8. Rockaways’ Bath House

In Jacob Riis Park there lies a massive, abandoned Art Deco bathhouse. The building’s spectacular ornate arches were first built in 1932 containing four smaller buildings. The bathhouse was once a major source of entertainment for the people of Queens. Once it closed, however, it fell into disrepair and all attempts to rejuvenate the old building have failed.

Since the 1990s, there have been incredible pushes to make the bathhouse the hub it used to be. The people of Queens envisioned a sprawling art deco utopia with cafes and shops. There has even been a $20 million asbestos removal effort and yet the building still remains closed and unoccupied. The final blow may have come during Hurricane Irene when sand and wind battered the building and sent into even further down the path of destruction. Nevertheless, there is still something beautiful about the structure, haunting, but beautiful.