At work I like to watch a TV show or movie during lunch and the Sci-Fi Channel’s Destination Truth is totally retard-worthy entertainment. It may not have emmy written all over here are ten cool things about the show / reasons to watch it…

Filmed at Night Whenever Possible

Whenever possible Destination Truth spends their precious few hours investigating in the dark. At night this suspiciously moving brush turned out to be a bug. Everything is spookier in the dark and a couple reflections could be a monster staring from the dark.

Could Double as Travel / Food Show

In their journeys this adventurous group is constantly trying new and often disgusting local delicacies. Although you rarely see them down the food it’s likely this under-budget group is eating in five star restaurants. If the show fails as a sci-fi show it can easily go over to the Travel Channel.

Only Four Cameras

They might show camera 11, 8 and 7 but at the end of the day there are only four stationary cameras. They do break cameras on this show from dropping, water intrusion, and all the horrors of filming out in the open. So this is probably the 11th camera they have purchased.

Token Girl for Eye Candy & Screaming

Ryder seems to have very little purpose on the show other than screaming at anything that goes bump in the night and providing some eye candy. She’s constantly refusing to go anywhere that scares her and aside from her good looks and ability to scream on demand she appears to serve no other useful purpose.

They Never Will Find Anything

This show is the ultimate wild goose chase. They have never found anything (save the Yeti footprint that made the news). At most there will be a blurry image, or an odd sound but you won’t have to worry about getting scared. This show is fun, and it was funny to watch that important bag of monster scat turn out to be river otter poop after being taken in for DNA matching. Granted a six hour investigation is unlikely to yield much more than humor but this show is more likely to win the lottery than find anything of note.

Crazy Eye-Witnesses

There are crazy people all around the world and Destination Truth has craze-dar and never seems to have problems finding eye-witnesses to whatever phenomenon they are hunting. If you need to find witnesses who have seen a worm monster these guys will find them and put them on screen spinning their tales.

Somewhat Intentinal Humor

So they never find anything, so what if it’s low budget it’s not the destination it’s the journey. In one episode Josh hams it up giving his rickshaw driver a ride and making fun of his on show and investigation along the way. Sure he couldn’t make it as a stand up comic, but he’s entertaining and keeps the show light hearted and enjoyable wisecracking his way around the globe on his futile quest for monsters.

Sci-Fi Tourists not Investigators

Typically the cast will fly around the world on a 28 hour round trip flight, spend a full day each way traveling by land to their investigation site normally by car. They then spend a few hours setting up their cameras and walk around for a couple of hours. Then once morning light comes pack up and go home. These aren’t investigators as much as they are sci-fi tourists.

Skepticism & Sarcasm Saves it

Josh Gates isn’t just the star of the show, he is the show. His disbelieving facial gestures and wisecracks take the tiny shreds of entertainment and push it over the line to being a watchable waste of an hour. Every far fetched witness will get at least one obligatory eyebrow raise, facial gesture or silly comment. He tends to say what you would think and say it out loud, and doesn’t gloss over the fact they didn’t find anything for the twenty-seventh time in a row. If this show took itself seriously it would be unwatchable.

Filmed in Abandoned Warehouse

Destination truth seems to have a slightly higher than the budget of Ghost Hunters who travels in a plumber’s van but not by much. Their headquarters is located in a run-down warehouse in Downtown Los Angeles. There are only a few wire bookcases, bare walls, a chalkboard, couch and a couple of desks in their upstairs offices. This fly by night operation obviously rents out it’s offices when they aren’t filming and packs everything up in a small storage locker.

The Cast…

Joshua Gates Lead Investigator / Wisecracking on-air personality for Destination Truth.

Casey Brumels Camera operator, co-executive producer - Casey basically plays on his laptop while Joshua trudges out into the jungles like any good executive.

Erin Ryder They call her a producer or a researcher - really she’s just eye candy who can scream on cue.

Jarrod Tomassi Medic - miles from hospitals he is their only hope if someone gets injured - other than that he’s pretty useless.

The Full Cast Eric Wing, and Drew Adams lead up the people that you don’t see normally taking pictures of Josh saying "I’ll go up here and see if it’s safe" with Eric already up there filming him.

The Monsters…
Tokeloshe	Death Worm
Tarasque	Wild Man
Yeti	Popobawa
Hauntings	Kongomato
Moleke Mbembe	Giant Anaconda
Mapinguary	Ri
Iguanadon	Phayan Naga
Ghosts	Nahelito
Ropen	El Lobizon
Mamlambo	El Pombero
Bigfoot

As yet none of the monsters have appeared on camera…

One of the more ornate abandoned places in the world this railway station in Abkhazia is a stunning relic from the collapse of the Soviet empire. Soviet era train stations were often overdone marble monuments to the working man and this was no exception.

Abkhazian railways consist of a 185-kilometre (115 mi) main line along the Black Sea coast and a 36 km (22 mi) branch to Tkvarcheli[1]. It connected Russia’s North Caucasus Railway with Georgian railways prior to 1992, however the connection with Georgia was severed as a result of the War in Abkhazia. The railway is administered by the state-run Abkhazskaya Zheleznaya Doroga company. At the beginning of 2008 there was one regular long-distance train Moscow-Sukhumi and occasional freight traffic. The railway system of Abkhazia was isolated in the 1990s due to the blockade imposed by Russia.

The Russian military relies on railroads to deploy heavy weapons and armor to the battlefield. The acute military, strategic and tactical importance of the railroad system in Russia explains the existence of special Railroad Troops whose task is to keep the tracks in order during and in preparation for war and to organize makeshift armor battlefield disembarkment points.

In July 2008 Russian troops repaired 54 km of Soviet-built tracks with 20 tunnels and bridges south of the Abkhaz capital Sukhumi to the coastal town of Ochamchire. The railroad was out of use since the early 1990s, a period which witnessed the collapse of the Soviet Union and the Georgia-Abkhaz war. At a colorful official ceremony in Dranda, south of Sukhumi, the commander of the Railroad Troops General Sergei Klimets told journalists that the railroad operation was “purely humanitarian” to help the people of Abkhazia.

Located 25 miles north of Berlin a secret underground complex built during the cold war has been put on temporary display. The 170 room bunker complex built for East German leader Erich Honecker and 400 of his staff will soon be sealed forever.

The bunker was surrounded by a village occupied almost entirely by members of the feared East German spy agency, the Stasi.

Falko Schewe, who worked on the building, described the project - codenamed 17/5001 - as “not that top secret”

Commissioned in the early 1970s, building work began in secret in 1978, lasting for five years. Villagers in nearby Prenden were kept in the dark however, believing that the construction was a new missile silo.

In fact, the East German regime was hollowing out a local hillside, and installing a command and control bunker they hoped would be able to withstand all but a direct nuclear strike.

The East German leader visited bunker 17/5001 only once, for 15 minutes, after its completion in 1983.

On its website, the BBN suggests that “he was troubled by the thought of the situation which would have necessitated his being there”. My guess he knew the history of German leaders who hid in bunkers.

In the event of war however, he only would have been able to stay 14 days, while the bunker’s resources, of water, air and food lasted. After that he would have been rushed to the surface and driven in an armoured vehicle to a nearby airstrip, for evacuation to the USSR.

Using 85,000 tonnes of concrete, the three storey bunker, measuring about 65 by 45 metres, was buried underneath a four metre thick ‘blast cap’ designed to protect East German leaders from explosions above, while complex filters shielded them from radioactive or biological agents.

But uniquely, crucial quarters of the bunker were housed in 500 tonne steel-clad concrete cubes each and are up to 25 x 25 x 8 m in size. Each section is suspended within the hill by giant cables could swing up to 40 cm in any direction. The system allowed the structure to swing like a pendulum in case of a nearby nuclear strike, better absorbing the massive impact.

Groups will be given short tours through the ill-lit complex - where they will see offices and control rooms once intended for the elites, now covered in green slime and reeking of mould.

The bunker near Berlin, file image
It was said to be the most advanced bunker in the Warsaw Pact countries

They will be led along submarine-like tunnels divided by heavy metal doors, leading on to 170 rooms.

The three storeys reach a depth of 70m (230ft) below ground.

Berlin Bunker Network, a volunteer group, will be leading tours at the bunker from today, with a price of 15 GBP per person for a two hour expedition, and 80 GBP for hardier souls willing to scrabble for longer through the bunkers tighter passages. Tours will also be available in English.

The bunker, north of Berlin, will be open for three months.

The Berlin city authorities say they will seal it with concrete in October of 2008.

The group has long worked with Berlin forestry authorities, which have looked after the site since the German military moved out in 1993.

Even we see that the sealing of the bunker is a necessary evil. Obviously, it would be much better if the bunker could be kept open as a museum. However, such an undertaking is not financially feasible. According to various experts, the long-term costs for security and getting the bunker “operational” would run to seven figures! The bunker would not be self-supporting even as a tourist attraction, as experience from other, smaller, bunkers in a better state of repair has shown. The operators of such bunkers have constant problems, trying to cover their costs and to keep their bunker up to scratch.

For these reasons, sealing the Honecker bunker provides the best opportunity for preserving the bunker long-term, with the BBN documentation providing an ideal alternative to visit the site. Even if the real feel of the bunker is missing, this is at least compensated for by the virtual bunker being open at all times, lit throughout and with access to everything and everywhere. You’ll therefore be able to get to places where, in real life, you almost certainly wouldn’t want to walk or crawl to.

The BBN site offering tours of the bunker

Panorama Views of the Bunker

Tours of European Bunkers

BBC article on the bunker

The American Wilderness Experience was located in Ontario California and featured 70 species of live animals, together with a simulator ride and video and interactive nature displays. Billed as “edutainment,” the fun and games lead into a store peddling environmental knickknacks and a restaurant called the Wilderness Grill.

The only completed American WIlderness experience was located in the Ontario Mills Mall, located 40 miles east of Los Angeles. The mall covers two million square feet, has 10,000 parking spaces and features 54 theater screens, and a Dave and Busters (that closed within the last year). The mall was so big they divided it into march 10 color-coordinated “neighborhoods”–themed retail zones catering to tastes ranging from upscale dresses to sporting and adolescent attire.

“If we capture just 3% of the [20 million] people passing through the mall, we’ll be doing great,” says Ogden Entertainment senior vice president Jonathan Stern, who helped develop Grizzly Park, a 90-acre complex near Yellowstone National Park.

The attractions were planned in 1996 By Ogden Entertainment who planned to invest $100 million to create eight different American Wilderness Experiences throughout the united states. Among the 160 wild animals were snakes, roadrunners, bats, sea otters, porcupines, bobcats, scorpions, jellyfish and giant yellow banana slug. The animals were housed in a 35,00 square foot mall zoo, the first and last of it’s kind.

To enhance the experience, artificial trees and plants were added as well as hidden canisters that emitted natural fragrances. After a brief tour, customers are returned to their natural habitat, the mall, where they can shop at the Naturally Untamed Boutique or eat in the Wilderness Grill. The experience, says Ogden V-P Jonathan Stern, is ideal for “people who prefer nature in small doses.” (Isn’t that the best way?) Stern adds that people are so accustomed to hurrying today, the average visit to the Grand Canyon is only 22 minutes long, coincidentally the same length as the average TV show minus commercials.

During AWE’s conceptual pre-planning stage the company settled on the exhibition of animals from five of California’s natural ecosystems — the Redwood Forest, Mojave Desert, High Sierras, Pacific Shore and Yosemite Valley. He also reports that the company has set AWE’s animal acquisition and holding criteria based on the American Zoological Association’s guidelines for humane treatment and holding of animals.

The retail store, called Naturally Untamed, featured items such as nature books, videos, CD-ROMs and interactive games, as well as plush toys and clothing. AWE’s restaurant, The Wilderness Grill, has a rustic, lodge-like design and features moderately priced restaurant fare. The Wilderness restaurant offered a full-fare menu and comfortable character drinking bar. The Wilderness shop sold outdoor apparel, nature books, and specialty environment-related items.

The smaller retail and restaurant concept will encompassed approximately 15,000 sq. ft. The company had even planned a larger rollout to do a stand-alone, retail and restaurant spin-off of the [AWE] brand that’s within some proximity of a full-blown AWE sites.

The fun began with a motion simulator ride, transporting the guest on an environmental journey culminating at the entrance to California’s Redwood Forest. Authentic settings—combined with live insects, reptiles, mammals, birds, and fish—provide a real life adventure.

The Wild Ride Theater, which treated visitors to an 8-minute motion simulator ride. The Forces of Nature exhibit introduces visitors to the destructive force of volcanoes, glaciers, earthquakes and hurricanes; and the Dangerous Creatures and Sudden Attack exhibits showcased some of nature’s most feared, predatory animals. Following the movie visitors were guided through the exhibits by tour guides dressed as park rangers.

AWE also offered special entertainment packages in connection with the Ogden-managed UltraScreen Theater, located next door. Patrons can see a double feature at the big-screen theater and visit AWE for $16.50 for adults, $15.50 for seniors and $13 for children They had expected to draw 500,000 during its first full year of operation, during the 1998 that the mall is projected 17 million. Attendance on weekdays is expected to be bolstered by school groups receiving a special package rates. AWE had expected to draw heavily on neighboring schools.

Within a year of opening the American Wilderness Zoo & Aquarium had dropped its admission prices and contemplated convert about two-thirds of its retail shop into a banquet facility in an effort to generate more traffic.

The $18 million indoor zoo, restaurant and retail venue at Ontario Mills performed below expectations from it’s opening in the fall of 1997.

Prices dropped to $6.95 and $4.95 for Adults and children aged 3-11 respectively, compared with previous prices of $9.95 and $7.95 by November of 1999.

Seven additional locations were in development stages, each carrying a price tag of between $7 million and $10 million. Additionally, Ogden had committed more than $50 million to roll the project out nationally. Billy Warr, AWE’s vice president of operations, told All Business.com that centers for AWE locations at Mills mall facilities in Tempe, Ariz., and Grapevine, Texas were planned to pen in within two weeks of each other before the end of the 1997. Other planned AWE locations included Gurnee Mills near Chicago (expected to open in November 1998); Sawgrass Mills outside Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.; and Opry Mills, Nashville (2000).The other locations were never publicly disclosed, and construction was halted on the Texas and Arizona locations and never completed.

By march of 1999 the 2 billion dollar Ogden Corp. planned to split into two publicly traded companies. A separate entertainment and aviation company were planned. The entertainment group has interests in themed and location-based attractions, waterparks, food and beverage concessions, venue management, large format films and theaters, concert promotions, artist management and recordings. The aviation group provides ground and cargo handling, passenger services, fueling, and airport infrastructure development and management. The energy group develops, owns and operates independent power facilities and provides related infrastructure services.

By May of 2000 mall officials announced that American Wilderness Zoo & Aquarium and its affiliated restaurant, the Wilderness Grill, would soon be shuttered.

The unique destination promised an ‘immersive zoo adventure’, restaurant, and retail store. Company officials claimed that labor costs were thirty percent higher than were acceptable. The world’s first zoo mall closed in less than four years a shorter life span than most of the animals that it housed.

The entrance to the world’s first mall zoo.

Mountain painting were done by Shapiro Art Studios

The backgrounds of all of the exhibits had paintings representing the region the animals were native to.

TIME Article

SIERRA Magazine Review

I actually visited the mall zoo in 1999 on a trip to see relatives in Palm Springs, and it was pretty strange seeing a zoo in the middle of the mall. Most of the exhibits seemed small, and some of the backgrounds made things look a little cheesy. The entrance was impressive and parts of it were really impressive to look at. After walking through the zoo my brother and I ate in the restaurant for about 45 bucks. The food was overpriced, but decent and the salad was pretty good.

If someone imagined a gat to hell this is probably what it would look like, in fact the locals call it the “The Door to Hell”. Located in Uzbekistan near the small town of Davarez is this cavern that has been burning for 35 miles. Geologists drilling for gas found the giant cavern they found poison gas and being Russians they decided to ignite the gas to get rid of it.

The crater is more than 30 metres across and nearly twice as deep.

The Soviets have long since abandoned the site and rusting equipment is lying throughout the area.

The natural gas ignited more than 35 years ago still burns round the clock, and there is no estimate of how much as burned - this could be the source of all that global warming.

More From English Russia

After the drop in tourism following the 9/11 attacks the last cruise ship built in the United States was permanently retired. Until February of this year the ship sat in San Francisco bay and there were initially plans by Norwegian Cruise Lines to rehab the proud ship and sale her again. Sadly the American venture by NCL failed and the ship appears to be headed off for a scrap yard in India or Bangladesh.

In what was the first of three (later scaled back to just two) proposed intermediate liners for American Export Line’s (AEL) New York to Mediterranean passenger service, the keel of the SS Independence was laid on 29 March, 1949 at Bethlehem Steel’s Quincy, Massachusetts yard. Subcontractors from thirty five states contributed to the building of these ships, which cost a total of $50 million. The majority of the steel came from Pennsylvania, the wood from forests in the Northwest and Northeast, the boilers from Ohio, and the air conditioning and elevators from New Mexico.

Independence and the nearly identical Constitution (which was launched on 15 September 1950) were designed with provisional trooping in mind, and were constructed to the highest safety standards. It was intended for use as a trans-Atlantic passenger liner–yet, it adhered to post-World War II U.S. Navy specifications to permit rapid conversion into a troop ship, with a capacity for 5,000 men and their equipment. The vessel, as originally designed, was made entirely of non-combustible or fire-resistant materials and featured extra hull plating–and two engine rooms so that if one were damaged, the other could keep the ship moving at a relatively high speed.

They were also among the first ships to be built in prefabricated sections, which is the standard procedure today. Their interiors were quite modern and typically spartan in the post war “American fireproof” style, unlike their European contemporaries, which still utilized traditional materials and wood paneling.

The Independence was completed in January 1951 and she departed New York on her maiden voyage cruise to the Mediterranean on February 11, 1951. On April 12, she began sailing on American Export Line’s New York - Genoa service, later diverting to a New York - Naples itinerary.

“INDY”, as she was affectionately known, was somewhat overshadowed by her newer sister, Constitution, which was glamorized in film and television roles, most noteably AN AFFAIR TO REMEMBER with Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr, and the famous “porthole” episode of I LOVE LUCY. “CONNIE” was also famous for transporting Grace Kelly’s wedding party to Monaco and was featured on the cover of Life magazine. Nonetheless, Independence carried her share of dignitaries, including President and Mrs. Truman in the summer of 1958. Both ships were immensely popular on the route that was affectionately dubbed the “Sun Lane”.

From February to April 1959 the Independence’s passenger accomodation was reconstructed at Newport News, adding 110 First Class berths, increasing her gross tonnage to 23,754. The 6.5 million dollar refit extended the superstructure forward, replaced the Observatory Lounge with cabins, and saw the addition of the Solarium on Sun Deck. Accommodations were now listed as 484 First Class, 350 Cabin Class, and 254 Tourist Class passengers.

In 1962 the cargo fleet operators, Isbrandtsen Company of New York, gained control of American Export Line, merging the two fleets to become American Export Isbrandtsen Lines.
In 1968, with the decline in transatlantic travel, the American travel agency Fugazi chartered the ship for a new style of cruising, and both the exterior and interior were given pop-art designs overseen by Peter Harrison, with a pink and orange sunburst (with Jean Harlow eyes) painted on the hull. Passenger accommodation was all one class, however revenues continued to fall, and in 1968, Independence was laid up at Baltimore.

C.Y. Tung bought the idle liner in January 1974 for his Atlantic Far East Lines and renamed her Oceanic Independence. The ship was refitted for 950 passengers in one class for cruising, which included a Portuguese charter out of Africa. However, she was laid up again in January 1976 at Hong Kong.

In 1979 American Hawaii Cruises (C.Y. Tung Group) was formed and the laid up Oceanic Independence was refitted at Kobe, Japan for inter-island Hawaiian service. On June 21, 1980 she began successful seven day cruises, sailing from Honolulu to Kahului, Hilo, Kona, and Nawiliwili. The ship now carried 750 passengers in one class and was remeasured at 20,220 GRT. Her former sister ship Constitution was brought on line in June of 1982 to join her, sailing Hawaiian waters on a similar itinerary.

Oceanic Independence ran aground off Nawiliwili, Kauai on September 24, 1981, sustaining heavy bottom damage. Her passengers were taken off and flown home and she sailed to San Francisco for repairs arriving October 7.

The “Oceanic” prefix was dropped from her name in 1982, and the ship was extensively refitted in 1994. In this comprehensive upgrading, her tank tops were replaced, most of the lifeboats were removed in favor of rafts, elevator shafts were extended to Bridge Deck level, and new stairwells were added to the after decks to improve passenger flow. The ship took on a new look with decaled funnels in American Hawaii’s new “lei” theme, and a Hawaiian-styled decor in the public areas and passenger accommodation.

The Constitution and Independence together in Hawaii, near the Aloha Tower.

The Constitution was finally decommissioned in 1995 and then, very sadly, sank two years later when on her way to Far Eastern scrap yards.

Each of the ships could carry 1,000 passengers - 295 in first class - and could make 23 knots.

The ship had undergone $78 million in refurbishment between 1994 and 2001.

Complete Deck Plans

American Classic Voyages which was building two new cruise ships to be named the Independence and America went bankrupt in October 19th of 2001. The new ships were to carry 1,900 passengers around 2004, however construction was never completed. The cruise line had been operating two cruise ships in Hawaii as well as Delta Queen vessels AMERICAN QUEEN, MISSISSIPPI QUEEN, COLUMBIA QUEEN and CAPE MAY LIGHT, and the DELTA QUEEN steamboat.

After the collapse of American Classic Voyages, the Independence sailed to the Alameda Naval Air Station. On March 5, 2002, her mast hit the Carquinez Bridge while being towed by four tugs. The Independence was on her way to Suisan Bay, but was taken back to San Francisco for repairs. The Independence was subsequently moored in April 2002 with the Suisun Reserve Fleet in Suisan Bay, California near the USS Iowa. In February 2003, the Independence was sold at auction for $4 million to Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL).

Aloha Booth

Aloha Bar

The Bridge

The Deck Bar

Abandoned crew cabin

Main Deck Exterior

Abandoned crew cabin

No longer needed freight area converted to a crew basketball court, cruise ships used to carry mail and freight for extra revenue.

Chairs stacked in dining room

Empty entertainment Booths

Main Lounge on Independence

Chairs piled in center of Main Lounge

Facing out of the Main Lounge

First Class Lounge in Happier Times

First Class Lounge

First Class Lounge Hallway

The great ship rusting away

The sea had taken it’s tole on the unmaintained ship

The Main Deck Pool

The Upper Deck Pool

The theater, cruise ships all used to have large movie theaters, now that movies are available on in room TV’s many of the theaters have been converted into additional rooms.

Closed Pool

One of many original artworks throughout the ship

Abandoned Promenade Hallway

Promenade Hallway In Happier Times

Abandoned Promenade Looking out on the deck

Bar in Happier Times

Abandoned Surfrider Bar

Smoke Stacks

Abandoned Lifeboat

Empty Suites

One of two presidential Suites that actually had a president stay on - President Truman in 1959.

NCL planned to add the Independence to its U.S.-flagged fleet, and hoped to have the ship carrying passengers by 2004. However, the ship continued to degrade and was renamed the Oceanic in 2006 without ever sailing for NCL. In its July 2007 interim report to shareholders, Star Cruises Limited (the parent company of NCL) disclosed it had sold the Oceanic, but did not name the buyer.

Its voyage is also a bit of a mystery. Norwegian Cruise Line, the ship’s last owner, sold it last year but refused this week to say who the new owner is.

There was even a minor mystery about its destination. Earlier in February of 2008, Leon Hall, of Inchcape Shipping Services, an agent representing the ship, said the final port of call “had not been decided yet.” On Friday, however, the destination was listed as Singapore.

There is a lot of speculation in maritime circles that the real destination is a scrap yard in India or Bangladesh. There is not much of a future for a 57-year-old steamship that has not sailed under its own power in seven years.

“She is one of the great ships,” said William Miller, an expert on ocean liners who wrote a book about the Independence. “But she has had her day, absolutely. I would bet you 50 cents she will be sold for scrap.”

Admirers of old ships have been circulating rumors and reports on the Internet about the fate of the Independence.

Some, like Eric James, a ship buff from Boston, say the ship is full of toxic material like asbestos and is being taken out of the United States illegally. They say it should be preserved as a memorial to U.S. passenger ships. But there is no formal move to preserve the ship, and once it sailed out the Golden Gate, it was probably too late.

Great site dedicated to the SS Independence

Chippewa Lake Park was abandoned in 1978 with most of it’s attractions standing. The 385 acre lake outside of Cleveland is the largest natural inland body of water in the state. The park was open for nearly a hundred years and nature has reclaimed it’s coasters, ballroom and structures.

The park was home to 3 roller coasters - A Wild Mouse, A steel kiddie coaster named the Little Dipper and a larger wooden coaster. The wood coaster was earlier named the Big Dipper but was referred to as just “Coaster” in the later years. The ride was built about 1924 or 1925 by Fred Pearce. It is amazing that a Tumble Bug is still there considering how rare this ride is (only three in the US and one in the UK).

In it’s glory days

A night view

Location

Park Map

Attractions List

There have been several locations listed for this park, usually as Cleveland. It is actually located at Chippewa Lake and is near the towns of Medina and Lodi, quite a bit Southwest of Cleveland. The park is due North of the juction of Interstate 71 and Interstate 76. In my opinion, it is possible that the park was not a Trolley Park but instead a Railroad Park, since the B&O Railroad runs directly behind the park.

The official opening of an organized park was in 1878. Mr. Edward Andrews was in charge, and back then the area was called, “Andrew’s Pleasure Grounds”. The summer months saw tent shows and occasional concerts, but the 4th of July was the biggest event highlighted with food, singing and fireworks. In fact, this day continues to be very popular for the communities located on the North and Southeast side of the lake, and is highlighted by their own hour long parade!

The park started to develop as an amusement park during the 1880’s as more attractions were added. Two of the rides that came were a roller coaster, and a miniature steam boat that toured the lake, but although these rides and others offered some fun, Mr. Andrews’ lack of motivation to provide better amusement, and his lack of concern regarding alcohol consumption caused the sale of his park.

Mr. Mac Beach was the next owner, and is credited with turning the park around. He came in 1898 to work the Midway for Mr. Andrews, and in 1900 purchased the park. He saw all the issues plaguing the park and decided to make some changes. The first thing he did was ban alcohol drinking, instructed his grounds keepers to remove all litter, and continued growing the attractions. Mac’s long term goal was to create a legacy to pass onto his son, Parker Beach.

Parker followed in his father’s footsteps and managed the park through 1937, when decided to purchase it. Chippewa Lake Amusement Park was THE place to go during the early 20th century. The park survived WWI, roaring 20’s, the great depression, WWII, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. Many fun events, annual company picnics and wildlife shows were held there, and to Parker Beach’s credit, kept it running through the 1960’s.

In the 1960’s

Lake view

Crowd in the 1960s in the center of the park

Chippewa Park

Tickets from the park

Chippewa Lake closed in 1978 while under the ownership of Continental Business Enterprises. There have always been rumors of the lake & park selling to different parties over the years, but in 2007, the lake was indeed sold to The Medina County Park District. As of this writing, the park is still for sale. 110+ acres of prime lakefront property for a cool $3.5 million.

Ballroom intact

Ballroom before fire

Center of the Ballroom

Ballroom Stage

Coaster ruins

Line to nowhere

Coaster Ruins

Trees growing through coaster

Ferris wheel

More pictures

Site dedicated to the old park

Another good site on Chippewa Falls Park

Nice set of photos on flickr

Take a look back at what was once the most famous hotel in Hawaii. The the Coco Palms Resort located on the island of Kauai was severely damaged by hurricane Iniki in 1992 and has never re-opened. The hotel is now empty and plans to re-open the property have died with the slump in the condo market.

The ancestral home of Kauai’s Alii (royalty) since the 13th century, the area encompassing the Coco Palms Resort was the home of Kauai’s last reigning queen, Queen Deborah Kapule, in the mid-1800’s.

The hotel opened Jan. 25, 1953, with 24 rooms, two guests and four employees. At its peak in the mid 1970s, there were 416 rooms.

Originally opened on January 25, 1953, the Coco Palms Resort had 24 rooms, two guests and four employees. At it’s peak the Resort grew to contain 416 rooms by the mid-1970s. However by 1984, the number of rooms had been reduced to 393. In August of 1985, Wailua Associates acquired the resort from the Guslander/Amfac group.

When Hurricane Iniki struck Sept. 11, 1992, every room in the hotel was booked and the guests were evacuated to Kapaa High School. The hotel never re-opened.

Elvis Presley filmed the finale of his film “Blue Hawaii” there in 1961, immortalizing its lush coconut groves and picturesque lagoons. When Hurricane Iniki struck in September 1992 with less than eight hours warning, the Coco Palms was shut down indefinitely as repairs proved too costly, and the entire island struggled with recession. The property, located on the southeast shore of Kauai, has been left to decay now for over a decade and a half. Kauai was without electrical power for 40 days, without telephone communication for almost a month in some areas, 80% of the homes were damaged or destroyed.

Within the resort is the famous 2,000-tree coconut grove, which is the largest of only three similar groves in the entire state of Hawaii. The grove was originally planted with coconut tree nuts imported from Samoa by Mr. William Lindeman in 1896.

The Coco Palms Resort achieved early exposure and fame in the 1961 Elvis Presley movie, “Blue Hawaii.” Virtually the last 20 minutes of the movie was shot on and near the grounds of the Coco Palms.

An additional favorite scene to movie watchers and visitors alike was the conch shell-blowing doorman greeting them upon check in at the lobby (which was modeled after an ancient Hawaiian Canoe Lodge).

The wedding ceremony, portrayed in the final scene where Elvis croons “The Hawaiian Wedding Song” to Joan Blackman as they ride their flower bedecked double hulled canoe through the lagoon to the Wedding Chapel, is credited with creating a high demand for weddings at the Coco Palms Resort. Prior to its close in 1992, the Resort hosted over 500 wedding ceremonies annually.

Even with the property closed to overnight guests, on average, 1-2 weddings take place weekly either on the lagoon or next to them, as couples desire the “Blue Hawaiian” wedding with its famous songs from the movie sung for their own ceremony. A Kauai tour operator, Hollywood Movie Tours, stops daily with a van of tourists interested in seeing the grounds, lagoons, coconut grove and the #56 King’s Cottage of the Coco Palms Resort.

Classic Coco Palms

A brochure of the Coco Palms

A map of the hotel from the 1980s

A map of the island

The grounds before the hurricane

After the Hurricane

The sign still remains

The royal pools that once held fish for Hawaiian royalty are still intact

The canoe was also used in the Elvis movie Blue Hawaii

The main hotel wing

The grounds of the hotel

Nature taking over the pools

From the air

Nature literally taking over

The bungalow used in the filming for Blue Hawaii

A golf cart disintegrating on the grounds of the hotel

The old kitchen

Classic mural still visible

The remains of the dining room

The swimming pool

The Wedding Chapel was donated by MGM Studios to Coco Palms in the mid 1950’s after using it in the film “Miss Sadie Thompson,” which starred Rita Hayworth. The Blue Hawaii Wedding scene has been replayed over the years by countless thousands of couples, exchanging vows at the Coco Palms Resort. Kauai’s Mayor Maryanne Kusaka was married at the Coco Palms.

The chapel

Sun coming through the chapel

Chapel interior

Chapel exterior

Exterior with signs to dining room

Front exterior with old shop signs still intact

The ruins of the main hotel

Main Entrance

The famous shell in the center of the hotel

The lobby

The lobby shudders still open and close

The hallway of the main hotel wing

All of the furniture is gone now

Failed Plan to Re-Develop

Coco Palm Ventures LLC had planned to spend some $220 million constructing 196 condominium units, 48 hotel bungalows, a spa and two restaurants on the 54-acre site. Plans called for the resort to reopen next summer. Demolition of the old buildings was due to start last year.

Map on the website of the failed re-development of the Coco Palms

Model of the planned re-development

Donna Apisa, listing agent for the sale of the condominiums, said the county Planning Commission’s rejection of Coco Palms’ plans to build a full-scale fitness spa on the 54-acre site was one reason for abandoning the project. “The current owner isn’t going to develop the land and will auction it off (later this year) to another developer,” Apisa said.

The signs were taken down and deposits made on the condos were refunded.

Site dedicated to the hotel

Johnnie’s broiler is an abandoned coffee shop / drive in located in Downey, CA. The Los Angeles Conservancy’s Modern Committee, the California Historic Resources Commission voted unanimously to include Johnie’s Broiler in the Register of Historic Places. Sadly, the current owners demolished the the landmark without a permit using illegal alien laborers from a nearby Home Depot.

The History

Harvey Ortner purchased the property in 1950 which had been ‘Sally’s Fryers’ a chicken farm and retail store with five small houses. Ortner hired architect Paul B. Clayton to design the structure in the style currently known as ‘googie’. This style was designed to attract customers with strong articulated rooflines, glass walls, brightly lit interiors and exteriors, enormous “V” shaped car canopies, semi-exhibition cooking, and gigantic signage.

The restaurant was opened in 1958 as Harvey’s Broiler after it’s owner and became a phenomenal success. It employed 85 people and writer Tom Wolfe described the hotspot as “Rank moderne! Teenage Paris! Harvey’s Drive-in!” Traffic would lined up for more than a city block with young people from as far away as 100 miles frequenting the restaurant. Harvey’s even became a tourist attraction for visitors coming to the state from around the country.

The Broiler had been a regular location for commercials and movies including “Heat”, “What’s Love Got to Do With It”, “Unstrung Heroes”, “Reality Bites”, and the TV show the “X-Files”. Lily Tomlin played a waitress who worked at Johnie’s in “Short Cuts”. The last film shot in “Country Bears” is at Johnie’s.

The current owner, Christos Smyrniotis, purchased Harvey’s Broiler in 1965. Originally the enormous roof sign read “HARVEY’S broiler.” “JOHNIE’S” was substituted for “HARVEY’S” in 1966 to reflect the change of ownership from Harvey Ortner to Christos “Johnie” Smyrniotis. The “Fat Boy” mascot was added in 1966 and is attached to the original roof sign.

Smyrniotis closed Johnie’s Broiler as an operating restaurant in December, 2001. From February, 2002, to 2006 the property was a used car dealership.

The Demolition

On January 7, 2007, a couple of bulldozers suddenly appeared on site and started demolishing the carhop area and structure. By the time police responded most of the structure had been demolished.The police stopped the demolition due to lack of permit. According to the January 9, 2007 Press-Telegram, numerous possible OSHA violations occurred. “According to police reports, the gas and electricity were not switched off at the time of the razing nor was the area fenced off from the general public, creating an unsafe environment for bulldozing contractors.”

Site dedicated to Johnnie’s

Between 1993 and 2003 60 hospitals in California closed their doors. The Community Hospital in Granada Hills opened in 1965 was just one of those and shuttered it’s doors in August of 2003. I always wondered what it would look like to see inside the doors of one of those closed hospitals…

About the hospital

About the Hospital

After the hospital was plunged into Chapter 11 bankruptcy because of the unexpected failure of a national accounts receivable management firm in 2002, trustees heeded the advice of the hospital’s bankruptcy counsel, its bondholders and a committee of unsecured creditors and hired a turnaround/crisis management firm to handle day-to-day operations while it attempted to reorganize. Over the next seven months, board members were told the hospital was making real progress, verified by reports showing apparent gains in admissions, physician support and nurse staffing.

But the picture was not nearly as rosy as the turnaround company’s CEO and CFO painted. Within hours of learning that payroll taxes had not been paid, board members met in emergency session and immediately terminated the contract with the turnaround company for cause. A week later, faced with stark financial numbers showing that the hospital could not survive, the board agreed to file for Chapter 7 insolvency and the hospital closed in August of 2003.

The hospital was demolished in 2007 and will be replaced with a public school after the Los Angeles Unified School District prevailed over a health care bidder for the property.

The school district paid $22.5 million for the 11-acre site at a Feb. 23 auction in U.S. Bankruptcy Court, beating out a $21.5 million bid from Namco Financial, a Pasadena real estate investment and financial firm that promised to reopen the hospital under a new operator.

The 155-bed community medical center filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in November 2002 following the failure of National Century Financial Enterprises, an Ohio-based factoring firm that bought receivables from hospitals at a discount, supplying them with a stable source of cash. Two executives with the-factoring firm have pleaded guilty to fraud in the failure.

In 1991 the Community Hospital in Granada Hills had to evacuate its top floors and treat people in the parking lot and in debris-strewn hallways. At the Granada Hills Community Hospital, a makeshift emergency room was set up in the parking lot. Nurses treated more than 1,000 patients there on Monday after the Northridge earthquake.

Hospital Facts

Date Established: 1965

Status: Not-for-profit

Number of beds: 201 (144 Medical/Surgical, 16 Obstetrical, 18-bed Critical Care Unit, and 23-bed Transitional Care Unit)

Achievements:

* First hospital in the San Fernando Valley to perform open heart surgery and to establish freestanding surgery and laser centers.
* More than 2,000 heart surgeries performed.
* CARE services provided for more than 10,000 patients and family members.
* More than 31,000 babies born

Ranked as the 24th largest employer based in the Valley, (San Fernando Valley Business Journal, 7/96, based on number of employees).

Why it closed?
According to the report, between 1993 and 2003, 60 California hospitals closed because half their services became unpaid. Another 24 California hospitals verge on closure, the author writes. According to her study, 84 California hospitals are closing their doors as a direct result of the rising number of illegal aliens and their non-reimbursed tax on the system.

The study on closed hospitals

More on the sale of the hospital complex