Below are my 20 favorite abandoned places in our most beautiful state. (It didnt.). A private couple bought the property in 2001 and began holding tours and Halloween haunted house events to raise money for restoring the deteriorating building. Jim Beam took over National Distillers in 1987, declaring much of the Old Taylor plantincluding its bottling facilities and several warehousesto be surplus property and halting operations there. I would not suggest trying to get to these tanks on any other day. A Cincinnati native who has lived in Kentucky for over 10 years, Andrea's heart belongs both in the Queen City and the Bluegrass State. According to articles, online the orphanage was in operation as early as 1920 and at some point fell into abandonment. Through the path, youre greeted to some of the most stunning Victorian homes in Louisville. While we hope you enjoy our pages about the most haunted places in Louisville, we also hope you'll join us for a Ghost Tour in Louisville. The Old Stone Jail was built in 1891 to hold suspected criminals as they awaited sentencing at the nearby courthouse. The property is closely watched but there are opportunities to take photo tours of the hospital by contacting the owners. Before the land was used as a sanitorium it was the site of a humble one-room schoolhouse built in 1883. The jail finally closed in 1947 and was rehabilitated in the early 2000s as more of the public took an interest in the jail. Visitors have reported seeing a number of different apparitions around the house and it is common for the spirits to manifest in photographs taken on the property. After several years of renovations, the Castle & Key bourbon whiskey distillery launched its production in 2016. Visitors were steady but few throughout the early to mid-70s with traffic dropping off steeply during the 80s. For now, the ruins of the Ashland Works plant remain intact and are truly a massive place to explore. Now known locally as the Ghost Ship, this vessel is marooned in a tributary of the Ohio River in northern Kentucky. Some have even called Old Louisville the most haunted neighborhood in America. Like many small-town medical facilities, Hayswood Hospital fell behind the rapid pace of healthcare modernization in the early 1980s, and damage to the building from a nearby earthquake further added to its burden. Though its curved brick walls and dramatic staircases are still standing, many of its fine details have deteriorated considerably over the years, in part due to lack of maintenance and in part due to the carelessness of vandals and intruders. 38.04052, -84.84551Photo Credit: abandonedonline.net. These new advancements would allow Armco Steel to improve its output to 2,600 tons of steel each day. Meanwhile, Dr. John Brennan, one of the sons, makes his presence know via the smell of his cigar smoke! Cringe-inducing (and straight up weird) tales and abandoned landmarks appear to fill the Bluegrass State. The Waverly Hills Sanatorium in Louisville is known as one of the most haunted places in the country, and is a historical landmark as well. Some of the best scary places to go in Louisville include our totally epic and unusual haunted places, like the Waverly Hills Tuberculosis Sanitarium. In 1924, construction began on an additional five-story building to accommodate up to 400 patients, and it was completed in 1926. See our Dead Malls Guide for more. The First Church of Christ Scientist, is home to a pretty famous apparition that has come to be known as The Lady of The Stairs. The ship spent close to a decade moving businesses folks and upper-class citizens in luxury across the waterways. Be the first to know when we release new events, special offers, and discounts! It opened in 1910 as a two-story hospital to accommodate 40 to 50 tuberculosis patients. The main sanctuary features a soaring, two-story ceiling that once held a vibrant congregation and hosted Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. at the start of the Civil Rights Movement. What are some spooky Louisville ghost stories? Camp Taylor in Louisville has been considered one of the most haunted places in the country. It was established in 1848 and among those buried there are the earthly remains of both Union and Confederate soldiers. It is believed that she is so upset due to a tragic misunderstanding regarding her fianc. Many old hospitals are said to be haunted due to the larger numbers of deaths in such places, but Waverly Hills Sanatorium is known as one of the most haunted places in the entire country! The nonprofit group Tyrone Bridge and Railroad Company formed in 2003 in an effort to raise the necessary funds to convert the bridge into a pedestrian and bike trail or incorporate it into the Bluegrass Railroad Museums tourist line, but failed to accomplish either goal, dissolving in 2011. curved brick walls and dramatic staircases, Explore Abandoned Buildings: How To Get Permission, 2020 Urban Exploration Gear List: What To Bring For Urbexing, The 9 Most Important Rules and Urban Exploration Tips, Take A Friend: 5 Great Reasons to Not Go Urbexing Alone, Top 10 Tips for New Urban Explorers: How To Succeed In Urbex, The 10 Most Incredible Abandoned Mansions In The World 2023, Amazing Abandoned Places in Colorado: 14 Choices For 2023, How To Find Abandoned Places With Google Maps In 2023, Exploring Abandoned Hospitals and Asylums: A 2023 Overview, The 9 Most Important Urban Exploration Tips And Rules 2023, Caught Trespassing? 2 W 4th St, Maysville, KY 41056, USA 7. This has left a wake of destroyed tanks scattered across the property. Glenmary Golf Course 5. We offer a Group Discount of 15% for groups of 12 or more. She has held positions in writing, editing, and media-related fields for over 10 years, including serving as the Editor-in-Chief for Cal Polys literary journal Byzantium and copywriting for advertising/marketing agencies before joining Only In You State team in 2015. Abandoned Places In Virginia 1. This Pratt deck truss bridge once ferried trains for the Louisville Southern and Norfolk & Western railways across the Kentucky River. He is most often encountered making his rounds in the evenings. With the creation of the vaccine for tuberculosis, the hospital saw fewer and fewer patients coming in. LOUISVILLE, Ky. Halloween is the perfect time to visit haunted houses, spooky theme parks and ghostly attractions. Before going on to game fame for the Derby. Waverly Hills has also achieved a measure of national notoriety after being featured on the show Ghost Hunters, which declared it one of the most haunted hospitals in the eastern U.S. So, if youre brave enough to take a ride (and hopefully a flashlight) to some of the weirdest places imaginable in and around Louisville, by all means, go ahead and do so. In the 1930s, it became the operations hub of the Holland Tax Service, remaining its main office until the late 1990s, when it was vacated due to an unpaid city tax bill. Thankfully, this abandoned mill is being maintained and restored and will hopefully be around for generations to come. The collection includes M-60, M-47 Patton and M-48 models, among others. In the meantime, though, if youre on the hunt for some of the best abandoned places in Kentucky, make sure the Ice Tower is on your radar. With so many backroads throughout the beautiful state of Kentucky, youve very likely come across an old home or maybe a barn or even a business that was once filled with life, but now stands lifeless and abandoned. Are there any abandoned places in Kentucky I can tour? When it was originally built back in 1928, Louisville Palace Theatre was known as the Lowes Theatre. The mall initially featured Shillito's and Stewart's as its anchor stores and expanded in July 1984 with a new wing over the Middle Fork of Beargrass Creek . After nearly a decade of abandonment, business partners Will Arvin and Wes Murry bought the Old Taylor site with plans to rebirth distilling operations there. It's now nested behind another county building. Over the nearly 40 years since, the abandoned hospital has been left to decay. What are some fun, scary places to go in Kentucky?, Some people seem to think theres nothing fun to do in Kentucky, but we strongly disagree. The owner attempted to remove the ship multiple times but failed. 38.64581, -83.76661Photo Credit: ronnysalerno.com. In 1920, the building found new life as Merchants Ice & Cold Storage Company, which operated in the space until the early 1980s. Address: 202-218 Wilkinson St, Frankfort, KY 40601, United States Liberty Hall consists of two historic homes built in 1796 by Senator John Brown. if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[300,250],'urbexunderground_com-large-leaderboard-2','ezslot_8',607,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-urbexunderground_com-large-leaderboard-2-0');This 13 story structure was built during the late 1800s for one reason. Urban exploration of abandoned places in Kentucky is no fun if one of your hands is occupied with a flashlight. One of the most haunted places in Louisville KY is the Belle of Louisville, a well known steamboat that is considered to be one of the city's crowning jewels. Just as the refrigeration business was taking off, prohibition was overturned. Despite this Columbia kept its original style and stayed true to its roots, despite losing businesses because of this. Taylor used his political clout to boost public confidence in the distilling industry, which had suffered due to inconsistent product quality. When the trees were all cut, the lumber company moved on to greener pastures. Are there any abandoned places in Kentucky I can tour? The 13-story, two million square-foot facility produced more than 50,000 barrels of beer at its peak in 1901 and was later sold to the Fehr Brewing Company, which folded after the passage of Prohibition. However, a TB outbreak in the following years prompted the construction of additional hospital buildings -- some of which are still standing today. Each guest left the tour with a miniature bottle of Old Taylor as a souvenir. I created this blog to share my knowledge and advice with new people getting into urbex. That probably explains why so many spirits are seen wandering around the area day and night. One of the owners fled to Indiana but was still sued. A number of strange occurrences have been reported in the years since his death. Waverly Hills Sanatorium. In the early 1900s, Jefferson County was ravaged by an outbreak of tuberculosis - known as the "White Plague" - which prompted the construction of a new hospital. McKee High School was built by the Works Progress Administration in 1938, and today remains as a skeleton of its former self. There are a number of ghost tours and haunted houses in the area, and locals know of many ghost stories surrounding the section. To find more places to explore, see our abandoned places in Kentucky article. The mine, which operated from 1937 until 1962, features historically accurate replicas of those originally found on-site. The Best Abandoned Places In Kentucky. As with most places you shouldn't go, even Google satellite images have been scrubbed with what looks like a bad use of a blur tool. Jamona Pickett: May 2022. The home would change hands again until being shuttered in the late 90s. Between the rolling hills of its rural farmland and the gritty streets of its larger cities, the state of Kentucky is an unexpectedly rich destination for urban explorers. Old Louisville is one of the citys most historic districts. These 10 Abandoned Places in Kentucky Will Leave You Disturbed And In Awe, Kentuckys 5 Spookiest Old Asylums Still Standing Today, An Abandoned Mine Cave In Kentucky, Mullins Station Is Hauntingly Beautiful, This Eerie And Fantastic Footage Takes You Inside An Abandoned Ames Department Store In Kentucky, The Abandoned Waverly Hills Sanatorium In Kentucky Is One Of The Eeriest Places In America, Most People Have No Idea This Underwater City In Kentucky Even Exists, The Creepiest Hike In Kentucky Takes You Through The Ruins Of An Abandoned Battlefield, A Distillery Was Built And Left To Decay In The Middle Of Kentuckys Capitol City, Photo Courtesy of Brad Barker/@southern_pirate. Built in the late 1800s, Old Taylor Distillery -- complete with turrets, gardens and. It returned to civilian use after the war, sailing the New York waterways in search of fish until it was once again recruited for military service after the attack on Pearl Harbor. If theres one thing this city has plenty of, its history, so there are more than a few spooky stories of haunted places in Louisville. The Cardinal Stadium was opened in 1956 as the official home of the University of Louisville Cardinals football team for over 40 years. -- thing. A historical society saved it and has offered tours, ghost hunts, and other events for several years. Weve got to be honest: as great as Kentucky is, it is not without its shady history. The Kentucky State Penitentiary, Eddyville Not only is this location one of the most haunted places in Kentucky, it just so happens to be the oldest prison in the state built in 1886 and is still an operating prison today. The station itself sat on the elevated line and passengers had to walk upstairs or ramp to board the trains. As of now, however, the tower is just a crumbling eyesore that occasionally loses a few bricks. The home was used by the local coal company and you can imagine it was once one of the most stately homes in the region. It changed hands a number of times over the years but was eventually repossessed by the city in 2005. This neighborhood was once a military camp, and a Tuberculosis epidemic struck, devastating the camp's population. Though visible from the shore, visitors who want to get a closer look at this shining example of abandoned places in Kentucky will need to paddle out to the ship via kayak or canoe. Wavery Hills Sanatorium 4. This past year, the train station was purchased and there are plans to restore it and hopefully use both the structure and the adjacent park land as a venue and event space with plenty of historic character. In the decades that followed, the congregation shrank, as did the needed funds to maintain the historic building. The Waverly Hills Sanatorium opened in 1910 as a two-story hospital to accommodate Louisville . Over the years new furnaces would emerge to expand the companys output. This beautiful abandoned train station thankfully has a happy ending. Louisville Southern was absorbed by the Norfolk & Western Railway in the 1980s and decommissioned the line between Lawrenceburg and Versailles in 1985, effectively abandoning the bridge. The structure was then left to ruin. And if youre lucky, one or two ghosts. : 1. portalId: "5317100", Baxter Elevated Train Station 2. It was located at 7900 Shelbyville Road and stood opposite the Watterson Expressway from Mall St. Matthews. 37.001504, -82.571870Cristy Skidmore pintrest.com. The largest city in the state of Kentucky is chock-full of abandoned buildings. The ship was previously known as the Idlewind and during World War II, Captain Ben Winters apparently decided to install some gaming tables and slot machines on the ship. Chunks of plaster and paint litter the dusty floors, and the yard is choked with overgrown trees, grass and weeds. Like a half-man, half-goat creature (who used to be a farmer, naturally) that supposedly hangs out on an abandoned train trestle and not because he missed his train. By 1961 admissions to the Sanatorium were stopped and the following year the last remaining patient was released. There are plenty of places I kept off this list so get out there and explore. Built in the late 1800s, Old Taylor Distillery -- complete with turrets, gardens and pools -- didnt look like other distilleries of its time. Get a dose of this unexplored history in. However, nothing will replace a great ghost tour. As cases of the White Plague spread across Jefferson County, the Waverly Hills facility was expanded in 1914 to add a childrens ward, bringing its total capacity to around 130 patients. Situated underneath what used to be the Lakeland Asylum, these tunnels were excavated to be used by the asylum staff to store food, medicine, and other items. Come along for the ride! Traffic gradually declined in the latter half of the 20th century, punctuated by a couple of high-profile derailments near the Tyrone Power Station in the 1970s. Abandoned House on the Hill - Louisville KY Louisville Urban Explorer 1.26K subscribers Subscribe 408 Share 35K views 5 years ago Checked out an abandoned house on the hill across from Dixie. There is no shortage of haunted spots in Louisville; this is just a couple of the many!, The Brown Hotel, 335 W Broadway, Louisville, KY 40202, USA, Louisville Palace Theatre, 625 S 4th St, Louisville, KY 40202, USA, Cave Hill Cemetery & Arboretum, 701 Baxter Ave, Louisville, KY 40204, USA. The lady is said to remain at the church, still waiting on the arrival of her sweetheart. 38.25642, -85.77794Photo Credit: Diane Deaton Street flickr.com. The 175-foot vessel had a long life starting off at the New York Harbor in 1902. Its a great casual place to enjoy history and admire the timeless stonework that makes this jail truly special. There are lots of unsettling Louisville ghost stories to sift through, like the one about the Lady in White at the Peterson-Dumesnil House, who is a benevolent and kind spirit said to help lost children find their parents. Inspired by the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro, the statue at this current abandoned place in Kentucky would have stood 150 feet tall on the roof of the old sanatorium, which would itself be transformed into a chapel, theater and gift shop. Well send you our daily roundup of all our favorite stories from across the site, from travel to food to shopping to entertainment. Does anyone know of any cool abandoned spots in Ky or surrounding states. She is most often spotted on the eighth floor and close to the mezzanine elevators. This. Absolutely! The home changed owners several times before becoming a home business for the Holland Tax Service in the 1930s. The rail line moved lumber to a nearby sawmill for processing. The Nada Tunnel is a 900-foot former railway tunnel that was built for logging during the early 1900s. We recommend both the Osprey Packs Daylite for sling backpacks or the Mardingtop Tactical Backpack for a standard two-strap backpack. 37.9161, -85.95624Photo Credit: errie-indiana.blogspot.com. Youre in the right place. Due to the dark past the tunnels hold, they have become one of the most interesting abandoned places in Louisville to explore. 8. The mine, which operated from 1937 until 1962, features historically accurate replicas of those originally found on-site. As it sat vacant for the two decades that followed, it deteriorated into a neighborhood eyesore. I heard of Elsewhere KY but its a fictional place. A faceless woman wearing 1940s clothing has been spotted climbing the stairs in the mezzanine lobby, a man in 1930s attire in the balcony area, who has vanished after being approached. The history books would have you believe that Louisville KY, is simply a fairly young river town that was founded by George Rogers Clark. Margins were slim and the company was facing $700 million in loans that were soon to be due. if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[300,250],'urbexunderground_com-large-mobile-banner-2','ezslot_11',611,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-urbexunderground_com-large-mobile-banner-2-0'); Throughout from 1960 to 1980 the building would take on many different roles. Some witnesses have even heard her crying. Staff have reported hearing the sound of someone walking down the stairs and footsteps traveling across the floor when nobody is there. The hospital struggled due to its isolated location and closed its doors 1983 when Meadowview Regional Medical Center opened nearby.if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[300,250],'urbexunderground_com-leader-4','ezslot_15',614,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-urbexunderground_com-leader-4-0'); Hayswood is a popular exploring place among locals, and has been exposed to vandals as well as the elements for years. The girl waited for hours in the cold night air and ironically ended up contracting the flu. Floyd was crushed to death by one of the pitman arms that controls the paddle wheel and ever since the crew say that they can hear Floyd whistling a jaunty tune, just like he was known to do when alive! The historic district of Old Louisville is home to countless beautiful buildings, one of which being the notorious Widmer House. During 80s and late 90s times were tough for the plant. Hailed as one of the most haunted places in Kentucky, this stunning building is the stuff legends are made of. In my opinion, unless youre a ghost hunter this is one most seasoned explorers can skip over. Abandoned Places In Hawaii 1. The zippy little vessel was outfitted with machine guns and depth charges and sent after the German U-boats that were plaguing British and American forces. The business offers bungee jumping excursions from the bridge for several months each year, billing it as the highest platform bridge jump in North America. Find it at 6825 Preston Rd, Owingsville, KY, 40360. As you drive through the base, you can spot retired tank models in varying states of decay on the sides of the road. We highly recommend either the PETZL Actik Core, or the Black Diamond Wiz for those on a budget. A historical society saved it and has offered tours, ghost hunts, and other events for several years. There are also reports of a deckhand named Floyd hanging around. Get more stories delivered right to your email. However, it was soon raided by authorities and the Captain suffered a heart attack during it. The ship is on private property and the owners are exhausted from running people off. This Victorian suburb was built in the 1870s, and it is one of the largest preservation districts in the United States. If you have any kind of interest in the paranormal then you probably know all about Waverly Hills Sanitorium. Lady of the Stairs - First Church of Christ Scientist 0.2 miles away. But, for now, it stands as yet another example of abandoned places in Kentucky. The masonry work is incredible and unlike the school architecture you'd find today. It first set sail in 1902 as The Celt, a luxury steam-powered cruise ship commissioned by a railroad mogul. The Widmer House The historic district of Old Louisville is home to countless beautiful buildings, one of which being the notorious Widmer House. It was again sold for $1 in 2014 to Oracle Design as one of more than a dozen historic residential properties in Louisville that the firm identified as part of its ambitious historic preservation project.