Frozen in time: The crumbling concrete 'Igloo City' hotel in Alaskan wilderness that has become a major tourist attraction



When Igloo City was imagined in the 1970s, it was meant to pay homage to the Inuit people while also profiting as a hotel.

But the vision for the four-story igloo was never realized, and the project in Cantwell, Alaska was abandoned.

Now, the structure serves as a tourist destination of another sort – an eerie, 30,000-ft monument in the remote Alaska wild.

Ghost town: Igloo City in Cantwell, Alaska began as a tribute to the Inuit culture and business venture, but was later abandoned

Fortress: The structure, built some time in the 1970s, has since been abandoned and left to the elements

Frozen wasteland: The concrete structure has weathered considerably in Alaska's harsh climate

Green and white: Conifer trees grow beyond the structure, and mountains beyond that

The project was eventually abandoned because it violated building code regulations, according t o Kuriositas . It was too expensive to tear down, and so it was left.

Now abandoned, the structure remains off of George Parks Highway.

Cantwell, the nearest town to the derelict igloo, has a population of a little under 230, so it seems unlikely they would be needing an igloo-themed hotel.

Nevertheless, the fortress has attracted its fair share of vandals and tourists alike, curious to see the now-abandoned building silhouetted by conifers and snow-capped mountains.



Dome: The wooden interior of the would-be hotel

Bare bones: The globe-shaped igloo doesn't catch much light

Lewd: A graffiti artist has sprayed a picture of a woman in a bikini on the abandoned igloo landing

Opened: While there was once a padlock on the front door, passersby can now enter and explore the compound