Exploring Earth's Priciest Abandoned Structures

3. The New York City Subway's City Hall

Location: New York City, Manhattan, New York 1804 is the year. Building cost: $1–$2 billion* Under Manhattan's City Hall Park, the City Hall Station was built in the early 20th century in New York City. Though city officials decided not to extend the station's 257-foot platform to accommodate larger, ten-foot trains, the station enjoyed rapid growth in ridership. Due to its proximity to the Brooklyn Bridge Station, it was determined that City Hall Station could not be kept open and was closed down in 1945.

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Metro at City Hall, New York City ©Felix Lipov through Shutterstock But it doesn't mean this once-impressive achievement of 20th-century architecture is no longer standing. Visitors still flock to explore this designed landmark and take in its skylights, brass chandeliers, Guastavino tiling, colored glass tilework, and Romanesque Revival architecture.

4. Taiwan's Anping Tree House

Where: Taiwan's Tainan City Time period: 1800s Cost: $1.45 for each visitation ticket. The Earth is gradually reclaiming this monument to Western colonialism. A trade business called British Tait & Co. in England constructed the Anping Tree House in the 1800s. That's evident in the architecture, which is built in the colonial style and is almost discernible due to the overgrowth of trees, plants, and roots.

Taiwan's Anping Tree House ©Image/Shutterstock by Romix After a while, Anping was deserted, and a huge, live banyan tree pushed its way through bricks and concrete to occupy the warehouse of the old merchant. Surprisingly, Anping's doorways, roofs, and walls have all retained their shapes thanks to the tree's branches and roots, transforming the entire building into a real tree house.