90-473: The Hotel Ponce Intercontinental (also known as "El Ponce" ) is an abandoned hotel with a still existing structure at Cerro del Vigía in Ponce, Puerto Rico . The structure is considered a historic landmark and a national icon in the city of Ponce and Puerto Rico . The property is currently owned by Misla Hospitality Group, a family of local Ponce investors who bought it from CBC Development. Its architecture
180-731: A central heating plant . These pipes are generally run through utility tunnels, which are often intended to be accessible solely for the purposes of maintenance. Nevertheless, many of these steam tunnels, especially those on college campuses, have a tradition of exploration by students. This practice was once called "vadding" at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology , but students there now call it roof and tunnel hacking . Some steam tunnels have dirt floors, poor lighting and temperatures above 45 °C (113 °F). Others have concrete floors, bright light, and more moderate temperatures. Most steam tunnels have large intake fans to bring in
270-552: A casino that operated until 1973. On the top of the hotel, WRIK-TV had its transmission antenna. The hotel is on a lot measuring approximately 25 cuerdas (roughly 25 acres). The land area is 22.5 cuerdas . The hotel was designed in 1957-58 by American architect William B. Tabler , FAIA . Tabler, whose offices were in New York City , designed hotels worldwide for the Statler chain, Hilton, and Intercontinental. Tabler designed
360-614: A casino, spa, night club, swimming pools, and three restaurants. It would be the second under the Marriott flag in Ponce, after the Aloft hotel located on the Ponce Bypass and PR-12 . Abandoned Hotels Urban exploration (often shortened as UE , urbex, and sometimes known as roof and tunnel hacking ) is the exploration of manmade structures, usually abandoned ruins or hidden components of
450-548: A commercial purpose and are a form of shopping mall . All the same alleys have for long been associated with various types of businesses, especially pubs and coffee houses . Bazaars and Souqs are an early form of arcade found in Asia and North Africa. Some alleys are roofed because they are within buildings, such as the traboules of Lyon , or when they are a pedestrian passage through railway embankments in Britain. The latter follow
540-479: A group of houses connected by the lane. Shinjuku Golden Gai ( 新宿ゴールデン街 ) is a small area of Shinjuku , Tokyo , Japan , famous both as an area of architectural interest and for its nightlife. It is composed of a network of six narrow alleys, connected by even narrower passageways which are just about wide enough for a single person to pass through. Over 200 tiny shanty-style bars, clubs and eateries are squeezed into this area. Its architectural importance
630-470: A highly localized process. Hutongs ( simplified Chinese : 胡同 ; traditional Chinese : 衚衕 ; pinyin : hútòng ; Wade–Giles : hu-t'ung ) are a type of narrow streets or alleys, commonly associated with northern Chinese cities, most prominently Beijing . In Beijing, hutongs are alleys formed by lines of siheyuan , traditional courtyard residences. Many neighbourhoods were formed by joining one siheyuan to another to form
720-498: A hutong, and then joining one hutong to another. The word hutong is also used to refer to such neighbourhoods. During China's dynastic period , emperors planned the city of Beijing and arranged the residential areas according to the social classes of the Zhou dynasty (1027–256 BC). The term "hutong" appeared first during the Yuan dynasty , and is a term of Mongolian origin meaning "town". At
810-470: A park or garden. A covered alley or passageway, often with shops, may be called an arcade . The origin of the word alley is late Middle English , from Old French : alee "walking or passage", from aller "to go", from Latin : ambulare "to walk". The word alley is used in two main ways: In landscaping , an allée or avenue is traditionally a straight route with a line of trees or large shrubs running along each side. In most cases,
900-449: A passage, court, place, lane, and less commonly path, arcade , walk, steps , yard, terrace, and close. While both a court and close are usually defined as blind alleys, or cul-de-sacs , several in London are throughways, for example Cavendish Court, a narrow passage leading from Houndsditch into Devonshire Square, and Angel Court, which links King Street and Pall Mall . Bartholomew Close
990-403: A small bar at street level and either another bar or a tiny flat upstairs, reached by a steep set of stairs. None of the bars are very large; some are so small that they can only fit five or so customers at one time. The buildings are generally ramshackle, and the alleys are dimly lit, giving the area a very scruffy and run-down appearance. However, Golden Gai is not a cheap place to drink, and
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#17330856130561080-604: A specialized set of guidelines, the foremost of which is "When it rains, no drains!", because the dangers of becoming entrapped, washed away, or killed increase dramatically during heavy rainfall. A small subset of explorers enter sanitary sewers . Sometimes they are the only connection to caves or other subterranean features. Sewers are among the most dangerous locations to explore owing to the risk of poisoning by buildups of toxic gas (commonly methane , hydrogen sulfide , or carbon dioxide ). Sewers can contain viruses, bacteria , protozoa , and parasitic worms . Protective equipment
1170-571: A time. It is the narrowest alley in London and runs for 200 yards (180 m), connecting St Martin's Lane with Bedfordbury in Covent Garden. Close by is another very narrow passage, Lazenby Court, which runs from Rose Street to Floral Street down the side of the Lamb and Flag pub; in order to pass people must turn slightly sideways. The Lamb & Flag in Rose Street has a reputation as the oldest pub in
1260-578: Is Cities of the Underworld , a documentary series that ran for three seasons on the History Channel starting in 2007. This series roamed around the world, showing little-known underground structures in remote locales and right under the feet of densely packed city-dwellers. Websites for professional and hobby explorers have been developed to share tips and locations. With the rise in the hobby's popularity, there has been increasing discussion of whether
1350-499: Is classical modern . When it opened, in 1960, it became the first modern hotel in the city. The hotel is located in the northern section of the city of Ponce, on a hill just north of the El Vigia Hill , behind Cruceta del Vigía and Castillo Serralles . The hotel had a large circular outdoor swimming pool, a ballroom named Salón Ponciana , a cocktail bar named Bar Coquí ; and a restaurant called El Cafetal . The hotel also had
1440-444: Is vicolo . Venice is largely a traffic free city and there is, in addition to the canals, a maze of around 3000 lanes and alleys called calli (which means narrow). Smaller ones are callètte or callesèlle , while larger ones are calli large . Their width varies from just over 50 centimetres (19.7 in) to 5–6 metres (196.9–236.2 in). The narrowest is Calletta Varisco, which just 53 centimetres (20.9 in); Calle Stretta
1530-692: Is Željava Air Base , situated under the Gola Plješevica mountain, near the city of Bihać . It was the largest underground airport and military air base in the SFR Yugoslavia , and one of the largest in Europe. The complex contains tunnels in total length of 3.5 km (2.2 mi), and other large facilities. Nowadays, it is popular for urban exploration, although it is risky due to the possibility of anti-personnel landmines being located in unexplored areas, remnants from 1990s Bosnian War . Many explorers find
1620-455: Is 65 centimetres (25.6 in) wide and Calle Ca' Zusto 68 centimetres (26.8 in). The main ones are also called salizada and wider calli , where trade proliferates, are called riga , while blind calli , used only by residents to reach their homes, are ramo . Cities such as Amsterdam and Groningen have numerous gangen or stegen . They often run between the major streets, roughly parallel to each other but not at right angles to
1710-534: Is a narrow winding lane which can be called an alley by virtue of its narrowness, and because through-access requires the use of passages and courts between Little Britain, and Long Lane and Aldersgate Street. In an old neighbourhood of the City of London , Exchange Alley or Change Alley is a narrow alleyway connecting shops and coffeehouses . It served as a convenient shortcut from the Royal Exchange on Cornhill to
1800-640: Is a popular music festival that began in 2004 in Melbourne's laneways. The lanes and arcades of Perth , Western Australia are together becoming culturally significant to the city. In 2007 modification to Liquor Licensing Regulations in Western Australia opened up the opportunities for small bars. This was followed in August 2008 by the City of Perth formally adopting a laneways enhancement strategy, "Forgotten Spaces – Revitalising Perth's Laneways". In Belgium
1890-482: Is a spacious pedestrian street with Victorian shop-frontages that links Charing Cross Road with St Martin's Lane , and it is sometimes used as a location by film companies. One of the older thoroughfares in Covent Garden , Cecil Court dates back to the end of the 17th century. A tradesman's route at its inception, it later acquired the nickname Flicker Alley because of the concentration of early film companies in
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#17330856130561980-529: Is home to many lanes and arcades. These laneways date mostly from the Victorian era , and are a popular cultural attraction for their cafes, bars and street art. The city's oldest laneways are a result of Melbourne's original urban plan, the 1837 Hoddle Grid , and were designed as access routes to service properties fronting the CBD's major thoroughfares. St Jerome's Laneway Festival , often referred to simply as Laneway,
2070-506: Is in danger. Hẻm/Ngõ alleyways are a Vietnamese vernacular urban planning typology, common in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi . Sydney features a series of laneways in its central business district that have been used to provide off-street vehicular access to city buildings and alternative pedestrian routes through city blocks , in addition to featuring street art , cafes, restaurants, bars and retail outlets. The Rocks has
2160-469: Is known as haikyo ( 廃墟 ) (literally "ruins"), and the term is synonymous with the practice of urban exploration. Haikyo are particularly common in Japan because of its rapid industrialization (e.g., Hashima Island ), damage during World War II , the 1980s real estate bubble , and the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami . In Bosnia and Herzegovina , a large underground facility abandoned since 1992
2250-540: Is left of a medieval street network, or a right of way or ancient footpath . Similar paths also exist in some older North American towns and cities. In some older urban development in North America lanes at the rear of houses, to allow for deliveries and garbage collection, are called alleys. Alleys and ginnels were also the product of the 1875 Public Health Act in the United Kingdom , where usually alleys run along
2340-514: Is nevertheless famous for its medieval history. The Lintgasse was first mentioned in the 12th century as in Lintgazzin , which may be derived from basketmakers who wove fish baskets out of Linden tree barks. These craftsmen were called Lindslizer , meaning Linden splitter . During the Middle Ages , the area was also known as platēa subri or platēa suberis , meaning street of Quercus suber ,
2430-509: Is often left untranslated in Chinese addresses, but may also be translated as "lane", and "tang" is a parlor or hallway. It is sometimes called lilong (里弄); the latter name incorporates the -li suffix often used in the name of residential developments in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. As with the term hutong, the Shanghai longdang can either refers to the lanes that the houses face onto, or
2520-457: Is only 40 centimeters (16 inches) wide. The Shanghai longtang is loosely equivalent to the hutong of Beijing . A longtang (弄堂 lòngtáng , Shanghainese : longdang ) is a laneway in Shanghai and, by extension, a community centred on a laneway or several interconnected laneways. On its own long (traditional Chinese 衖 or 弄, simplified Chinese 弄) is a Chinese term for "alley" or "lane", which
2610-412: Is recommended for people who enter sewers. Exploring active and abandoned subway and railway tunnels, bores, and stations is often considered trespassing and can result in civil prosecution due to security concerns. As a result, this type of exploration is rarely publicized. An exception to this is the abandoned subway of Rochester, New York , the only American city with an abandoned subway system that
2700-428: Is remembered for being the birthplace of great artistic, social and political events of its time. Celebrities, such as Chucho Avellanet , Iris Chacon , El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico , Celia Cruz , Marco Antonio Muñiz , José José , Sandro de America , Camilo Sesto , Raphael , and others, stayed or performed at the hotel. The hotel's definitive closure was first announced on April 21, 1975, slated for May 30, due to
2790-596: Is simple but consistent with a curvilinear theme which is unique in Puerto Rico. The concrete shells that housed the restaurant, and activities rooms are geared to take advantage of large open spaces with majestic views of the Caribbean Sea. The use of ornamental roofs is typical of modern architecture of the mid-1950s era. The first stone of the Hotel was placed on January 6, 1958, under the project name “Hotel El Ponceño”, and
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2880-426: Is that it provides a view into the relatively recent past of Tokyo, when large parts of the city resembled present-day Golden Gai, particularly in terms of the extremely narrow lanes and the tiny two-storey buildings. Nowadays, most of the surrounding area has been redeveloped. Typically, the buildings are just a few feet wide and are built so close to the ones next door that they nearly touch. Most are two-storey, having
2970-415: Is the generic Scots term for alleyways, although they may be individually named closes, entries, courts and wynds. Originally, a close was private property, hence gated and closed to the public. A wynd is typically a narrow lane between houses, an open throughway, usually wide enough for a horse and cart. The word derives from Old Norse venda , implying a turning off a main street, without implying that it
3060-593: Is the practice of exploring active or in use buildings, which includes gaining access to secured or "member-only" areas, mechanical rooms, roofs, elevator rooms, abandoned floors, and other normally unseen parts of working buildings. The term "infiltration" is often associated with exploring active structures. People entering restricted areas may be committing trespass, and civil prosecution may result. Catacombs such as those found in Paris , Rome , Odessa , and Naples have been investigated by urban explorers. Some consider
3150-693: The Discovery Channel , MTV's Fear , and the Ghost Hunting exploits of The Atlantic Paranormal Society have packaged the hobby for a popular audience. The fictional film After... (2006), a hallucinatory thriller set in Moscow's underground subways, features urban explorers caught up in extreme situations. Talks and exhibits on urban exploration have appeared at the fifth and sixth Hackers on Planet Earth Conference, complementing numerous newspaper articles and interviews. Another source of popular information
3240-592: The Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II in Milan (1867), and the Block Arcade, Melbourne , Australia (1893). Alleyways are an understudied urban form historically shared by most Asian cities. They provide a setting for much everyday urban life and place-based identity, the examination of which can shed new light on the traditional idea of a global city and contributes to a renewed conception of metropolization as
3330-573: The Mines of Paris , comprising many of the tunnels that are not open to public tours, including the catacombs, the " Holy Grail " due to their extensive nature and history. Explorers of these spaces are known as cataphiles . Entry into storm drains , or "draining", is another common form of urban exploration. Groups devoted to the task have arisen, such as the Cave Clan and Darkside in Australia . Draining has
3420-592: The Rue de la Cigogne/Ooievaarstraat . The old town of Lübeck has over 100 Gänge , particularly leading off the streets Engelswisch, Engelsgrube and Glockengießerstraße, as well as around the cathedral. Some are very low as well as narrow, and others open into more spacious courtyards ( Höfe ). Spreuerhofstraße is the world's narrowest street , found in the city of Reutlingen , Baden-Württemberg , Germany . It ranges from 31 centimetres (12.2 in) at its narrowest to 50 centimetres (19.7 in) at its widest. The lane
3510-616: The Court. The first film-related company arrived in Cecil Court in 1897, a year after the first demonstration of moving pictures in the United Kingdom and a decade before London's first purpose-built cinema opened its doors. Since the 1930s it has been known as the new Booksellers' Row as it is home to nearly twenty antiquarian and second-hand independent bookshops . It was the temporary home of an eight-year-old Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart while he
3600-455: The Hotel opened as a luxury hotel on 1 February 1960. The cost of the construction of the hotel was $ 3.75 million USD ($ 40 million today). The Hotel operated for 15 years (from 1960 to 1975) and was of particular importance in the collective memory of the Ponce's popular society in the 1960s through the 1970s. The hotel was a bustling center of entertainment that stood out as a center of large musical events of those years. The Ponce Intercontinental
3690-594: The Integrated Development Commission of the South Region from the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico began considering the possibility to rehabilitate the structure to operate as a senior citizen housing complex. The plan called for 126 senior housing units. By 2016, however, a new player surfaced. Juan Jose Acosta won approval to convert the building into a housing complex for homeless youth members of
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3780-562: The LGBT community. In 2018, Grupo Misla Villalba, owners of Hotel Meliá , bought the property from CBC with plans to rehabilitate the structure as a hotel. On 28 July 2020, Misla Hospitality Group announced that the structure will be rehabilitated to convert it into the Puerto Rico's first Tribute Portfolio by Marriott International . The hotel was preliminarily expected to open in March 2022 after an investment of $ 20 million. The new hotel will feature
3870-579: The Latin trans ambulare , meaning "to cross", and the first of them were possibly built as early as the 4th century. As the Roman Empire disintegrated, the residents of early Lyon— Lugdunum , the capital of Roman Gaul —were forced to move from the Fourvière hill to the banks of the river Saône when their aqueducts began to fail. The traboules grew up alongside their new homes, linking the streets that run parallel to
3960-517: The PRIDCO. Simultaneously, the team traveled to New York City in 1985-86, where it located the original plans at the offices of William B. Tabler . As a design strategy for its architectural features, they decided to remodel the essence of its main structure and proposed an enlargement to accommodate a modern convention center within the premises. On 7 October 1985, as a result of the landslide in Mameyes ,
4050-599: The Ponce Intercontinental in a modern style with ample space for cross ventilation and light, interior details, and quasi-futuristic traits. The design takes advantage of the location of the building for natural ventilation and exposure to large and spacious panoramic views of the Caribbean Sea from the top sector of the El Vigia Hill in the municipality of Ponce, Puerto Rico. The architectural design of this hotel
4140-519: The Post Office on Lombard Street and remains as one of a number of alleys linking the two streets. The coffeehouses of Exchange Alley, especially Jonathan's and Garraway's, became an early venue for the lively trading of shares and commodities . These activities were the progenitor of the modern London Stock Exchange . Lombard Street and Change Alley had been the open-air meeting place of London's mercantile community before Thomas Gresham founded
4230-630: The Royal Exchange in 1565. In 1698, John Castaing began publishing the prices of stocks and commodities in Jonathan's Coffeehouse, providing the first evidence of systematic exchange of securities in London. Change Alley was the site of some noteworthy events in England's financial history, including the South Sea Bubble from 1711 to 1720 and the panic of 1745. In 1761 a club of 150 brokers and jobbers
4320-601: The Sydney Cave Clan 's website after they raised concerns that the portal could "risk human safety and threaten the security of its infrastructure". Another website belonging to the Bangor Explorers Guild was criticized by the Maine State Police for encouraging behavior that "could get someone hurt or killed". Toronto Police , called for an "end" to rooftop photography in 2016, citing similar concerns about
4410-666: The United States Pittsburgh (see Steps of Pittsburgh ), Cincinnati (see Steps of Cincinnati ), Minneapolis , Seattle , and San Francisco as well as Hong Kong , Genoa and Rome . Arcades are another kind of covered passageway and the simplest kind are no more than alleys to which a glass roof was added later. Early examples of a shopping arcades include: Palais Royal in Paris (opened in 1784); Passage de Feydeau in Paris (opened in 1791). Most arcades differ from alleys in that they are architectural structures built with
4500-556: The alley is a mere 90 cm (35 inches) wide, making it the narrowest street in Stockholm. The alley is named after the merchant and burgher Mårten Trotzig (1559–1617), who, born in Wittenberg , emigrated to Stockholm in 1581, and bought properties in the alley in 1597 and 1599, also opening a shop there. According to sources from the late 16th century, he was dealing in first iron and later copper, by 1595 had sworn his burgher oath, and
4590-403: The area, though records are not clear. The first mention of a pub on the site is 1772. The Lazenby Court was the scene of an attack on the famous poet and playwright John Dryden in 1679 by thugs hired by John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester , with whom he had a long-standing conflict. In the same neighbourhood Cecil Court has an entirely different character than the two previous alleys, and
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#17330856130564680-480: The ascents of rooftops, cranes, antennas, smokestacks, etc., usually illegally, to get an adrenaline rush and take selfie photos or videos . Rooftopping differs from skywalking as the latter is mostly about taking panoramic photographs of the scene below, and safety is more important than the thrill. Rooftopping has been especially popular in Russia . Buildering has a similar goal as rooftopping and skywalking (to reach
4770-508: The back of streets of terraced houses , with ginnels connecting them to the street every fifth house. Alleys may be paved, or unpaved, and a blind alley is a cul-de-sac . Modern urban developments may also provide a service road to allow for waste collection, or rear access for fire engines and parking . Because of geography, steps ( stairs ) are the predominant form of alley in hilly cities and towns. This includes Quebec City in Canada and in
4860-514: The clientele that it attracts is generally well off. Golden Gai is well known yokocho and meeting place for musicians, artists, directors, writers, academics and actors, including many celebrities. Many of the bars only welcome regular customers, who initially should be introduced by an existing patron, although many others welcome non-regulars, some even making efforts to attract overseas tourists by displaying signs and price lists in English. Golden Gai
4950-418: The construction of villas, a multilevel parking garage and banquet facilities. However, by 2001 the sale had fallen through and PRIDCO put the property for sale again. CBC Development won the auction for the property and planned to demolish the structure and build a 365-unit walk-up apartment complex. In 2006, PRIDCO sold the property to CBC Development, however, CBC changed the plans. It then planned to remodel
5040-816: The cork oak tree. Lintgasse 8 to 14 used to be homes of medieval knights as still can be seen by signs like Zum Huynen , Zum Ritter or Zum Gir . During the 19th-century the Lintgasse was called Stink-Linkgaß , a because of its poor air quality. The traboules of Lyon are passageways that cut through a house or, in some cases, a whole city block, linking one street with another. They are distinct from most other alleys in that they are mainly enclosed within buildings and may include staircases. While they are found in other French cities including Villefranche-sur-Saône , Mâcon , Chambéry , Saint-Étienne , Louhans , Chalon sur Saône and Vienne (Isère) , Lyon has many more; in all there are about 500. The word traboule comes from
5130-399: The decay of uninhabited space profoundly beautiful, and some are also proficient freelance photographers who document what they see, such as those who document the infrastructure of the former USSR . Abandoned sites are also popular among historians , preservationists , architects , archaeologists , industrial archaeologists , and ghost hunters . Another aspect of urban exploration
5220-419: The equivalent term is gang (Dutch) or impasse (French). Brussels had over 100 gangen/impasses , built to provide pedestrian access to cheap housing in the middle of blocks of buildings, and often containing a communal water tap. Several lead off Rue Haute/Hoogstraat. Since 1858, many have been demolished as part of slum clearance programmes, but about 70 still exist. Some have been gentrified, for example
5310-479: The extra attention has been beneficial. The activity's growing popularity has resulted in increased attention not just from explorers but also from vandals and law enforcement. The illicit aspects of urban exploring, which may include trespassing and breaking and entering , have had critical attention in mainstream newspapers. In Australia , lawyers for the Roads and Traffic Authority of New South Wales shut down
5400-457: The floor, making slips and falls a special concern near hot pipes. Steam tunnels have generally been secured more heavily in recent years due to their frequent use for carrying communications network backbone cables, increased safety and liability concerns, and perceived risk of use in terrorist activities. The rise in urban exploration's popularity can be attributed to increased media attention. Recent television shows such as Urban Explorers on
5490-434: The fresh air and push the hot air out the back, and these may start without warning. Most active steam tunnels do not contain airborne asbestos , but proper breathing protection may be required for other respiratory hazards. Experienced explorers are very cautious inside active utility tunnels since pipes can spew boiling hot water or steam from leaky valves or pressure relief blow-offs. Often there are puddles of muddy water on
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#17330856130565580-415: The hotel was used as temporary accommodation for people affected by the floods. As the time of the relocation of the affected tenants became longer than anticipated, plans to enlarge and re-model the hotel were abandoned. In 1999, George Philip Rivera, a local businessman and entrepreneur, became interested in buying and in remodeling property, and have it operate as El Vigía Hotel & Casino. He envisioned
5670-400: The hotel's profound economical crisis as losses were accumulating over $ 1.7 millions ($ 10 millions today). The hotel's management were disposed to accept offers to avoid the hotel's closure, requiring $ 1 million ($ 6 millions today) investment. A group of local Ponce investors were interested in leasing the hotel to continue operating, once Inter·Continental Hotels ceases operations. However,
5760-468: The hotel, build an 80-room condo hotel, a 15,200 ft. square convention center, and 80 villas. The project was named Vista Magna Hotel & Resort. Two years later, however, in 2008, due to the estructural damage deemed too extensive, CBC decided it would instead demolish the structure and build a new hotel having some elements of the nostalgic original building. In any event, neither repairs nor demolition took place and, in 2012, CBC Development along with
5850-452: The interested group didn't have the necessary economical resources to continue operating the hotel, and the hotel was finally closed on May 31, 1975 at 11 pm, a day after the anticipated date, losing over 145 jobs. 7 guests were staying at the hotel on the last day of operations. After the hotel's closure, Inter·Continental Hotels continued in charge of the building's maintenance until 1980. The hotel's location, high costs, labor conflicts, and
5940-412: The lack of appropriated road access were considered factors for the hotel's economical problems that caused the closure. The hotel's only access road was through a narrow one-way, one-lane alley in a financially deprived neighborhood north of the city. The lack of touristic promotion outside San Juan Metropolitan Area and the hotel's bad administration were also blamed for the hotel's failure. In 1979,
6030-692: The line of rights-of way that existed before the railway was built. The Burlington Arcade (1819) was one of London's earliest covered shopping arcades. It was the successful prototype for larger glazed shopping arcades, beginning with the Saint-Hubert Gallery (1847) in Brussels and The Passage (1848) in St Petersburg , the first of Europe's grand arcades, to the Galleria Umberto I (1891) in Naples,
6120-456: The manmade environment. Photography and historical interest/documentation are heavily featured in the hobby, sometimes involving trespassing onto private property. Urban exploration is also called draining (a specific form of urban exploration where storm drains or sewers are explored), urban spelunking , urban rock climbing , urban caving , building hacking , or mousing . The activity presents various risks, including physical danger,
6210-556: The mayor of Ponce José G. Tormos Vega announced that the hotel would reopen under new owners for the 1979 Pan American Games , which was held in San Juan, Puerto Rico . However, the hotel didn’t reopen and in 1981, a group of Puerto Rican and American investors were reportedly looking into purchasing the property. No other developments were subsequently reported. In 1985, and under Government of Puerto Rico guidelines, Puerto Rico's Compañia de Fomento Industrial ( "PRIDCO" ) decided to buy
6300-533: The most common example of urban exploration. Many sites are entered first by locals and may have graffiti or other kinds of vandalism , while others are better preserved. Although targets of exploration vary from one country to another, high-profile abandonments include amusement parks , grain elevators , factories , power plants , missile silos , fallout shelters , hospitals , asylums , prisons , schools , outmoded and abandoned skyscrapers , poor houses , and sanatoriums . In Japan, abandoned infrastructure
6390-527: The most prominent and historical laneways in Sydney, which date to the 19th century. Forgotten Songs is a popular attraction situated in Angel Place. Chinatown features a number of lanes and alleyways. In suburban Sydney, several alleyways or laneways exist between residential lots that provide pedestrians a shortcut passage to nearby facilities on adjacent roads. The Melbourne central business district in
6480-471: The old hutongs of Beijing disappeared, replaced by wide boulevards and high rises. Many residents left the lanes where their families lived for generations for apartment buildings with modern amenities. In Xicheng District , for example, nearly 200 hutongs out of the 820 it held in 1949 have disappeared. However, many of Beijing's ancient hutongs still stand, and a number of them have been designated protected areas. Many hutongs, some several hundred years old, in
6570-531: The possibility of arrest and punishment if done illegally and/or without permission, and the risk of encountering squatters . Some activities associated with urban exploration may violate local or regional laws, certain broadly interpreted anti-terrorism laws , or can be considered trespassing or invasion of privacy. Encountering squatters , who are unauthorized occupants in abandoned or unmonitored properties, can lead to unpredictable and potentially dangerous situations. Ventures into abandoned structures are perhaps
6660-1115: The possibility of death or injury. The Toronto Transit Commission has used the Internet to crimp subway tunnel explorations, going as far as to send investigators to various explorers' homes. Jeff Chapman , who authored Infiltration , writes that genuine urban explorers "never vandalize, steal or damage anything". The thrill comes from "discovery and a few nice pictures". Some explorers also request permission for entry in advance. Storm drains are not designed with human access as their primary use and can be subject to flash flooding and bad air. Many abandoned structures have hazards such as unstable structures, unsafe floors, broken glass, stray voltage , entrapment hazards, or unknown chemicals and other harmful substances (most notably asbestos ). Other risks include freely roaming guard dogs and hostile squatters . Some abandoned locations may be heavily guarded by motion detectors and active security patrols, while others are more easily accessible and carry less risk of discovery. Rooftopping and skywalking are
6750-510: The river Saône and going down to the river itself. For centuries they were used by people to fetch water from the river and then by craftsmen and traders to transport their goods. By the 18th century they were invaluable to what had become the city's defining industry, textiles, especially silk. Nowadays, traboules are tourist attractions, and many are free and open to the public. Most traboules are on private property, serving as entrances to local apartments. The common Italian word for an alley
6840-422: The roof), but involves climbing the building from the outside rather than infiltrating from the inside. Alley An alley or alleyway is a narrow lane , path , or passageway, often reserved for pedestrians , which usually runs between, behind, or within buildings in the older parts of towns and cities. It is also a rear access or service road ( back lane ), or a path, walk, or avenue (French allée ) in
6930-832: The streets, following the old field boundaries and ditches. Gränd is Swedish for an alley and there are numerous gränder , or alleys in Gamla stan , The Old Town, of Stockholm , Sweden . The town dates back to the 13th century, with medieval alleyways, cobbled streets, and historic buildings. North German architecture has had a strong influence in the Old Town's buildings. Some of Stockholm's alleys are very narrow pedestrian footpaths , while others are very narrow, cobbled streets, or lanes open to slow moving traffic. Mårten Trotzigs gränd ("Alley of Mårten Trotzig") runs from Västerlånggatan and Järntorget up to Prästgatan and Tyska Stallplan , and part of it consists of 36 steps. At its narrowest
7020-435: The structure on 7 November 1985, with the goal of remodeling it, expanding its facilities, and providing the city of Ponce with world-class accommodations. PRIDCO commissioned the architectural firm of Pablo Quinones & Associates to initiate investigations and studies on the condition of the main structure with the intention of upgrading it to modern codes. The design team generated its recommendations, which were delivered to
7110-561: The trees planted in an avenue will be all of the same species or cultivar , so as to give uniform appearance along the full length of the avenue. The French term allée is used for avenues planted in parks and landscape gardens, as well as boulevards such as the Grand Allée in Quebec City , Canada, and Karl-Marx-Allee in Berlin . In older cities and towns in Europe, alleys are often what
7200-502: The turn of the 20th century, the Qing court was disintegrating as China's dynastic era came to an end. The traditional arrangement of hutongs was also affected. Many new hutongs, built haphazardly and with no apparent plan, began to appear on the outskirts of the old city, while the old ones lost their former neat appearance. Following the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, many of
7290-542: The vicinity of the Bell Tower and Drum Tower and Shichahai Lake are preserved amongst recreated contemporary two- and three-storey versions. Hutongs represent an important cultural element of the city of Beijing and the hutongs are residential neighborhoods which still form the heart of Old Beijing. While most Beijing hutongs are straight, Jiudaowan (九道弯, literally "Nine Turns") Hutong turns nineteen times. At its narrowest section, Qianshi Hutong near Qianmen (Front Gate)
7380-528: Was built in 1727 during the reconstruction efforts after the area was completely destroyed in the massive citywide fire of 1726 and is officially listed in the Land-Registry Office as City Street Number 77. Lintgasse is an alley ( German : Gasse ) in the Old town of Cologne , Germany between the two squares of Alter Markt and Fischmarkt . It is a pedestrian zone and though only some 130 metres long,
7470-513: Was built, as an alley, along the backs of houses on Upper Street, then Islington High Street, in 1767. In Scotland and Northern Ireland the Scots terms close , wynd , pend and vennel are general in most towns and cities. The term close has an unvoiced "s" as in sad . The Scottish author Ian Rankin 's novel Fleshmarket Close was retitled Fleshmarket Alley for the American market. Close
7560-567: Was formed to trade stocks. The club built its own building in nearby Sweeting's Alley in 1773, dubbed the "New Jonathan's", later renamed the Stock Exchange . West of the City there are a number of alleys just north of Trafalgar Square , including Brydges Place which is situated right next to the Coliseum Theatre and just 15 inches wide at its narrowest point, only one person can walk down it at
7650-452: Was known for prostitution before 1958, when prostitution became illegal. Since then it has developed as a drinking area, and at least some of the bars can trace their origins back to the 1960s. Apart from drinking alleys (drinking yokocho), shotengai and yokocho shotengais, there are the ordinary alleyways, the rojis which seem exist in all parts of the Japanese urban landscape. The roji which
7740-438: Was later to become one of the richest merchants in Stockholm. Possibly referred to as Trångsund ("Narrow strait") before Mårten Trotzig gave his name to the alley, it is mentioned in 1544 as Tronge trappe grenden ("Narrow Alley Stairs"). In 1608 it is referred to Trappegrenden ("The Stairs Alley"), but a map dated 1733 calls it Trotz gränd . Closed off in the mid 19th century, not to be reopened until 1945, its present name
7830-721: Was officially sanctioned by the city in 1949. The " List of streets and squares in Gamla stan " provides links to many pages that describe other alleys in the oldest part of Stockholm; e.g. Kolmätargränd (Coal Meter's Alley); Skeppar Karls Gränd (Skipper Karl's Alley); Skeppar Olofs Gränd (Skipper Olof's Alley); and Helga Lekamens Gränd (Alley of the Holy Body). London has numerous historical alleys, especially, but not exclusively, in its centre; this includes The City , Covent Garden , Holborn , Clerkenwell , Westminster and Bloomsbury amongst others. An alley in London can also be called
7920-468: Was once operational. The Cincinnati subway is also abandoned but was never completed. London has a number of stations on the London Underground network that have been closed over the years, with Aldwych tube station a popular location for explorers. Universities, and other large institutions, such as hospitals, often distribute hazardous superheated steam for heating or cooling buildings from
8010-439: Was once part of people's personal spatial sphere and everyday life has been transformed by diverse and competing interests. Marginalised through the emergence of new forms of housing and public spaces, re-appropriated by different fields, and re-invented by the contemporary urban design discourse, the social meaning attached to the roji is being re-interpreted by individuals, subcultures and new social movements. Thus, their existence
8100-550: Was touring Europe in 1764. For almost four months the Mozart family lodged with barber John Couzin. According to some modern authorities, Mozart composed his first symphony while a resident of Cecil Court. North of the centre of London, Camden Passage is a pedestrian passage off Upper Street in the London Borough of Islington , famous because of its many antiques shops, and an antique market on Wednesdays and Saturday mornings. It
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