However, the Grand Canyon State is also home to an abundance of abandoned airplanes that have been silently dwelling in the desert for years. With Luke Air Force Base near Phoenix and Davis-Monthan Air Force Base near Tucson, it’s obvious that Arizona has a longstanding history in military aviation. Two Guns was operational between the ‘60s and ‘80s, but now the roadside ruins are only good for a quick photo op off the I-40. A few dilapidated structures scattered across the area, including the gutted gas station, an empty pool and a weather-beaten building with the word “KAMP” painted across the A-frame roof. A weathered wishing well, vandalized, boarded-up buildings and a bubblegum pink train (derailed and decomposing) now stand as the town’s only source of Christmas spirit.Ībout 30 miles east of Flagstaff in Winslow, what’s left of this former souvenir shop/gas station/campground has been taken over by nature and graffiti artists. Talbot’s vision of a village where children could sit on Santa’s lap 365 days a year now lays in disrepair, with sporadic red and green remnants as the only reminder of a once lively roadside resort. The quirky town’s only restaurant, The Santa Claus Inn, was a big hit in its heyday, as was the town’s post office, which saw an influx of letters to Santa. The town was built by eccentric realtor Nina Talbot, who had high hopes for a year-round holiday haven. The Christmas-themed village in Mohave County achieved full-on ghost town status in the mid-‘90s. Once booming and blossoming with promise and kitschy mystique, these spots now serve as sad, hollow skeletons from a simpler time.īuilt in 1937 as a garish tourist gimmick, the town of Santa Claus was a popular Route 66 destination for a few solid decades until business declined in the ‘70s. Visit to learn more about a citizens group dedicated to preserving the history of the park.įrom forgotten mining towns to relics from Route 66, the state of Arizona has no shortage of ghost towns at varying levels of decay.
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The colossal building has sat vacant and in decaying disuse ever since, with a few exceptions like a motorcycle show in 1988, a swap meet in 1991, and most notably, the 1998 film No Code of Conduct starring Charlie Sheen, in which the windows of the trotting park were blown out for an explosion scene near the end of the movie. The park closed in 1966, after hosting just a handful of races, due to low attendance and its remote location. The pigeons have pretty much taken over now.Ĭonstruction of Phoenix Trotting Park began in 1964 on what was then a barren stretch of desert along what is now the bustling I-10 near Goodyear. Swap meets subsequently took over the space throughout the decade, but by the mid-’90s, the track was completely desolate and at the mercy of squatters, who busted most of the stadium chairs, shattered all the glass, stripped the plumbing, and spray-painted the walls. Built in 1967 by the Funk family, the dog track ran greyhound races until closing in 1982. Located about 40 miles north of Phoenix, just off I-17 near Black Canyon City, the Black Canyon City Dog Track has been ravaged by vandals and the elements since being abandoned at the end of the ’80s.
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River Country was recently the subject of photographer Seph Lawless' creepily unsettling photo series "Dismaland." The photos show vines and moss slowly taking over the water slides and former attractions of the abandoned water park.While both of the abandoned dog tracks described below have been well trodden in the past by urban explorers/trespassers, they are located on private land and visitors are not allowed. No explicit reason was ever given for its closing, but fans speculate that it was closed for safety concerns after several accidents in the park. River Country first closed at the end of the warm weather season in 2001, and in 2005, Disney announced that it would never re-open again.
The park resembled Magic Kingdom's Tom Sawyer Island with rope swings, a "swimmin' hole," flume rides, and a natural sandy beach for guests. Located on Bay Lake at Disney's Fort Wilderness campgrounds, River Country was Walt Disney World's first water park. Photo courtesy of Seph Lawless/ Dismalandĭisney's wilderness-themed water park operated from 1976 until 2001 and is actually one of multiple abandoned theme parks on the Walt Disney World property.
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