Exploration and words by the Stooges, Arnzville and CaptainJack
This Chinese restaurant was built back at the height of 1980s excess, a $13 million, 60,000 square foot temple to opulence and hubris, designed to mimic the Forbidden City in China.. Perched atop a rocky hill on a divided 4 lane road where you have to drive like a mile on side streets just to turn around, it was doomed from the start. It had a few good years but then started to attract a sketchy element Back then a typical Saturday night scene here, it would likely involve IROCs, tracksuits, Binaca, Jordache, and Tears For Fears.
The original ownership was closed down in 1998, they were way behind on their financials and the US Marshalls closed them while they were open serving dinner. Then another developer sank an additional $5 million into the place a few years later before going belly up. It briefly reopened in 2006 (with Dionne Warwick performing at the opening festivities), but finally shut down for good at the end of 2009 when its liquor license was revoked due to rampant thug violence. At least two women were raped right on the dance floor and there was a shooting.
You can't miss it hulking atop its rocky promontory as you drive up the highway, and we've had our eye on it for years, but it always seemed to be actively guarded... until it wasn't. Some local douchnozzle got in a few weeks ago and promptly informed the media and sealed the places fate. And lo and behold, the place is a wreck! It's been fairly thoroughly trashed and destroyed, so obviously we've been snoozing on it for a while.
It's still quite impressive to behold. There is no plastic, styrofoam, or fakeness to the ornamentation here. Everything is real carved wood, real ceramic, real glass, real marble, real granite... and largely smashed and wrecked. I'm pretty sure this was the first abandoned escalator I've ever seen.
We I chose New Year's Day around 9 AM to launch our assault, and it went without a hitch. We opted for the semi-blatant approach, parking between some cars at the holiday-quiet auto body place right at the base of the hill and hoofing up in more or less full view of northbound motorists. A door in back was literally wide open, and we made our way in through the pitch black kitchen area. Finally daylight bloomed above and we came up into the full splendor of the place. The butthurt of not being first was quickly forgotten.
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19. I saw a werewolf with a Chinese menu in his hand.
20. Happy 2015!
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This Chinese restaurant was built back at the height of 1980s excess, a $13 million, 60,000 square foot temple to opulence and hubris, designed to mimic the Forbidden City in China.. Perched atop a rocky hill on a divided 4 lane road where you have to drive like a mile on side streets just to turn around, it was doomed from the start. It had a few good years but then started to attract a sketchy element Back then a typical Saturday night scene here, it would likely involve IROCs, tracksuits, Binaca, Jordache, and Tears For Fears.
The original ownership was closed down in 1998, they were way behind on their financials and the US Marshalls closed them while they were open serving dinner. Then another developer sank an additional $5 million into the place a few years later before going belly up. It briefly reopened in 2006 (with Dionne Warwick performing at the opening festivities), but finally shut down for good at the end of 2009 when its liquor license was revoked due to rampant thug violence. At least two women were raped right on the dance floor and there was a shooting.
You can't miss it hulking atop its rocky promontory as you drive up the highway, and we've had our eye on it for years, but it always seemed to be actively guarded... until it wasn't. Some local douchnozzle got in a few weeks ago and promptly informed the media and sealed the places fate. And lo and behold, the place is a wreck! It's been fairly thoroughly trashed and destroyed, so obviously we've been snoozing on it for a while.
It's still quite impressive to behold. There is no plastic, styrofoam, or fakeness to the ornamentation here. Everything is real carved wood, real ceramic, real glass, real marble, real granite... and largely smashed and wrecked. I'm pretty sure this was the first abandoned escalator I've ever seen.
We I chose New Year's Day around 9 AM to launch our assault, and it went without a hitch. We opted for the semi-blatant approach, parking between some cars at the holiday-quiet auto body place right at the base of the hill and hoofing up in more or less full view of northbound motorists. A door in back was literally wide open, and we made our way in through the pitch black kitchen area. Finally daylight bloomed above and we came up into the full splendor of the place. The butthurt of not being first was quickly forgotten.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19. I saw a werewolf with a Chinese menu in his hand.
20. Happy 2015!
21.
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