Neglected and unloved, a shocking number of heritage buildings are left to decay and far too many end up meeting the wrecking ball. The lucky ones are restored and repurposed for the 21st century – often with spectacular results.
We take a look at six beautiful historic buildings that were brought back from the brink. Click or scroll on to see their dramatic evolutions...
Positioned on Flinton Street, The Royal Hospital for Women has been a local landmark of the city of Paddington, New South Wales, since it was built in around 1901.
Formerly known as the Benevolent Asylum, the building was there to offer medical care to poor and disenfranchised women, most of whom were unmarried migrants, according to The Royal Hospital for Women Foundation.
The nurses working at the hospital dealt with thousands of admissions each year and in 1905, new wards and operating theatres were opened and the halls were lit with electricity.
Australia’s first antenatal clinic was opened here by Dr. John Cadell Windeyer and his teachings shaped midwifery practices in the region.
In 1997, The Royal Hospital for Women was relocated to its current location in Randwick, a suburb of Sydney, leaving the hospital building vacant. Yet, luckily it wasn't empty for long and was soon saved from a fate of eternal abandon...
In 2000, the former hospital was converted into homes as part of the acclaimed Paddington Green development.
Various local firms, including Allen Jack+Cottier Architects, helped with the massive scheme, which saw old buildings and industrial sites turned into beautiful homes and lush community parks.
Varying in size, the apartments inside the historic building are unique. This 6,254-square-foot (581sqm) whole-floor penthouse has four separate timber verandahs, enviable open-plan living space and 13-foot (4m) ceilings.
Perhaps unsurprisingly considering its enormous proportions, one-of-a-kind history and 360 views, the home sold in June 2023 for an incredible AUS$20 million ($13.6m/£10.4m).
All dining and living areas open out onto a veranda, so there are plenty of spots for entertaining or simply sitting down to a meal whipped up in this sleek kitchen as featured in this The Agency Real Estate YouTube tour.
Decked out in Calcutta marble, with a 10-foot-long (3m) island, Gaggenau and Mila appliances and a roomy butler's pantry, the kitchen enjoys the same high ceilings and open-plan layout as the rest of the apartment.
This oval master bedroom has a light-filled ensuite and French doors leading onto a private balcony giving incredible views across Sydney. There are three further bedrooms and bathrooms, as well as garage space for five cars.
Residents of the building have access to a gym, swimming pool and hot tub, as well as Paddington's buzzy shops, cafes and parks.
Built between 1929 and 1935, Battersea Power Station is undoubtedly one of London's most notable landmarks.
Nestled on the south bank of the River Thames in the London Borough of Wandsworth, the property has a rich and important history – not to mention a truly iconic façade.
During its prime, the coal-fired power station supplied a fifth of the city's energy, even supplying electricity to some of London’s most important landmarks, including Buckingham Palace and the Houses of Parliament.
Constructed by the London Power Company, it remained active until 1975 when it was decommissioned for good.
In 1980, the station was placed on the National Heritage List for England and awarded Grade II*-listed status in 2007, protecting it from being demolished.
Despite this, the beautiful building was left abandoned and quickly fell into a state of disrepair – until a team of property developers decided to rescue it...
In 2012, Battersea Power Station was purchased by SP Setia, Sime Darby Property and the Employees Provident Fund, for a reported £500 million ($646m).
The following year, an extensive renovation project began, with the aim of transforming the 42-acre (17ha) site surrounding the Power Station into a new community of homes, restaurants and green spaces. Of course, the historic building itself would play a key role in the redesign.
The scheme saw the live-in landmark turned into 250 high-end apartments, while the land surrounding it was developed to include a total of 800 new homes, as well as offices, cafes and independent businesses. Luckily, due to the building's listed status, the developers were told they had to retain its Art Deco structure, its six million bricks and its iconic chimneys, each of which towers up 164 feet (50m).
Now complete, the redevelopment scheme is one of the most successful projects of its kind.
Today, the building houses shops and restaurants on the lower floors, with luxury apartments above. They blend contemporary touches with plenty of period appeal. As well as displaying the building's original brick and steelwork, each apartment comes with floor-to-ceiling steel-framed windows and state-of-the-art appliances.
Former Police frontman Sting was an early resident of the iconic building.
Dating back to the late 1800s, the Buffalo State Asylum was designed by distinguished architect Henry Hobson Richardson in the style that bears his name, Richardsonian Romanesque.
The sprawling complex served as the state's principal psychiatric institution for over a hundred years.
Buffalo's imposing asylum shut its doors in the 1970s and was pretty much left to rot, despite achieving National Historic Landmark status in 1986.
The spooky abandoned building, which is said to be a hotbed of paranormal activity, fast became a magnet for ghost hunters and urban explorers.
In 2006, a lawsuit filed by a local preservation society forced New York State to conserve the endangered historic building.
The buildings were stabilised, the grounds landscaped and plans were announced to transform part of the former asylum into a hotel and architectural centre.
The first phase of the spectacular transformation was completed in April 2017 and the 88-room Hotel Henry opened to paying guests not long after.
A slick glass and steel lobby graces the revamped complex, but the developers have been careful to preserve its historic integrity.
New York architectural firm Deborah Berke Partners collaborated with historic preservation agency Goody Clancy on the renovation project.
They oversaw the painstaking restoration of a number of original features, including cornicing, tiles and the grand main staircase.
The stunning light-filled hotel has its very own restaurant serving sustainably sourced delicacies, not to mention a gym, office space, conference rooms and an architectural centre.
Best of all, ghostly sightings have been few and far between since the dramatic refurbishment.
Hadlow Tower, also known as May's Folly, is early Victorian tower in the English village of Hadlow, Kent was built for eccentric industrialist Walter Barton May in 1838 as an extension to his 17th-century country house.
Measuring 170 feet (52m), the structure is one of the tallest Victorian Gothic towers in the world and the tallest in the UK.
The estate was sold in 1868 and eventually passed to the Pearson family. During the Second World War, the tower was used as a lookout post for the Observer Corps and Home Guard. While the Luftwaffe dropped several bombs in nearby fields, they never managed to hit the castle or its enormous tower.
The Pearsons left in 1946 and the house was demolished in 1951, but the tower garnered listed status and was saved. However, it sustained severe damage in the Great Storm of 1987. The 40-foot (12m) octagonal lantern on top was removed and the tower the fell into disrepair.
The fairytale tower had various owners during the latter half of the 20th century. The local council served a compulsory purchase order on the property in 2010 after the owner, who had lived there for 20 years, was reportedly unable to foot the £4 million ($5.2m) repair bill.
The tower was then bought by the Vivat Trust, a preservation charity. £3 million ($3.9m) of public money was put into restoring the tower and it opened to the public in 2013.
But its reinvention as a tourist attraction didn't last long. The Vivat Trust entered into liquidation in 2015 and was forced to sell the renovated tower, marketing the property as a quirky home.
With four bedrooms, this impressive staircase and panoramic views of Hadlow village, the interior is adorned with Gothic-style windows and honey-coloured wood accents, complemented by ornate details such as arched brick fireplaces and chandeliers.
The tower was snapped up by banker Christian Tym for a bargain £425,000 ($550k). After restoring the building further, including linking all eight floors with a fully-serviced lift, Tym put the property back on the market just a year later for £2 million ($2.6m), but failed to find an interested party.
It was put up for sale again in 2020, this time for just less than £1.5 million ($1.9m) but it's unclear if a buyer was ever found. Despite being privately owned, the tower is occasionally open to the public.
This striking building was originally built as a bakery at the turn of the 20th century, but it was later expanded in 1921 and run as a clothing factory until the late 1980s.
After that, the historic and eye-catching building was vacated and left unloved, until a local couple bought the property in 1994 for just AUD$650,000 – that would be around AUD$1.4 million ($948k/£732k) when adjusted for inflation today.
Located in the bohemian neighbourhood of Newtown, the former industrial property is now a stunning home that's considered to be one of most magnificent in the area, and it's really no wonder. The property still boasts its iconic façade, but inside the old warehouse and bakery has been meticulously and beautifully restored.
Proving that old, redundant buildings can be saved and transformed into something beautiful, this space is now one of the most impressive homes we've ever stepped inside.
The unique historic home occupies a huge 5,478-square-foot (508sqm) block and boasts almost 9,700 square feet (901sqm) of internal and external space across two floors. Inside, every living space features industrial elements and original features, including structural steel columns, exposed ceiling rafters and brick walls.
In September 2020, the amazing property smashed local records when it sold for AUD$5.8 million ($3.9m/£3m). The new owners renovated the space with the help of Anna-Carin Design Studio, who transformed the care-worn home into this chic, sleek space.
The building has been sensitively converted to meet the needs of modern living without taking away from its heritage.
The home required a "complete reconfiguration, restoration and redesign" to create a welcoming family home. Anna-Carin Design linked the two halves of the building, the 1909 corner shop and the 1922 warehouse next door, retaining the industrial feel by adding custom-made metal-framed windows and doors, and reusing original brick.
“It’s a little nod to that warehouse industrial essence but with delicate feminine details of beautiful tiling, marble and stone,” Anna-Carin told Homes to Love.
While the unusual home holds five large bedrooms and six bathrooms, the interior maintains a "sense of home" and a feeling of intimacy – thanks in part to the courtyard at its centre, which creates an inward-looking environment.
Complete with an outdoor swimming pool, seating areas and lush greenery, this open-air yard is a private paradise in the heart of one of Australia's busiest cities.
Landscape architect Asher Cole winched three 40-year-old olive trees into the courtyard and added a rooftop vegetable and herb garden to attract wildlife and emphasise the tranquil feel of a city oasis.
This imposing building is known as the Colossus Of Prora. It stands on the German island of Rügen, with views of white sand beaches and the Baltic sea – however, its idyllic location belies a dark past.
Pictured here under construction in 1937, Prora was built by the 'Strength Through Joy' division of Hitler's Nazi Party. It was designed to accommodate up to 20,000 vacationing citizens, providing amenities like restaurants, kindergartens, a wave pool and a solarium.
Between 500 and 600 forced labourers were drafted in to build the enormous structure, however the Second World War stopped the construction in its tracks.
Instead of becoming a beach resort for the Third Reich, it was used as a hospital, refugee camp and training school before it was taken over by Soviet troops after the war. However, with the collapse of the USSR, the eight identical structures, which stretched an incredible 2.8 miles (4.5km), were left to decay.
Prora was abandoned for decades. Slowly reclaimed by Mother Nature, the eight buildings were whittled down to six and the site was left with the air of an ancient Roman ruin hiding among the trees. For modern holiday makers trying to enjoy one of Germany's prettiest beaches, it was an unpleasant reminder of Germany's dark past.
"We have enough memorials in Germany", one beachgoer told The Local in 2016. "So many years have passed, it's time to make something beautiful out of Prora."
Thankfully, the haunting holiday camp was given a fresh start...
Today, the Colossus Of Prora gleams as white as the beach, stretching along the coast almost as far as the eye can see.
In 2004, the blocks were sold off to various buyers. In 2011, the world's longest youth hostel opened in one of the blocks and it was quickly followed by other developments that transformed the historic site.
Since 2018, Prora has officially been recognised as a resort once again. Accessible by train and linked to the popular boardwalk at nearby Binz, Prora is now home to holiday apartments, hotels, swimming pools, a museum, shops, cafes, bike hire, a salon and even a treetop path.
Some of the first apartments to be built on the site were snapped up quickly and reportedly ranged in price from €350,000 ($381k/£294k) for a 1,076-square-foot (100sqm) ground floor apartment to €650,000 ($708k/£546k) for a penthouse with sea views.
Not everyone welcomed the change. Some argued it should be maintained as a memorial or demolished completely, and far-right bloggers reportedly celebrated the opening of the hostel as a realisation of Hitler's plans for the area.
However, while not without controversy, this sleek, modern apartment exemplifies Prora's transformation from a crumbling remnant of the Third Reich into a shining example of Germany moving ever further from its troubled past.
Loved this? Now discover more incredible abandoned houses