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These architectural wonders were once the pride of their civilizations — now they're gone forever. Join us as we count down some of the most breathtaking buildings in human history that have tragically been lost to war, fire, time, or the wrecking ball. Do you wish you could have seen these titans in person? Let us know in the comments below!
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00:00You see this ruin here, you have no idea how old it is.
00:04If you were in the Mediterranean, you might think it dates back to the time of the Romans.
00:08Welcome to Ms. Mojo.
00:10And today, we're looking at 10 gorgeous and world-famous buildings that are no longer with us.
00:15When I walked into Penn Station, I felt like a queen.
00:21The Lighthouse of Alexandria.
00:24Alexandria, Egypt.
00:25The Lighthouse, with its gleaming white marble facade, rose 140 meters into the sky.
00:34It was a conspicuous landmark and a symbol of Alexandria's power.
00:39One of the original seven wonders of the ancient world, the Lighthouse of Alexandria was an engineering triumph.
00:46Standing at an estimated 330 feet tall, it was one of the tallest man-made structures on Earth for centuries.
00:53It even featured a mirror at the top that reflected sunlight during the day, while a fire burned at night
00:59to guide ships safely into the harbor.
01:02After 20 years of construction, the gigantic tower was finally nearing completion.
01:10It was a symbol of hope for all those making the perilous voyage to Alexandria.
01:15But you can't just fight plate tectonics.
01:18Dang it.
01:19Three massive earthquakes struck the area between 956 and 1323 AD.
01:26And the old lighthouse just couldn't handle it.
01:29By the time the Arab traveler, Ibn Battuta, visited in 1349, the old ship guide was in total ruins.
01:37In 1480, the last of its stones were carted away to build the Citadel of Kite Bay, which sits on
01:44the same spot by the sea.
01:46The Chicago Federal Building, Chicago, USA.
01:55Want to get Capone?
01:57Here's how you get him.
01:58He pulls a knife, you pull a gun.
02:00He sends one of yours to the hospital, you send one of his to the morgue.
02:03That's the Chicago way.
02:05Designed by Henry Ives Cobb, the Chicago Federal Building was a titanic Beaux-Arts masterpiece that took up an entire
02:13city block.
02:14Its most jaw-dropping feature was a massive, gilded central dome that was larger in diameter than the dome of
02:20the United States Capitol.
02:22A majestic rotunda also soared up through the center of the structure, letting natural light flood into the massive post
02:29office and courtrooms inside.
02:31Okay, empty all your pockets on the table here, all of it.
02:34But like many buildings of the time, it soon fell victim to the mid-century mindset that prioritized sleek, modern
02:41utilitarianism over classical grandeur.
02:44And it was demolished in 1965.
02:47In its place went the Kluzinski Federal Building, a severe black steel and glass box designed by Mies van der
02:54Rohe.
02:54The two coded entries in this ledger represent cash disbursement to all levels of city officials, members of the police,
03:04and to Alphonse Capone.
03:11The Old Summer Palace, Beijing, China.
03:14This is the Old Summer Palace. It's 20 kilometers to the northwest of the Forbidden City.
03:20Known as the Versailles of the East, the Old Summer Palace was a staggeringly beautiful complex of palaces, gardens, lakes,
03:28and pavilions that spanned over 800 acres.
03:31It was the absolute pinnacle of Chinese imperial garden and palace design, housing priceless artworks and rare texts.
03:39In the 19th century, it was largely considered one of the greatest collections of human landscaping and architecture on the
03:46planet.
03:46Work began in 1709 and continued for more than a century and a half, producing a vast imperial palace and
03:54gardens with more than 150 complexes.
03:58But British and French expeditionary forces captured Beijing in 1860 during the Second Opium War, and Lord Elgin ordered the
04:07total destruction of the palace.
04:09It took 4,000 soldiers three straight days to burn the massive complex to the ground, and its priceless treasures
04:16were scattered across the globe.
04:18Incredible. What we saw just now is only a tiny bit of masterpiece.
04:23We may not be able to see the actual palace in all its original splendor, but through virtual reality, and
04:30we can experience the wisdom and aesthetics of Chinese culture that created it.
04:35The Temple of Artemis, Ephesus, modern-day Turkey
04:39Temple of Artemis at Ephesus 4, the Colossus of Rhodes...
04:43Not in chronological order.
04:44Right.
04:45Uh, the mausoleum of Halicarnassus.
04:48The Colossus of Rhodes.
04:50That leaves just one more.
04:51The seventh wonder of the ancient world is...
04:57Can't remember?
04:58Another of the seven wonders of the ancient world, the Temple of Artemis was a colossal Greek temple dedicated to
05:04the goddess of the hunt.
05:05It was 425 feet long, and supported by 127 massive columns, each standing 60 feet high.
05:15In fact, this was the first Greek temple built entirely of marble, and it was filled with brilliant sculptures and
05:22artworks from the greatest artists of the ancient world.
05:25I would co-host anywhere to find where I belong.
05:34But you should never underestimate the lengths that people will go for a little bit of attention.
05:39In an incredibly selfish act, a man named Haristratus deliberately burned the temple to the ground in 356 BCE.
05:47His sole motive?
05:48He wanted his name to be immortalized in history.
05:51Unfortunately, his plan worked.
05:53Mighty Zeus?
05:56Please, hear me and answer my prayer.
05:59I need to know.
06:01Who am I?
06:03Where do I belong?
06:05The Sutro Baths.
06:06San Francisco, USA.
06:08Overall, the structure could accommodate up to 10,000 people.
06:13Sutro had created the world's largest indoor swimming baths.
06:18Built by eccentric millionaire Adolf Sutro, the Sutro Baths were a massive glass-enclosed public bathhouse situated right on the
06:26rocky edge of the Pacific Ocean.
06:28It was an absolute wonderland, featuring seven massive swimming pools, each at varying temperatures, seating for 8,000 spectators, an
06:38amphitheater, and even a museum containing Egyptian mummies.
06:41When the tide was high, the water would come into the bath, and then obviously when the tide became low,
06:47it would take the water with it.
06:48And in that way, he had built a self-regulating swimming pool that would refresh with the tides twice every
06:56day.
06:56But the site endured financial hardship during the Great Depression and never fully recovered, and it was eventually converted into
07:03a skating rink.
07:04A suspicious fire engulfed the site in 1966, completely destroying the glass and timber structure.
07:11Today, only the eerie concrete foundations remain along the rugged coastline.
07:15As one person said, you know, San Francisco's a very young city. We don't have a lot of ruins. But
07:21by God, these are our ruins.
07:23And every day, hundreds, if not thousands of people are crawling around, basically trying to figure out what was this
07:29place.
07:30The Kowloon Walled City, Hong Kong.
07:32I think a lot of it is just the physical structure of the walled city. It really stood out in
07:38the environment. There was nowhere in Hong Kong like it.
07:41While maybe not beautiful in the traditional sense, the Kowloon Walled City was arguably the most bizarre architectural anomaly in
07:48human history.
07:50Between the 50s and 80s, Kowloon grew into a densely populated enclave.
07:55Without any semblance of building codes or regulation, residents built hundreds of interconnected high-rise towers on top of each
08:02other.
08:02And by 1990, it was the most densely populated place on Earth.
08:07It was dark and definitely dangerous, quite apart from the drugs and the corruption.
08:15It was dangerous because you couldn't see to walk down the streets.
08:20You might fall into the sewer and it all might burn at any moment.
08:25It was a labyrinth of dark alleys, dripping pipes, unlicensed dentists, and stacked apartments where sunlight literally never reached the
08:33lower levels.
08:34In 1987, the British and Chinese governments mutually agreed to demolish the city owing to its poor sanitary conditions and
08:42high crime rates.
08:43And the dystopian megastructure was demolished to make way for a serene public park.
08:48In April 1994, Hong Kong's infamous Kowloon Walled City was leveled once and for all.
08:56It was at one point considered the densest settlement in the world, overcrowded, lawless, and with poor living conditions.
09:04The Singer Building, New York City, USA.
09:07Built as the headquarters for the Singer Sewing Machine Company, the 612-foot skyscraper was briefly the tallest building in
09:15the world.
09:15But it wasn't just tall, it was also beautiful.
09:18It featured a distinctive, ornate mansard roof topped with a delicate lantern, making it one of the most elegant and
09:26recognizable silhouettes on the early Manhattan skyline.
09:29You can look now.
09:32The Manhattan skyline.
09:35Got anything to drink?
09:37The interior lobby was also a celestial display of marble columns and glass domes.
09:42But by the 1960s, the building was considered too small and awkward for modern corporate needs.
09:48And it was demolished to make room for one Liberty Plaza.
09:51At the time of its destruction, the Singer Building was the tallest building ever to be voluntarily demolished.
09:57But now I realize that you're the moody, troubled past gunslinger who will only draw when he must type.
10:03Closely stopped.
10:04What?
10:05I'm not any of that, I just do my job and things get demolished.
10:08The Porcelain Tower of Nanjing.
10:10Nanjing, China.
10:12You maniacs!
10:15You blew it up!
10:18Oh, damn you!
10:21God damn you all to hell!
10:25Here we have yet another Chinese marvel ruined by war.
10:29This 260-foot-tall octagonal pagoda was a stunning feat of Ming Dynasty architecture.
10:35It was entirely covered in white porcelain bricks that gleamed brilliantly in the sunlight.
10:40And at night, 140 lamps were hung from the exterior, illuminating the tower so it looked like a glowing beacon.
10:47The porcelain was also intricately painted with brilliant colors and featured the likes of flowers, animals, and Buddhist imagery.
10:54It was tall, it was functional, and it was gorgeous.
10:57But rebel forces took over Nanjing in the 1850s during the Taiping Rebellion, and that was it for the Porcelain
11:05Tower.
11:06Fearing that the Qing government would use the tower as an observation post, the rebels blew it up and smashed
11:12the porcelain to pieces.
11:13Yeah, it blew up.
11:15It blew up?
11:16Yes, it exploded on the launch pad.
11:19Um, okay.
11:20It's weird.
11:21Um, yeah, wow, they really should have told me that.
11:24That's, um, that's naughty.
11:27The Crystal Palace, London, UK.
11:30Would you be able to build your conservatory on an even larger scale?
11:35Big enough to house the entire contents of the world's manufacturing?
11:40A green house to the gods.
11:45Crystal Palace.
11:46Built for the Great Exhibition of 1851, the Crystal Palace was an architectural marvel that looked like something out of
11:53a steampunk fantasy.
11:55It was made almost entirely of cast iron and 300,000 panes of sheet glass and enclosed nearly 1 million
12:02square feet of exhibition space.
12:04It was so large that full-sized elm trees grew inside the building, and it showcased the industrial might of
12:11the Victorian era.
12:12The Queen invited me to the opening of the exhibition.
12:15What, and you left Ireland for that?
12:16I could hardly refuse a royal command.
12:19And besides, I'm looking forward to seeing the famous Crystal Palace.
12:23Crystal Palace?
12:24Crystal Carbuncle, more like.
12:26After the exhibition, the entire palace was disassembled and moved to Sydenham Hill in South London, where it stood for
12:33decades.
12:34But its time came in November 1936, when a small fire broke out in a cloakroom.
12:40Despite the efforts of 400 firefighters, the fire spread rapidly through the timber flooring, and the once-mighty building burned
12:47to the ground.
12:48There were many who said this could not be done, but they did not possess the vision of one man,
12:54my husband, and his accomplice, Sir Henry Cole, who understood that the nations of the world were ready for this
13:05festival of peace.
13:08And now, it is with the greatest pleasure that I declare the exhibition open.
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13:42The original Pennsylvania Station.
13:44New York City, USA.
13:46November 27th, 1910 was a day New Yorkers had been anticipating for nearly a decade.
13:53Pennsylvania Station.
13:55A monumental train terminal in the heart of Manhattan.
13:58Finally opened to the public.
13:59The original Penn Station wasn't just a train station.
14:02It was a masterpiece of the Beaux-Arts style and a verified palace for the everyday commuter.
14:08The main waiting room was inspired by the Roman baths of Caracalla, featuring massive vaulted glass windows, soaring 150-foot
14:17ceilings, and enormous columns made of pink granite.
14:20There were throngs of people in the station that day.
14:23It was as if someone took them to ancient Rome and ancient Greece.
14:27I mean, they'd never seen anything like that.
14:29It also spanned eight acres, looking like something transplanted from a lost empire.
14:34But by the 1950s, train travel was declining due to the rise of cars and planes, so the now unprofitable
14:41Penn Station was dumped by its owners.
14:44In 1963, the majestic structure was tragically jackhammered to rubble and dumped into a New Jersey swamp.
14:51An unglamorous end for such a magnificent beauty, the public was horrified by its destruction, and the outrage led to
14:58the modern historical preservation movement in the United States.
15:02The scale of this was veronic. It was huge. It was the biggest civil engineering project of its time.
15:09Do you wish you could have seen these titans in person? Let us know in the comments.
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