7. The Institute of Mechanics
Place: Swindon, England’s Wiltshire
Period: 1855
Expense: $34.28 million
The Swindon Mechanics’ Institute’s story is quite depressing; it was full of promise and eventually heartache. The Institute, a Grade II building located in a railway village conservation area, was established in Swindon, England, in 1855. It catered to employees of the adjacent Swindon Railway Works.
The Mechanics Institute on Pinterest and @thetimessunday
Sometime in the 20th century, it was converted to a theater, but it closed in 1986. It has been abandoned and in dreadful deterioration ever since. This abandoned building was acquired by a firm named Forefront in 2002; however, the company disbanded in 2012. The enormous $34.28 million debt incurred in repairing the Mechanics’ Institute hampered it.
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