A headless shell that blinked on and off ''hotel''

Abandoned hotel, by Randall Park Mall, North Randall, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
June 12^th 2005

I'll be posting a few more pictures from this place, because I found its decripitude as fascinating as horrifying. The mall is also dying, though I have no pictures from there because I felt uncomfortable bringing out a camera for some obvious blight tourism when there were still a few people around actually shopping or trying to make a living. It's also the only place I've ever seen a church in a mall.

It is deeply sad. There are various hints (as you'll see in the coming week) that someone is still watching over this building and trying to keep trespassers out, yet clearly there's no-one interested in refurbishing or replacing it. If only the price of land were higher round here, something would be done with both the hotel and the mall (which looks to have something like a 30% vacancy rate), but instead people go and cut down more woodland, pave over more soil, and build from scratch because it's cheaper. I wonder if this site presages what will happen to Legacy Village in another generation's time.

Oh, and in case it isn't obvious: this set of pictures are more extensively digitally manipulated than most of mine. I'm trying to recreate the mood of the place.