Things That Aren't There Anymore

Things That Aren't There Anymore is a travelogue/modern history series produced by TotalAccess Television. It aired in America over December 2008 and January 2009, and is on offer for Network Six's Spring 2009 schedules. It highlights a growing turn-on for tourists--Urban exploration, or the study of abandoned properties in and around major cities.

The series is inspired by its first subject: a dead mall, Dixie Square, located in suburban Illinois USA and infamous for its brief heyday, rapid closure, cameo in a famous film, and decades of decay and neglect. Left dormant for nearly 30 years, the building is in deep disrepair, but fixtures, signage, and decor give clues to the mall's former glory.

The basis for this series is to memorialise several abandoned buildings or areas around the world. Through the use of video and photographs, a background history to each subject is narrated while the presenter and a team of modern architects and historians examine the ruins.

The series runs ten episodes. The first and last episodes run 2 hours including commercials. The middle eight run an hour apiece. The series is available in high definition and descriptive audio.

Episodes
1. Dixie Square Mall (Harvey, Illinois USA) (2 hrs): A shopping centre once bustling with business suddenly shuttered in the 1970s. After use as a set in the movie "The Blues Brothers," the site was left to rot and decay, and became a haven for vandals and violent crime.

2. Hobart Underground (Tasmania, Australia): A myriad of rivulets and storm drains is a haven for graffiti artists and sometimes the homeless.

3. Pabst Brewery (Milwaukee, Wisconsin USA): Once the pride of the beer-making set, this structure still houses literally tons of artifacts of its former use.

4. North Brother Island, New York: That's right. An entire island, just miles from New York City, the small patch of land was home to a correctional facility before corruption shut it down in the 1950s. Public access has never been granted.

5. Mesen Castle (Mesen, Belgium): With very little vandalism or man-made destruction, this abandoned castle is a serene, picturesque nirvana.

6. Metro Stations (Paris, France): Paris hosts a surprising number of abandoned tube stations, some of which have been converted. Those that haven't have officially sanctioned tours.

7. Ford Factory (Highland Park, Michigan USA): The first mass production factory for automobiles now lies dormant with many rich artifacts and documents still within.

8. Baker Hotel (Mineral Wells, Texas USA): The owner of the first hotel to have an Olympic-sized swimming pool died in his very own luxury suite. Shortly thereafter the hotel was permanently shut.

9. The Edinburgh Bridge Scotland's weirdest claim to fame; a prominent death led to the bridge's disuse. People started building under, around, then eventually on top of the bridge. Now the underground wonder has been reopened to tourists.

10. Prypiat (2 hrs): The epitome of a ghost town--this Ukrainian city has been dormant for years following the Chernobyl disaster. Apart from scientists and small tours, access has not been granted to some of the residential blocks, town centres and landmarks until now.