Unfortunately, this proximity to the wildlife wasn’t accompanied by strenuous safety measures, and soon after the park opened, a man in a car was mauled when he taunted the lions from his open window.Īnother incident saw a young elephant picking up a woman with its trunk, and over the next several years, multiple animals escaped into the adjacent town of West Milford. The drive-through safari part of the park allowed tourists to get close to free-range elephants, lions, tigers, monkeys and llamas, many of which would even climb on top of the slow-moving cars. The pedestrian section included a petting zoo, reptile house, camel rides and a live show starring actors costumed as popular characters from the Looney Tunes cartoons. The attraction offered visitors the opportunity to explore both on foot and by car. In 1972, Warner Brothers opened this highly-anticipated zoo and safari park featuring more than 1,500 wild animals.

The National Park Service maintains the relics as part of the Gateway National Recreation Area, and guided tours are available on select weekends from April to October.Ībandoned places in NJ image by Alyse Wax via Dread Central The large, seashell-shaped radar guidance systems perched on deteriorating metal platforms still stand guard over the site. Rusted bay doors embedded in the ground are marked with fading yellow paint, and decrepit loudspeakers and aging arc lamps ring the structure. Today, remnants of the launch facility are still visible, with a barbed-wire fence surrounding a vast slab of concrete now overgrown with weeds and brush. Some of these sites were repurposed as schools, prisons and recreational facilities, while others were simply left to decay Sandy Hook was among the latter. The Hagedorn Gero-Psychiatric Hospital was primarily intended to function as a state-operated nursing home, but soon broadened its mission to become a 288-bed psychiatric hospital for the elderly.Ībandoned places in NJ image by Photo ReconĪfter the Nike missile program was discontinued as part of the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks, the weapons were removed from their underground silos, and the Sandy Hook site was abandoned along with roughly 250 other missile bases across the country. Soon afterward, a new treatment center named for former Senator Garret Hagedorn was erected on the adjacent property. However, with its population and the state of the facility in decline, the hospital closed its doors in the late 1970s and was left to decay. When new treatments for tuberculosis helped get the epidemic under control in the mid-20 th century, the facility once again evolved to treat all diseases of the chest and lungs. Initially, the sanatorium only accepted cases deemed to be curable, but by the 1920s, it had expanded its guidelines to accept all patients, no matter how advanced their disease. Designed as a model for modern treatment methods, the facility in bucolic Glen Gardner was expected to serve approximately 500 patients per year. Like most states, New Jersey opened its first tuberculosis sanatorium at the height of the epidemic in the early 20 th century. The Best Abandoned Places in NJ Brooksbrae Brick Factory (Manchester Township)Ībandoned places in NJ image by Alison Zillante via Shutterstock For laws that specifically relate to NJ, please click here. Luckily, we have developed a massive guide to trespassing laws in all 50 states. It is important when considering abandoned places in NJ to know the basics of NJ trespassing laws. If you have a specific location from the list below that you would like to immediately get more information about, click the links in the list to snap straight to that abandoned places in NJ location. Finding the Best Abandoned Places in Virginia In 2021.The Best Abandoned Places In Maryland For 2021 And Beyond.Our Choices For The Best Abandoned Places In Pennsylvania.

Finding the Best Abandoned Places in New York In 2021.Interested in venturing outside New Jersey? Here are a few guides to surrounding states that will be helpful in your explorations outside of the wonderful abandoned places in NJ: Specifics on the locations are not given purposefully to ensure the abandoned places in NJ stay as vandalism and destruction-free as possible. Killer Urbex Note: It is important to note that many of these locations are in an extremely delicate state.

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