The shocking fall of an abandoned city built into a hollow skyscraper that has been taken over by evil gangs and piled high with corpses.
Haunting images have revealed the insiThis is an abandoned city built in a hollow skyscraper.
The Ponte Town Hall in Johannesburg was once hijacked by gangs in the 1990s, and bodies were piled up in it before being converted.
Architect Russell Henderson took his TikTok followers on a chilling tour of the building.
He explained how the criminals stripped the entire skyscraper, including the elevators, and also charged residents for their stay.
“Drug trafficking and prostitution flourished behind its gray walls,” Russell said.
He added: “Of course there was no maintenance of the building, so people were throwing garbage in the middle, and even suicidal people through them.
The architect also painted a horrifying and realistic picture of bodies and garbage piled up to 14 floors in the 55-storey building.
Built in the 1970s, Ponte City has 482 apartments and remains the tallest residential skyscraper in South Africa.
Russell explained that the name Ponte means “bridge” in Latin, and was given this name specifically to symbolize the bridge between heaven and earth.
These apartments can be two or three bedrooms or studios.
The building’s cylindrical shape is due to local regulations of the time, which required kitchens and bathrooms to have windows for lighting and ventilation.
The strange open void in the middle slopes down to uneven natural rocks.
“The architects designed an open central void that allows light and ventilation to flow to both sides of the apartments,” he said.
Located in Hillbrow, the sought-after apartment building was located in the middle of a vibrant, multicultural area full of cafés and bookshops.
“When the building opened in 1975, Ponte City was considered a prestigious and luxurious place to live with apartments for the wealthy because of the stunning views of central Johannesburg,” Russell explained.
“But after the Soweto uprising, the market declined.
“By the 1980s, the crime rate in the tower and the surrounding neighborhood had risen.
“The wealthy people living inside Ponty Tower started moving to other places in the city.
“Drugs, poverty, prostitution, gun crime and urban decline were rife.
“Gang activity has caused a rise in the crime rate in the Ponty Tower neighborhood.”
The building has now been converted and houses hundreds of modern and affordable apartments.
The building’s public areas include capacity for more than 50 stores, restaurants and banking facilities.
Elsewhere, on Tenerife, an abandoned hotel has mysteriously stood empty for 50 years.
The 22-storey Hotel Añaza was located on the shores of the village of Los Pocitos, but it did not have a single guest.
