Disappointed Tourist
Ellen Harvey

Author: admin

Ghost Parking Lot

New Hamden Plaza, Connecticut, USA Demolished I grew up in Hamden, right next to New Haven, and this was always the coolest thing we had going. On the main road through town, located right at the bottom of the big shopping center parking lot, the Ghost Parking Lot was striking. I loved the darkness of […]

Graham’s Rib Station

Springfield, Missouri, USA Closed 1995 Black soldiers stationed at Fort Leonard Wood, near Rolla, Missouri, on Route 66, were shut out of local restaurants and nightclubs, and had to drive eighty miles to Graham’s Rib Station, in Springfield, Missouri, for food, fun and entertainment. It wasn’t listed in the Green Book, but the on-site motel, […]

My Grandparents Backyard

Bellmawr, New Jersey, USA Sold – date unknown They had the best tree swing and vegetable garden. Lots of great memories from playing in their backyard in Bellmawr, NJ as a child. Laurie L. I don’t know when this house was sold. No. 283

Glasgow School of Art

Glasgow, Scotland, UK Burned 2018 I was there as a student in the 90s and it was such an amazing building to work in. A bit like a castle in Macbeth, (via Mackintosh, of course), but what was fabulous about it was that we could run around in our paint spattered clothes, stretch canvases and […]

Henri Bendel

New York, New York, USA Closed 2019 The Disappointed Tourist: Henri Bendel, Ellen Harvey, 2021. Oil and acrylic on Gessoboard, 24 x 18″ (61 x 46 cm). Photograph: Etienne Frossard. Since Bendel’s and Lord & Taylor’s flagship store closed, I’ve been seeing a lot of nostalgia for the giant old department stores. Larissa M. Henri […]

Hong Kong before 1997

China Decolonized Millions of Hong Kong people were born and grown up in the Hong Kong rules by UK government; before it was returned to China. Mailbox, bank notes, stamps with Queen Elizabeth image or logo are no longer available in the public. Flo L. Hong Kong was established as a colony of the British Empire […]

Hospital Barros Lucas Maternity Ward

Santiago, Chile Closed 2010 On 24 September 1911, Chile’s President Ramón Barros Luco laid the first stone for Santiago’s first public hospital, which would go on to become one of the country’s largest health-care facilities. Fourteen years later, his widow, Mercedes Valdés, helped create the maternity ward which would eventually carry her husband’s name. For most […]

House of Wisdom in the City of Peace

Bagdad, Iraq Destroyed 1870s The House of Wisdom was a famous library located in the the Round City of Baghdad, the original core of Bagdad. The city was built by the Abbasid Caliph al-Mansur in 762–766 CE as the official residence of the Abbasid court. Its official name in Abbasid times was the City of Peace (Arabic: مدينة السلام ). The two […]

Howard Johnsons

Henderson, Kentucky, USA Closed 1990 It’s not the sign that is important to me, but what it stands for. Not so much a bygone era but more representing the overall aesthetic of Howard Johnson’s and the way it defined an period in American history and the American landscape. For instance, they hired Jacques Pépin in […]

Idora Park

Oakland, California, USA Demolished 1929 My grandparents always talked about this theme park and going there as children. Chrissy H. Idora Park was an amusement park constructed by The Realty Syndicate in 1904 in Ayala Park and leased by the Ingersoll Pleasure and Amusement Park Co. In addition to several roller coasters, the park also had […]

Ireland’s Rainforests

Ireland Logged I miss it, like we’ve lost part of our souls. I want us to remember Ireland’s lost forests. It might be what helps us create a future. Katie H. According to the Irish Agriculture and Development Authority, until 6,000 years ago when the first Neolithic farmers arrived in Ireland, the island was almost […]

Kenure House

Rush, Ireland Demolished 1978 It’s an archival image of a now demolished “Big House” from Rush, in north County Dublin. The granite portico of the house remains, surrounded by a housing estate. I photographed the portico as a teenager, and have often wondered about the rest of the house. The wonders of the Internet have […]

Key Food

Park Slope, Brooklyn, New York, USA Closed 2021 When my teenage son was in second grade, he had to a make poster of his favorite things. Near the top of his collage, with dogs, cats, and the beach, was Key Food, a supermarket around the corner from our home. I knew why. Walking into that […]

Kim’s Video

New York, New York, USA Closed 2014 My DVD movie bookshelf was purchased there! Anon. Kim’s Video and Music were a group of video and music retail stores in and around New York City, known for their esoteric titles and knowledgeable if haughty staff. The owner, Yongman Kim, opened the first location inside his laundromat at 85 […]

Layton Art Gallery

Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA Demolished Who knew that Milwaukee had another art museum? Anon. The Layton Art Gallery was built by Frederick Layton (1827 – 1919), an English-American businessman, philanthropist and art collector, who immigrated to the Wisconsin Territory with his father in 1843. He played a major role in the creation of Milwaukee’s meat packing industry and established […]

Madison Square Garden II

New York, New York, USA Demolished 1926 This isn’t my own memory, but I interviewed the novelist Louis Auchincloss years ago, and he was endlessly nostalgic not only for the New York he used to know (he was born in 1917) but for the New York he had heard about from his grandparents. “I think,” […]

Maltepe Süreyya Beach

Instanbul, Turkey Filled-in 1980s This was a meeting point for young people’s summer joy and dreams . . . but today the sea is not there anymore! Ediz T. This was a beloved beach outside of Istanbul. The city approved plans to fill in the beach in 1976 and since the 1980s the little pavilion […]

Masonic Temple Building

Chicago, Illinois, USA Demolished 1939  I love the idea of a skyscraper that is also a temple of masons! Anon. The Masonic Temple Building was an early Chicago skyscraper designed by the firm of Burnham and Root, completed in 1892. With 21 stories, it was the tallest building in the city until the 1920s. It was […]

Megatron

Alconbury, UK Demolished 2008 Megatron was a flying saucer-shaped fast food restaurant that we went to as a treat when I was very young. It closed down, was turned into a McDonalds and was demolished in 2008. It seemed so exciting futuristic when I was 5/6 years old. I only have brief but vivid memories […]

Michelsberg Synagogue

Wiesbaden, German Arson 1938 When I had a fellowship in Wiesbaden, I walked by the site of the destroyed synagogue every day, as it was just around the corner from my art studio.  Julia K. This synagogue was built by the architect Philipp Hoffman for the progressive Reform Jewish congregation of Wiesbaden, opening in 1869. […]

Milwaukee Exposition Building

Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA Burned 1905 I couldn’t believe this used to exist in Milwaukee. Anon. The Milwaukee Industrial Exposition Building opened in 1881 as one of Milwaukee’s most spectacular buildings. Designed by Walter Holbrook of E. Townsend Mix Architects, the structure was a myriad of arches, windows, and spires and housed such varied spaces as […]