The ruins of the Concrete City – A post-apocalyptic looking ghost town, abandoned for 90 years

Abandoned in 1924, the ruins of this post-apocalyptic looking ghost town still remain in a wooded area of Nanticoke, Pennsylvania (USA).

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, Lackawanna and Western Railroad’s coal division in Nanticoke, Pennsylvania.

Concrete City is said to be the first example of modern-day cookie-cutter or tract housing.

*The grandly named Concrete City was in actuality a square of twenty double houses.*

*Believed to be the first example of modern tract housing.*

It was eventually taken over by the Glen Alden Coal Company who, uninterested in paying for required improvements (they did not want to spend $ 200,000.00 installing a sewer system required by the township) and unable to demolish it due to its robust construction, abandoned the property in 1924.

Since then, the “city” has been used by the military, police, and fire departments for training.

You can see large caliber hits on some of the walls. Demolition began in Dec. 1924. Glen Alden abandoned the complex, in place, because 100 sticks of dynamite had little impact on one of the buildings.

*Today the Concrete City is a popular spot for graffiti artists and, conversely, law enforcement training exercises.*

*During its heyday, Concrete City provided the best of housing for workers.*

*Each of the 22 buildings was divided into a duplex meant to house two families within the spare concrete spaces.*

This residential development consisted of 20 buildings, each one housing two families.

Both halves of every structure contained a living room, kitchen and dining room downstairs, with four bedrooms on the second floor. Outhouses were constructed behind the dwellings.

The site was abandoned in 1924 — *Abandoned since 1924.*

*It stands to this day in extreme disrepair.*

There were 22 2-story homes that faced a courtyard with complete with a wading pool, tennis courts, playground, baseball field and a small pavilion. It is believed to be the first example of modern tract housing.

The homes were arranged around a central plaza that contained a pavilion, baseball field, tennis court and wading pool. Photos: Forsaken Fotos/Flickr

In 1998, the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission declared Concrete City an historic site. — *The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission declared Concrete City an historic site, in 1998*

Concrete sidewalks illuminated by electric lights and landscaped yards completed this cutting-edge community. In 1998, the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission declared Concrete City an historic site.