Hi, it’s Katrina!
From entire amusement parks to man-made lakes, here are 8 mines that have been given a new purpose!
8.
Louisville Mega Cavern
Underneath all ten lanes of the Watterson Expressway and parts of the local zoo in Louisville,
Kentucky, there’s a 100-acre former limestone mine known as the Louisville Mega Cavern.
It’s classified as a building because of its support structures, and is therefore technically
the largest building in the state of Kentucky.
The cavern is also the largest recycling facility in the state by tonnage!
Surprise!
The cavern started out as Louisville Crushed Stone and remained in operation for over 42
years during the mid-20th century, from the 1930’s to the 1970’s.
Private investors acquired the property in 1989 with the intentions of developing it
into an environmentally-friendly high security commercial storage facility.
Since the early 1990’s, over 850,000 truckloads of backfill have been delivered to the cavern
to raise the floor levels and create roads and warehouse space.
The underground cavern currently has various uses, including for business, recycling, storage,
and tourism.
This place features zip lines, tram tours, a dirt bike track, and an annual holiday lights
display.
Year-round, the facility is kept at an average temperature of 58 degrees Fahrenheit (14.4
degrees Celsius).
It has two seasons, however - a wet summer and a dry winter.
Luckily, the building is equipped with a dehumidifier, and remains comfortable year-round.
7.
Salina Turda Amusement Park
The Salina Turda amusement park in Romania is located within one of the world’s oldest
salt mines, which dates back to the 17th century.
Between then and 1932, when the mine officially closed, over three billion tons of salt were
mined from this site underneath Turda, Transylvania, which lies 400 feet below the ground’s surface.
Before it ultimately became an amusement park, the space also served as a World War II-era
bomb shelter and a cheese warehouse.
All kinds of stuff!
Salina Turda features numerous attractions, including a ferris wheel, an underground lake
with row and paddle boats, ping pong, a bowling alley, an amphitheater, and mini golf courses.
For visitors seeking wellness treatments, the mine also has a spa that maintains constant
environmental conditions.
There are also tours, along with some of the old mining equipment, for those seeking to
learn about the historical aspect of the mine.
Admissions prices vary based on package, but a basic adult admission is only $4 USD (15
lei).
6.
Subtropolis Business Park
In 2014, this $60 million data center was opened in a former underground limestone mine
in Kansas City, Missouri.
It was developed by Lamar Hunt, the late owner of the Kansas City Chiefs, in collaboration
with Hunt Midwest Real Estate Development.
The walls of the facility are six times stronger than concrete.
Thanks to the mining activity, electrical infrastructure was already in place.
During hot summers, the data center takes advantage of its naturally cool subsurface
environment.
SubTropolis claims to be the world’s largest underground storage facility, and this may
very well be true, as the man-made cave occupies 55,000,000 square feet (5,100,000 square meters),
or around 1,100 acres (4.5 square kilometers).
The venue has even trademarked the phrase “World’s Largest Underground Business
Complex.”
There’s another underground data center in an unused 145-acre limestone mine in Butler
County, Pennsylvania - it’s known as the Iron Mountain National Data Center.
Located 220 feet underground and in a no-earthquake zone, the facility is safe from essentially
every type of natural disaster and features a cafe and its own fire department.
5.
Wieliczka Salt Mine and Health Resort
The 800-year-old Wieliczka Salt Mine is located in southern Poland in the town of Wieliczka,
which is part of the Krakow metropolitan area.
The mine was excavated in the 13th century and continuously produced sodium chloride,
or table salt, until 2007.
That is a really long time!
As the result of falling salt prices and mine flooding, commercial salt mining was discontinued
in 1996.
It was one of the world’s oldest operating salt mines at the time salt production ended.
During World War II, the mine was occupied by the Germans and was used for manufacturing
war materials.
Nowadays, the Wieliczka Salt Mine is an official Polish Historic Monument.
Since 1978, it has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
At the Krakow Salt Works Museum, visitors interested in the mine’s history can tour
the labyrinths and shafts, as well as displays of salt mining technology.
There’s also an underground lake, statues carved by miners and contemporary sculptors
out of rock salt, and four chapels.
Even the chandelier crystals are made out of rock salt!
The 2.2-mile (3.5 km) visitor’s route makes up just two percent of the total length of
the mine passages.
The mine also contains a health resort that offers a variety of “subterraneo therapy”
services.
It’s located in a part of the mine that used to be a series of horse stables.
According to the resort’s website, the underground air has healing properties because it is unpolluted,
and is particularly beneficial for people with asthma, allergies and/or respiratory
issues.
There are a number of wellness treatments available at the center during the day, and
there’s also an overnight option.
The temperature in the sleeping area is constantly anywhere between 55.4 and 58.1 degrees Fahrenheit
(13-14.5 Celsius), so if you decide to slumber there, make sure you pack warm pajamas!
4.
Lake Ore-Be-Gone
Lake Ore-Be-Gone is an artificial freshwater lake in Gilbert, Minnesota that was made by
flooding three open-pit ore mines with water.
The tranquil lake is known for its crystal-clear water, which looks “almost tropical” on
an especially sunny day.
The area surrounding the lake has been subject to land reclamation and now hosts beaches
and docks.
Lake Ore-Be-Gone is known for walleye, northern pike, and trout fishing, as well as sunken
attractions that can be explored via scuba diving.
There’s also a nearby camping area that offers simple tent sites, as well as full-service
RV sites with water, electric, and sewer hook-ups.
So, whether you’re a camper or a glam-per, this mine-turned-lake is a great place to
visit for some much-needed rest and relaxation.
3.
White Mountain Publications Bookstore
In the Cobalt Mining District of Northern Ontario, you can find White Mountain Publications,
an independent bookstore which is also most likely the world’s only bookstore that’s
part of an old silver mine.
More than 32.5 million ounces of silver were extracted through the very same building between
1904 and 1924.
Aside from being a bookstore and a publisher’s office, the National Historic Site was also
previously repurposed as a grocery store that used the mine shaft as a refrigerator, a wig
store, a mining developer’s office, and the Firefighter’s Museum.
The bookstore is dedicated to preserving Northern Ontario’s stories and history, and its location
in an old mining building is therefore very fitting.
White Mountain Publications began as a publishing house and has published and sold more than
270 titles since 1992.
It’s been open to the public since July 2014, when the company moved to their current
location.
There’s a park across the street from the store, where you can sit and enjoy your new
purchase.
Unfortunately, if you stop in, you won’t be able to catch a glance of the bookstore’s
350-foot mineshaft, because it’s been filled in.
However, if you’re a book lover who believes in supporting local businesses and you find
yourself in Northern Ontario sometime, stop in and check the place out!
2.
Creekside Mushrooms Ltd.
Located in Worthington, PA, Creekside Mushrooms Ltd. was once the world’s largest mushroom
facility and the nation’s only underground mushroom operation.
The facility was located within an old limestone mine, whose subterranean conditions proved
to be ideal for growing white button mushrooms.
Inside the former mine, it was always 62 degrees and moist, and because growing the mushrooms
requires cool temperatures and high humidity, this was the perfect setting for the task.
Additionally, white button mushrooms don’t require light, so no money was lost on electricity
bills, and the workers got by using flashlights and wearing hard hats with small lamps.
The mushrooms grown in the clean soil at Creekside’s underground facility were firmer and more
nutritious than those grown above-ground in peat moss.
They were also certified 100 percent organic.
Everything necessary to grow the mushrooms was produced on-site, including their shipping
containers and the compost they were grown in.
The sprawling, 800-acre underground mushroom farm was capable of growing up to 60 million
pounds of mushrooms annually and employed hundreds of locals.
Unfortunately, the facility closed in 2010.
1.
Salt Cathedral of Zipaquira
This Roman Catholic church was built 200 meters (220 yards) below ground in the tunnels of
a former salt mine near the Colombian town of Zipaquira, about 49 kilometers (30 miles)
north of Bogota.
It serves as both a place of pilgrimage and a tourist destination, and is considered one
of the most notable achievements of Colombian architecture.
I’ve been here and it is pretty amazing!
The salt deposits were formed 250 million years ago and were elevated above sea level
during the formation of the Andes Mountains.
Today, the mine site sits at an altitude of 8,701 feet.
Since the fifth century BCE, the halite mines were exploited.
Around 1932, mine workers built a sanctuary on the site that the church was eventually
located on.
Every day before starting work, they prayed here.
Construction of the original Salt Cathedral began in 1950, and it was officially inaugurated
on August 15, 1954.
Due to safety concerns and structural problems that came along with being located within
an active mine, the Cathedral was closed by authorities in September 1992.
Construction on a new cathedral had already started the previous year, 200 feet below
the old one.
It was officially inaugurated on December 16, 1995.
As many as 3,000 people visit the church every Sunday for religious services.
It lacks a bishop, however, and is therefore not considered an official Catholic cathedral.
The cathedral is part of a larger complex called Parque de la Sal, or Salt Park, a 79-acre
property featuring artwork, geological displays, depictions of the mining process, and educational
displays about sustainable development and environmentally-friendly mining.
Thanks for watching!!
Have you ever visited any of these places?
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