Another amazing ski spot, the Glacier at Mount Humboldt in the Northern Andes, no longer exists. Due to climate change, there is barely any ice left on the mountain and all the skiing infrastructure and businesses have become irrelevant.
According to scientists, even in the best-case scenario, the mountain peak will become bare over the next ten years or so.
The Original Penn Station
If you’re sure that you’ve been to Penn Station in New York City, you are probably right, but we don’t mean the new station opened in 1968, but the original station which was a marvel of modern architecture. The first Penn Station was built in 1910 and served as a bustling traffic hub for years until the rise of air travel and the decline in intercity train travel.
Amidst much controversy, the structure was completely demolished in 1963, and Madison Square Garden was built on the site.
Mukurob “Finger of God”
A sandstone rock formation known as Mukurob or “Finger of God” stood in the Namib Desert near Asab, Namibia for generations. The “Finger” was 12 meters high, and 4.5 meters wide in its broadest area, and weighed roughly 450 tons. The most impressive thing about the structure was that its base, which was 3 meters long and 1.5 meters wide, was much narrower than the rock it supported.
The Mukurob was Namibia’s most famous tourist attraction and people from all around the world came to see it. Unexpectedly, the whole thing collapsed in 1998 for no discernable reason. There are theories that the fall was caused by a rainstorm that plagued the area the week before or that it was caused by an earthquake in Armenia.
The Eye of the Needle
Another famous sandstone arch, the Eye of the Needle was located alongside the Missouri River not far from Fort Benton, Montana. Even though it didn’t rival Utah’s Wall Arch in size, its solitary location by the side of the river made it look like a doorway and was a big draw for visitors. After Memorial Day Weekend in 1997, park rangers learned that the arch had collapsed.
Near the rubble, they found discarded beer bottles and other trash which led them to assume that the arch had been vandalized. The structure had stood for over 10,000 years and no one was ever charged with the crime, leading many to believe the fall happened naturally.
Lady Liberty’s Torch
Four million tourists flock to Liberty Island in New York each year to see the architectural marvel, The Statue of Liberty. If you are adventurous and don’t mind a difficult climb, you can make a reservation (months in advance) and enter the crown. But if you have your heart set on going even higher into the torch, prepare for disappointment.
Lady Liberty’s Torch was damaged in an explosion in 1916, making the arm and torch inaccessible for over 100 years. Although the torch was eventually repaired in 1984, it has not been reopened for visitors since.