Abandoned Businesses
A gallery of abandoned businesses in the United States.
Kentucky
Farmers Bank
The Farmers Bank of Clintonville, Kentucky was established by William F. Heathman in 1903. 3 The modest one-story building featured a pretentious parapet across the top with the name of the bank displayed in Art Nouveau lettering. The bank was robbed in a violent attempted robbery that left the teller, Mr. Buchanan, dead in 1924. Farmers Bank closed shortly after and the building was reused as a grocery.
Resort Park
Developed by a flamboyant individual who worked in the oil industry, this resort park opened in 1968. 8 The park has undergone changes over the years, which included the addition of the 749-seat Good TIme Theater in 1983, the closure of the swimming lake in 2004, and the shuttering of the on-site restaurant in 2010. The park still features numerous camping and RV sites and a swimming pool, among other amenities.
Maryland
Michigan
New York
Ohio
Pennsylvania
Virginia
West Virginia
Best Western Gateway Hotel
The Best Western Gateway Hotel, a now-demolished hotel in Barboursville, West Virginia, was constructed in 1954 with 18 rooms 5 and expanded into a Holiday Inn with a new 250-room wing in 1964. 7 A conference center was added in the mid-1980s. Despite $200,000 in renovations during the year, the Holiday Inn franchise was pulled on April 1, 1997. 4 The property became affiliated with Best Western on October 1.
The 208-room Best Western Gateway Inn closed on June 28, 2001. 4 Mark Davis, a Barboursville chiropractor, purchased the closed hotel with plans to transform the property into a residential and retirement community, eventually settling on the demolition of much of the complex. 6 Two buildings would be retained for 66 residential condominiums.
An auction of the hotel’s contents was held on August 24 and 25, 2001. 5 The shopping center was opened in August 2002 and the remainder of the property was redeveloped by 2004.
General Store
A lonely general store lays abandoned in the Allegheny highlands. It was last operated in 1991 or 1992.
