Top 10 Historical Buildings Ruined by MORONS
These revered ruins and historical marvels were never the same after being visited by witless wonders. Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re looking at historical buildings that were desecrated, either partially or completely, by selfish, ignorant, or just plain brainless human beings.
Transcript
00:00 An apparent romantic gesture on an ancient Roman canvas.
00:04 This morning, a recipe for outrage.
00:06 Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're looking at historical buildings that were desecrated
00:10 either partially or completely by selfish, ignorant, or just plain brainless human beings.
00:15 The co-owner of the Dunaway building in Pacific Beach says vandals destroyed the historic
00:20 lanterns that are difficult to replicate.
00:24 Number 10.
00:25 Notre Dame Duo.
00:26 In French for "Our Lady of the Heights," Notre Dame Duo is a Roman Catholic chapel
00:30 found in eastern France.
00:31 It was completed in 1955 by architect Le Corbusier.
00:35 Renowned for its modernist architecture, the building was named a UNESCO World Heritage
00:39 Site in 2016.
00:40 But just two years prior, the chapel was the target of a destructive break-in that resulted
00:45 in much public outcry.
00:46 Vandals entered the building on January 17, 2014, shattering the only stained-glass window
00:52 that was signed by Le Corbusier.
00:54 The window was irreplaceable, as the architect died back in 1965.
00:58 And with this wanton act of petty vandalism, the World Heritage Site was never the same.
01:03 Number 9.
01:04 The Pyramid of Montcourret.
01:05 The world-famous Giza Pyramid complex consists of three main pyramids, the big one, suitably
01:10 named the Great Pyramid of Giza, the middle one, the Pyramid of Khafre, and the smallest,
01:14 the Pyramid of Montcourret.
01:15 The latter has suffered extensive damage, and it doesn't take an eagle-eyed tourist
01:19 to notice the gaping hole on the northern face.
01:21 That massive gash came about thanks to a sultan of Egypt named Al-Aziz Uthman.
01:26 In the late 12th century, Uthman ordered that the pyramids be destroyed, as he was convinced
01:30 that they harbored secret treasure.
01:32 But workmen found the effort of moving massive stones incredibly taxing, not to mention ridiculously
01:37 expensive, so they basically just gave up.
01:39 Number 8.
01:40 Unity Temple.
01:41 Even those who don't harbor an ounce of interest in architecture know the name Frank Lloyd
01:45 Wright, perhaps the most influential American architect of all time.
01:48 Wright designed more than 1,000 buildings in seven decades of work.
01:52 One of the most famous is Unity Temple, an Illinois church built in the early 20th century.
01:57 "This is one of Frank Lloyd Wright's greatest works in his whole career, which makes it
02:01 one of the greatest works of the 20th century."
02:05 Found above one of the building's entrances is the phrase "For the Worship of God and
02:09 the Service of Man," written in bronze lettering.
02:11 In September of 2010, 56 of the bronze letters were ripped from the wall, leaving behind
02:16 mere indentations in the concrete.
02:18 Thankfully, the letters were restored at a cost of $42,000, thanks to metallurgists at
02:22 the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
02:24 Number 7.
02:25 Clifford's Tower.
02:26 Found in the cathedral city of York, England is the York Castle Complex, and in this complex
02:31 is an ancient keep called Clifford's Tower.
02:33 "Clifford's Tower is definitely one of the most important buildings in York, and
02:37 I would argue one of the most important buildings anywhere in England."
02:41 Much of the tower was destroyed in a 17th century explosion, leaving it in its currently
02:45 ruined state, but that's not what we're talking about here.
02:48 No, we're talking about an unfortunate act of graffiti that occurred back in 2010.
02:52 Red paint had been sprayed onto the stone walls, bearing bizarre messages like "Stop
02:57 Cancer" and "X-Hatch Implant Killer."
02:59 This act of vandalism was traced back to a conspiracy theorist named Adam Blythe, who,
03:03 according to his solicitor, "was convinced cancer was the result of babies receiving
03:07 brain implants."
03:08 He was found mentally sound and given nine weeks in prison.
03:11 Number 6.
03:12 Troy.
03:13 The ancient city of Troy is at the heart of the mythical Trojan War, which is most prominently
03:17 described in Homer's The Iliad.
03:27 While the historicity of the Trojan War is questioned, we know that Troy itself was real.
03:32 That's thanks to the archaeological work of Heinrich Schliemann, who both found and
03:36 destroyed much of the ancient city.
03:38 The site is first extensively excavated in 1870 by a wealthy German businessman, Heinrich
03:45 Schliemann.
03:48 He is so obsessed with the legend of Troy and discovering its treasures, he has his
03:53 team reveal the ruins as quickly as possible.
03:56 Schliemann was not actually an archaeologist, but a businessman, and his inexperience resulted
04:00 in catastrophe.
04:02 Schliemann essentially dug straight through the ancient city, destroying its foundations
04:06 and losing important historic information.
04:20 To this day, there's a massive trench carved through the area, known not so nicely as Schliemann's
04:25 Trench.
04:26 One scholar named Kenneth Harrell even joked that Schliemann completed the Greeks' work
04:30 by razing the city of Troy.
04:31 Number 5.
04:32 The Dunaway Building.
04:33 Go to San Diego, California, and you'll find the Dunaway Building, an old brick structure
04:37 dating back to the 1920s.
04:48 The building was constructed by a young pharmacist named Sam Dunaway, who ran the city's iconic
04:53 Dunaway Pharmacy.
04:54 The location changed hands numerous times throughout the decades, and by 2023, it was
04:59 being used by numerous companies as a retail space.
05:07 But in January of that year, the historic structure was hit by vandals, who proceeded
05:21 to wreak some havoc.
05:22 They not only scattered glass, tiles, and cinder blocks across the sidewalk below, they
05:26 also destroyed a number of irreplaceable glass lanterns.
05:33 Melody reviewed surveillance video and believes the vandals somehow got on the roof and did
05:37 the damage.
05:38 The owner, Melody Noble, said the damage was heartbreaking to look at.
05:42 Number 4.
05:43 An El Paraíso Pyramid.
05:44 Dating as far back as 3500 BC, El Paraíso is an ancient archaeological site found in
05:50 central Peru.
05:55 Spanish for "the paradise," El Paraíso is believed to have been a religious hub,
06:00 featuring a complex of pyramids.
06:01 One of these pyramids measured 20 feet high, and according to property developers Alisol
06:06 and Provelans, it was on some seriously valuable land.
06:21 In June of 2013, the companies bulldozed the ancient pyramid and set its ruins on fire.
06:26 This act drew an outcry of criticism, and the police were forced to intervene and prevent
06:30 further destruction.
06:31 The act was said to cause irreparable damage to a page of Peruvian history.
06:35 This is La Huaca Pucllana, an archaeological site that is over 1700 years old.
06:41 But as you can see, it's in the middle of the city.
06:44 There are hundreds of sites like this all over Lima, and authorities say their greatest
06:49 challenge is how to preserve them.
06:52 3.
06:53 The Second Temple of Artemis
06:54 Regarded as one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, the Temple of Artemis was found
06:58 in modern Turkey and earned renown for its size, featuring more than 127 columns.
07:03 But this was actually the third iteration of the Temple of Artemis.
07:06 The first was destroyed in a flood, prompting a second to be constructed around 550 BC.
07:11 This one lasted about 200 years before it was destroyed in 356 BC.
07:15 This time it wasn't from water, but fire.
07:17 While some modern scholars have questioned the story, the burning is typically attributed
07:21 to a Greek man named Herastratus.
07:23 Legend claims that Herastratus burned the temple down in a desperate attempt at becoming
07:27 famous.
07:28 2.
07:29 Babylon
07:30 Ancient cities don't get much bigger, literally and figuratively, than Babylon.
07:34 The ruins of Babylon, south of Baghdad.
07:37 It's one of the UN's World Heritage Sites.
07:40 The name literally means "the door of God."
07:43 These bricks are over 4,000 years old.
07:46 The main hub of ancient Babylonia.
07:48 Babylon was once considered the largest city in the world, being the first to reach a population
07:53 of 200,000.
07:54 Its ruins can be found in modern-day Hilla, a city about 50 miles south of Baghdad.
07:59 Unfortunately, this became the site of Camp Alpha during the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
08:03 "In 2003, the U.S. Army set up its Camp Alpha here, bringing with it soldiers, helicopters,
08:09 and tanks, and even dug trenches under the archaeological site."
08:13 Many bodies, including the United Nations and the British Museum, condemned the American
08:17 military for their treatment of ancient Babylon.
08:19 They contend that military vehicles crushed brick pavements, that personnel tried stealing
08:24 decorative bricks from the Ishtar Gate, and that entire areas were leveled to make helipads
08:29 in parking lots.
08:30 "Military positions and made a helicopter landing pad.
08:33 Their trucks were also very heavy.
08:36 They locked themselves inside the city, and we don't know what damage they did inside."
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08:55 1.
08:56 The Roman Colosseum
08:57 You're just asking for trouble when you open a historic building to the public.
09:00 "The outrage was immediate, including from the Italian government.
09:04 On Twitter, Italy's Minister of Culture calling the carving 'a sign of great incivility'."
09:09 Finished in 80 AD, the Colosseum stands as the crowning achievement of ancient Roman
09:13 culture and architecture, and it has been relentlessly attacked by tourists.
09:17 Carving initials or phrases into the ancient concrete is a common occurrence, although
09:21 it comes at a steep price of a $15,000 fine and up to five years in prison.
09:25 Some just want to be memorialized.
09:26 "I was taken aback.
09:27 It was, it was, uh, to see someone doing this.
09:32 And, you know, you could speculate on where they're from.
09:34 I don't know if there's been any confirmation of where these people are from."
09:37 Others, including an English tourist who carved his and his girlfriend's names into the
09:41 wall, aren't aware of the significant penalties.
09:43 So as much as you may be tempted, don't carve your name into the Colosseum.
09:46 "This video appears to show a man using keys to carve into an icon of world history,
09:53 the Colosseum.
09:54 The man silent but smiling when confronted."
09:58 You may be in Italy a lot longer than you had planned.
10:01 Have you visited any of these historic sites?
10:03 Let us know in the comments below.
10:04 "These walls were once impenetrable."
10:07 "But water, the whims of a dictator, and war have put parts of Babylon at risk."
10:17 Did you enjoy this video?
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