Concrete City

Abandoned Ghost Town in Hanover, Pennsylvania, United States

Mar 01 2019

chiller

| 706

| 1

Recent status

Abandoned

Location #

15852

I heard about this place a few years back and decided to stop on my way back from visiting Eastern State prison in Philly. It was a rainy afternoon and when I finally found my way through the woods, it was like something to see. There is access from the road to the south, or through the main subdivision. It is a must see if you are near, even tho there is not a lot of stuff around, except the buildings.

The Concrete City was an early example of International Style architecture in the United States, built as company housing in 1911 for select employees of the Delaware, Lackawana and Western Railroad's coal division in Nanticoke, Pennsylvania

Each of the 22 buildings was divided into a duplex meant to house two families within the spare concrete spaces. The identical edifices were spread out around a central courtyard which contained tennis courts and a baseball field. Despite their intended futurism, life in the pure concrete community was far from Utopian. In addition to the rent of $8 a month, residence in the homes was surprisingly conditional requiring that tenants not only be a high-level employee at the mine, but also that English be their first language. Many families complained of near-constant damp creeping in through the stone walls, and the recreational areas were haunted by accidents such as a boy who drowned in the wading pool. Then there were the concrete outhouses which were located behind each of the homes. It was these bathrooms that would prove to be the downfall of the company town as the owners of the property refused to install an expensive but necessary sewer system, and instead simply abandoned the concrete city in 1924.
Attempts were made to demolish the buildings, but after 100 sticks of dynamite were unable to significantly damage one of the stone homes, the city was left to just deteriorate. Today the Concrete City is a popular spot for graffiti artists and, conversely, law enforcement training exercises.