You know Centralia as the Pennsylvania coal town that has been on fire since 1962. The burning subterranean coal seams finally forced the town's residents out by 1992, although eight people still remain. As the town grew smaller, it became a tourist draw, first for the smoldering fires, then later for an organic art project that grew up on the pavement of Route 61.
Formally closed in 1993 due to a decades-long mine fire simmering beneath its surface, this abandoned 0.74-mile stretch of road had achieved cult status in the first decade of the 2000s. After years of disuse, it took on new life as an artistic commons adorned with everything from pineapple-carapaced turtles to less-than-family-friendly fare, often of the male anatomical variety. By 2017, it was anecdotally cited by some locals as the sixth-most-visited attraction in the state. Its warped surface was a magnet not just for taggers, but also for horror fans and gamers in search of one of the inspirations behind Silent Hill (the 2006 movie based on the video game), mountain bikers, skaters, ATV enthusiasts, photographers, local party people, ghost hunters, and the generally curious.
The new owners of the land did not welcome the visitors, and the art, and the road itself, are gone. Read the story of Centralia's Graffiti Highway and what happened to it at Atlas Obscura.
(Image credit: Flickr user R. Miller)
