![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0sOFJLqLqpKeSfmvUIOTf3Al9tixvXAdhWTkFVWdU5nlYk3ESK0h1JMVmDJG2N9WSCX9TAQSP3t_giBR7KLzvrMla8KSQYGldXPP5a32l7IixczawDhb-VL5zKS3TE4sREfh1sdqoi94/s400/wasteland-slide-3.jpg)
This image in a Salon slideshow of abandoned towns and buildings made my brain dart straight to Michael Stevenson.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiHu9JzT-ZGdN4mXZr-xh0nje622MAHtBBJugdmO7w_TcwO-w7_HaIj0zMJS3J2eQqwJmkkAC7mzEF8ZaYbbwTiWsj-0IRA_3sUnyPMr0gFnnD5z1q_ssAAgtVDefOr0ILU4FoqyOJM-E/s400/stevenson.jpeg)
The caption sealed the deal:
At 79 degrees north, Pyramiden was once an ideal Soviet community of 1,000 settlers: self-reliant, with free food and 50,000 books in the library. In 1998, mining was no longer sustainable and the settlers were given a few hours to pack. Melancholic remnants of their hasty departure are everywhere: dried-up plants on windowsills, Tolstoy on dusty shelves. We carry guns; a necessary precaution as Pyramiden now belongs to polar bears and cackling seagulls, nesting in windows and on rusted playground swings.I have my fingers firmly crossed for a Michael Stevenson Soviet utopia with bonus polar bears.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBsg28CmTpz-Sq7tHH-g3DEddlNowXLtxcETAn3HdkF7idWQHPENwqJFAc-UVfsfvNjUVtWrnSQpfE5JJi79NRyhXN4tRVajlBky8mckK8M3sZvqQ4Fz-kGoaW5pLkLfnN4z1V_KCRNsA/s400/He-K%252Birero-Pur-ukau-mo-Te-Awanui-o-Te-Motu%257E02-wide.jpg)
Then again, perhaps we have a Michael Parekowhai on our hands? According to Wikipedia:
The world's northernmost grand piano is located at Pyramiden; a "Red October" (Красный октябрь) grand piano is located in the auditorium of the cultural centre.
1 comment:
Hi Courtney,
Thought you might find this interesting - an abandoned entertainment park “Gulliver’s Kingdom" in Japan.
http://blog.juergenspecht.com/2009/another-haikyo-gullivers-final-resting-place/index.html
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