Tallest Unoccupied Buildings in the World

Kathleen Corrigan | October 16, 2017

Man has forever been trying to reach for the clouds, and the skyscrapers dotting our cities’ horizons are monuments to this dream. However, some dreams never quite come to fruition. Around the world, there are empty towers that remind us of hard financial times and failed attempts to conquer the sky.

Here are 12 of the tallest buildings in the world that now lie empty.

12. Ryugyong Hotel

Known as the “Hotel of Doom,” the Ryugyong Hotel that looms over North Korea’s capital city of Pyongyang was meant to be the world’s tallest hotel, but it has yet to house a single guest.

This futuristic looking 105-story pyramid shaped skyscraper was supposed to be completed by 1989. Construction dragged on and finally halted in 1992 when North Korea suffered an economic crisis after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Construction resumed in 2008 and the building was finally completed in 2011 with the help of some Egyptian investors. However, as of 2017 it is still not open for business.

Ablakat / Shutterstock

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