furniture, and massive art collection of the house, made it one of the largest historic houses in America. After his son passing away in the titanic ship accident and the property passing on to many users after his death, the place is now an abandoned house with paint peeling off its walls and overgrown encircling grounds.
2. Elda Castle, New York
Architect wife Lucy Abbott Cate and fashion industry guy David Abercrombie dreamt and designed this piece of art in Ossining fabricated with stones and called it ELDA castle, which is an acronym for the name of their four children in 1927 on a 50-acre land. Visited by many historical enthusiasts, researchers, destruction admirers, and scholars, the massive structure still showcases vaulted roofs, arched windows, and doors, wall panelled with wooden tiles, bay window, and spiral staircase cast in iron as some of the attractive elements of the deserted beauty structure.
After the death of children and husband, Mrs Abercrombie moved with the remaining eldest daughter leaving the castle, and since then, the building has allured many restorers, but none has succeeded in restoring this abandoned house to date.
3. Wyndclyff Mansion, New York
Hidden in the forests of the Hudson River valley peeps out of the pine trees the turret of a splendid construction of 1853 by architect George Veitch spreading over an area of 80 acres. Elizabeth Schermerhorn Jones wanted to occupy a space that matches her grand status resulting in this magnificent marvel that even inspired the other dwellers of Hudson valley to construct such grand mansions with amazing views from all sides.
The ornamenting brickwork and curved arched doors and windows add to the grandeur of the mansion. Abandoned since the 1950s has led to this beautiful structure’s disruption, leaving around 2.5 acres of property standing upright out of 80 acres with hanging staircases and no flooring.
4. Villa De Vecchi, Italy
Set amid mountains of Corte nova near lake Como lies the summer house of Felix de Vecchi that reflected the eastern culture, which Felix learned all about from a young age. The construction of the villa commenced in 1854, covering 13,000 sqm of the total park area. The scenic setting, the fresco-covered ceilings and walls, extensively planted gardens, huge fireplace, and tapestries all contributed to keeping alive the ignited candle of imagination and passion.
The differentiating features of the villa were heating tubes inside the walls, dumbwaiters, and a large-scale pressurized fountain which were way ahead of time. The villa had different owners after Vecchi, but the ghost stories and personal tragedies led to the villa now being one of the abandoned houses.
5. Kinmel Hall, UK | Abandoned Houses
The grand halls and staircases speak for the grand imagination of W.E.Nesfield, who remodelled the house in the 1870s and set another example of a calendar house with 365 windows, 12 entrances, and 122 rooms. This red brick and cream stone mansion is amongst the largest dwelling in the UK, with adorned ceilings, steep roofs, panelled walls, and chimneys projecting the grandeur of the Gothic architecture.
After being left by its owner, the house was used for various purposes until it caught fire in 1965, which led it to be an abandoned house and one of the most endangered built forms in the UK.
