The World's Most Lavish Deserted Structures

3. Brazil's Fordlandia

Fordlandia, Aveiro, Pará, Brazil Location: Aveiro, Pará, Brazil

Year Founded: 1928

Investment: $10 million (Henry Ford)

Fordlandia was a vast 5,509-square-mile area established by the American entrepreneur Henry Ford in 1928. Situated along the banks of the Tapajós River, this Amazonian town was designed as a prefabricated community for rubber harvesters. Ford invested nearly $10 million into the project, aiming to secure a steady supply of rubber for his automobile production.

 

Fordlandia, Aveiro, Pará, Brazil

At its peak, Fordlandia housed around 10,000 laborers, who were largely united in their disdain for Henry Ford due to harsh working conditions. Overwork and dissatisfaction led to uprisings, ultimately resulting in the project's abandonment in 1934. By the early 2000s, only about 90 people remained in the village, and today it stands largely empty.