Exploring Earth's Priciest Abandoned Structures

12. Quinlan Castle, Alabama, Birmingham

Location: Alabama's Birmingham 1927 is the year. Building cost: $1.71 million Constructed in 1927 at a cost adjusted for inflation of more than $1 million, the Quinlan Castle is a unique sight in America, a country with relatively few castles. The land was bought by Catholic Bishop Quinlan with the goal of erecting the first Catholic church in Birmingham, Alabama.

Advertisement

Quinlan Castle (@atlasobscura/Pinterest), Birmingham, AL When designing the castle, William Welton drew inspiration from the castles he had observed throughout Europe during World War I. Quinlan Castle encountered controversy right away. In the 1940s, there were rumors that it was a Nazi stronghold, but when Birmingham Police stormed the area, they discovered no proof of it. Despite being privately held today, Quinlan Castle has never recovered from its troubled past and has been vacant since the 1990s.