“Nothing Here Survived To The Present Day”: 30 Of The Most Spectacular Examples Of Architecture, As Shared On This Group (New Pics)

There have been countless architectural gems built over centuries that people have had the chance to admire. Everything from authentic houses of worship to spectacular bridges, stations, and entire old towns, among other structures, have been a mesmerizing sight for their eyes at some point throughout history. Unfortunately, quite a few buildings like these weren’t able to stand the test of time and can now only be admired in photographs.

We have gathered some of such photographs on this list for you to marvel at. They were shared by the ‘Lost Architecture’ community—“a subreddit devoted to images and discussion of interesting buildings that no longer exist,” as their own description reads. It covers all sorts of impressive structures that were destroyed by wars and other calamities, sadly leaving us with not much more than a picture of what it once was.

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#1 San Francisco’s Cliff House 1896–1907

#2 Skete Of All Saints, Ukraine (Largest Wooden Church In Ukraine, Burned Down 2022)

#3 Neue Elbbrücke Bridge From 1887-1959 In Hamburg, Germany

Architectural monuments are a priceless part of any country’s heritage. In addition to their practical significance, they become a way of immortalizing certain influences, important events and customs for future generations to appreciate. Trying to determine the number of such influential structures is close to impossible; as well as counting all that have been lost over time.

Luckily, architecture enthusiasts and historians are determined to keep their memory alive, even if only in pictures. Tom Ravenscroft, the person responsible for the ‘Lost Architecture’ subreddit, is an avid architecture enthusiast himself. In a previous interview with We, he said that he’s been following this passion for years, and continues to do so by being the editor of Dezeen, the world’s largest architect and design site.

#4 St. Peter’s Hospital, Bristol, England. Built In The Late 14th Century As A Merchant’s House, Destroyed In The Bristol Blitz In 1940

#5 Salzhaus And Haus Frauenstein. Built Around 1600 In Frankfurt, Germany. Both Destroyed In 1944 By An Raf Raid

Tom told We that the community started with the demolition of one building—the Bertrand Goldberg’s Prentice Women’s Hospital in Chicago (which is kept as the subreddit’s icon to this day). He said that after posting the picture of this authentic building on Reddit, he realized that there wasn’t a place on the website dedicated to similar architectural structures that have been lost over time and that’s why he started one.

According to Dezeen, the brutalist-style clover-shaped women’s hospital building was created using one of the earliest three-dimensional modeling programmes. A coalition between several organizations, ‘Save Prentice’, dedicated to saving the building, emphasized its significance in a letter to the Mayor of Chicago, which reads in part: “Prentice propelled advances in the fields of architecture and engineering that are still recognised today. […] Upon completion in 1975, critics and engineers worldwide celebrated Prentice as a breakthrough in structural engineering.”

#6 Cathedral Of Christ The Saviour, Located In Borki, Near Kharkiv In The Russian Empire (Modern-Day Kharkiv, Ukraine). Pictured In 1894. It Was Destroyed During The Second World War

#7 Los Angeles In 1918, Nothing Here Survived To The Present Day

#8 The Old Times Square. (1904)

The hospital in Chicago was far from the only somewhat recently destroyed building, the picture of which ended up on the ‘Lost architecture’ subreddit. Others on the list include the Palast Der Republik in Berlin, which was voted to be demolished by the German Parliament in 2003, the Transgas Building in Prague, destroyed in 2019, and the Culver House—a historic 19th-century, Queen Anne-style home in St. Louis, demolished in July 2022, among others.

#9 Graham House, West Vancouver, Canada, Designed By Arthur Erickson In 1962, Demolished In 2007

#10 The Baths Of Diocletian, 298 Ad. A Couple Of Walls Are Left, Still Impressive

#11 Park Hotel Bremen, Bremen, Germany. Built In 1890 And Was Lost To A Fire In 1907

Some structures on the subreddit were, however, destroyed hundreds if not thousands of years ago. A couple of the arguably most spectacular ones have been the Baths Of Diocletian in Rome, dating back to as far as 298 AD and the Ancient Egyptian Fortress Of Buhen built on the west bank of the Nile somewhere around 1860 BCE.

#12 Świnoujście/Swinemünde Pier, Poland (Formerly Germany). The Place Existed Between 1890s And 1920s

#13 Pennsylvania Station, New York City, Ca 1910

#14 1890 Sioux City Corn Palace, Iowa. From 1887 To 1891, Sioux Cityans Celebrated The Autumn Harvest With A Festival Featuring The Construction Of A Large Building In Downtown Called A Corn Palace Covered In Corn And Other Grains

Quite a few buildings discussed on the subreddit have been lost due to numerous wars and conflicts over the years. In cities such as Warsaw in Poland, Antwerp in Belgium, or Bristol in England, just to name a few, numerous constructions have been forever lost after WW2-related bombings, and that’s just one of the conflicts that have ravaged cities over the course of history.

In addition to conflicts, fires have also destroyed countless cities, each home to authentic examples of local architecture. For instance, the Great Fire of London in 1666 is believed to have destroyed over 13,000 homes and damaged the iconic St. Paul’s Cathedral, among other constructions. Another example, the massive fire in Hakodate, Japan in 1907, is the reason why the majority of its historic buildings date back to the 20th century.

#15 Ancient Egyptian Fortress Of Buhen – Lost To The Aswan Dam (Lake Nasser)

#16 A Digital Reconstruction Of Old St. Paul’s Cathedral, Which Was Located In London, England. Completed In 1314, It Was Destroyed In The 1666 Great Fire Of London. The Current Cathedral With Its Iconic Dome Was Built Between 1675 And 1710

#17 1905 Photo Of The Park Avenue Hotel (A.k.a. Working Women’s Hotel) At 32nd And Park Avenue In New York City. Opened In 1878, Demolished In 1925. (Partial Ai Colorization)

A devastating fire that has recently seized one of the most well-known landmarks in Europe was the fire of the Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris in 2019. The construction of the spectacular monument started in the early 12th century and resulted in what was considered the tallest building of its kind back in the day.

Even though the devastating tragedy destroyed nearly all of one of the oldest surviving timber frames in Paris, according to Vox, and was the cause of the collapse of the iconic spire, it revealed new surprising information about the building. The blaze uncovered iron staples used to bind stone blocks, making the Notre-Dame the first Gothic Cathedral to extensively use iron in its construction.

#18 Helmond, The Netherlands (Demolished In 2019 For A Big Appartement Block)

#19 Base Of The Spire, Seen From The Southwest, Notre-Dame De Paris, 2018

#20 Park Terrace, Duluth, Minnesota. Built In 1890 And Demolished In 1936

Engulfed by fire, the spire of the Notre-Dame Cathedral was also added to the subreddit’s collection of the lost gems of architecture. Due to its somewhat upsetting origins, this exact collection is one no architecture enthusiast would arguably like to see expanding. The sub’s founder, Tom Ravenscroft, also pointed that out in his previous interview with We, saying that “‘Lost Architecture’ has showcased lost buildings of all styles from all around the world. Although I enjoy the sub, there are many, many buildings I never want to see in it.”

#21 Leaning Tower Of Zaragoza “Torre Nueva”(1504-1892)

#22 Steele High School, Dayton, Ohio. Built In 1894, Demolished For A Parking Garage In 1955

#23 Galloway’s Furniture Store, Sarasota, Florida, Designed By Victor Lundy In 1959. Partially Demolished In The 1970s, Some Of The Structure Still Survives Within A Nondescript Exterior