It’s a shame when buildings with a story are neglected and forgotten… fortunately, the end of an era often means the beginning of a new one.
Thanks to some talented and creative reuse, these 7 abandoned buildings made an extraordinary comeback:
1. Melkweg – Amsterdam, Netherlands
The Melkweg has been run as a non-profit organisation since its inception.
The sheer size and popularity of this major venue in Amsterdam’s Leidseplein nightlife hub makes the aptly-named “Milky Way”’s origins all the more surprising. It all began with a group of young, culturally-minded folk setting up camp in an empty milk factory in the summer of 1970.
This sugar factory-turned-dairy plant-turned-multimedia cultural centre is now primarily a concert venue and late-night club, but also showcases everything from dance and theatre performances to photography exhibitions and cosy film screenings in the attic.
Pay a visit to the Melkweg Café for generous portions of no-fuss comfort food.
2. Szimpla kert – Hungary, Budapest
Szimpla Kert is Budapest’s original “ruin pub”. © Dmitri Korobtsov
Hidden in plain sight in Pest’s former Jewish Quarter, are the Hungarian capital’s famed “ruin pubs”.
Decorated with mismatched furniture picked up here and there, some promoting book clubs and workshops, others partying to DJ sets; these shabby-in-a-cool-way community-minded bars have, in the last 15 years, taken over several buildings sentenced to demolition – bringing new life to a district neglected in the aftermath of WWII.
All crumbling walls covered in graffiti, nooks filled with odd objects and installations, art exhibitions, jam sessions and a huge garden with a genuine open-air cinema, Szimpla Kert – the first of them all – enjoys cult status amongst locals and visitors alike.
3. El Ateneo Grand Splendid – Buenos Aires, Argentina
The El Ateneo saw some of Argentina’s star Tango dancers perform on its stage. © pedist
Frequently cited as one of the most beautiful book shops in the world, the El Ateneo, located in the ritzy Recoleta neighbourhood of Buenos Aires, originally opened its doors as the glamorous Teatro Grand Splendid in 1919.
Some 10 years later it was converted into a cinema and became the first in Argentina to screen sound films.
Thankfully, it was saved from demolition and today still retains its nostalgic elegance and most of its original frescoed ceilings, ornate carvings and rounded balconies.
Find a book and take some quiet time in one of the old theatre boxes, or head behind the crimson curtains and listen to live piano music at the café sprawled out on the former stage.
4. Musée d’Orsay – Paris, France
The Musée d’Orsay boasts the largest collection of impressionist and post-impressionist masterpieces in the world. © Greg Urquhart
Queen’s garden. Cavalry barracks. Royal Palace. Victim of arson during the civil war. This patch of Parisian soil overlooking the Seine was many things before it even became the train station that today houses the elegant Musée d’Orsay.
The beautiful 19th century Beaux-Arts railway station was built for the World Fair of 1900 and enjoyed an illustrious reputation before modern train technology made it obsolete. It would then become a mailing centre for sending packages to prisoners of war and the set to various films – including Orson Welle’s adaptation of Kafka’s The Trial.
Finally, saved from dereliction and converted into the museum, it inaugurated in 1986 and now houses works by such renowned artists as Renoir, Gauguin, Cézanne and Rodin.
5. LX Factory – Lisbon, Portugal
Visit Sundays for the LX Factory vintage and design outdoor market. © Ricardo Junqueira
Off the tourist trail, in the dockside neighbourhood of Alcântara, 23,000 sq metres of land were once an important textile and manufacturing complex.
Now known affectionately as the Portuguese capital’s “creative island”, the enormous industrial space has become home to over 150 creatively-inclined companies and businesses, showcasing everything from fashion, design and food to architecture studios, yoga classes and sewing workshops.
Cantina, a charming low-key restaurant serving exquisite Portuguese dishes, was the original canteen responsible for feeding several generations of factory workers since the 19th century.
6. Berghain – Berlin, Germany
Berlin’s Berghain is notoriously hard to get in to. © Laura Colomé
Arguably Berlin’s most exclusive night club, with parties raging on from late Friday to last-man-standing-Monday, the gargantuan Berghain (on the border between Kreuzberg and Friedrichshain, hence the name) was once a power plant – and it shows.
A dance floor with an 18m high ceiling, that can pack in 1500 revellers, is wrapped in steel and concrete and little else, while a ‘Panorama bar’ overlooks the gay-friendly dancing frenzy.
Berghain is widely considered the European mecca of techno subculture – and it has a serious reputation for decadence. Enter at your own risk.
7. Haus des Meeres – Vienna, Austria
A greenhouse, on the outer walls of the tower, houses lush tropical vegetation to be explored via rope bridges and wooden walkways. © Josef Lex
Following the RAF air raid on Berlin in 1940, Hitler commissioned the construction of several flak towers – anti-aircraft gun shelters – to protect his cities against the allied air threat. The end of the war saw most of these structures abandoned or demolished, but a few were given new life.
An inspiring example of creative reuse, the looming reinforced concrete structure sitting in Vienna’s Esterhazy Park has come a long way from its troubled past – it is now the Haus des Meeres (House of the Sea), a massive public aquarium.
Exotic birds fly overhead and marmosets bounce about freely as you wander past colourful fish, turtles and even a shark tank – whilst snakes, lizards and crocodiles laze around the vivarium. Talk about an extreme makeover.
