6 Tallest Abandoned Skyscrapers Around the World

Everyone has to start somewhere, but a finish isn’t always guaranteed. Take New York City, for example, which began as swampy woodland and later became the concrete jungle we know today. Yet even with architectural feats like the Empire State Building, not every tower completes the skyline. For every cloud-grazing giant, there’s at least one half-built high-rise that never reached its full potential.

Even without serving as offices or luxury apartments, these bare-boned buildings continue to captivate, evoking the same fascination as abandoned landmarks around the world. Standing tall, they serve as stark reminders of unchecked ambition, shifting times, and human conflict. Abandoned skyscrapers aren’t limited to ghost towns—they loom over some of the busiest cities on Earth, from Bangkok to Los Angeles. Here are six of the tallest unfinished towers in the world, and the stories behind their stunted growth.

1. Goldin Finance 117, China
2. Ryugyong Hotel, North Korea
3. Oceanwide Plaza, Los Angeles, USA
4. 1 Seaport, New York, USA
5. Sathorn Unique Tower, Thailand
6. Burj el Murr, Lebanon

Goldin Finance 117, China

Towering 1,959 feet over the Chinese port city of Tianjin, this skeletal skyscraper was poised to become the world’s fifth tallest. But after the 2015 Chinese stock market crash drained its funding, construction froze indefinitely, leaving its 117 planned stories suspended in time. What was meant to house offices, a five-star hotel, and a rooftop atrium with a swimming pool now stands empty, although recent plans to resume construction have been discussed.

Ryugyong Hotel, North Korea

It's what's on the inside that counts, and for North Korea's "Hotel of Doom," there’s nothing to see. Its shiny, pyramid-shaped exterior hides a hollow interior that has never welcomed a guest, even after reaching its full height in 1992 and completing its glass facade in 2011. Towering 1,080 feet over Pyongyang, the Ryugyong Hotel was built as a Cold War statement, a direct challenge to South Korea’s rising skyline. Intended to outshine its southern neighbor, it ironically does the opposite—though its LED light show on the exterior might try to convince you otherwise.

Oceanwide Plaza, Los Angeles, USA

Los Angeles’ infamous “graffiti towers” never saw the glory they were meant for; abandoned in 2019, just four years after the concrete was poured. Funding shortfalls left the mixed-use complex—planned for condos, a hotel, and retail—unfinished, turning it into an unexpected canvas for street artists. Layers of colorful graffiti soon transformed the three towers into a symbol of urban rebellion and creativity. Now, with ownership passing from Beijing-based Oceanwide Holdings to local developer KPC Group, the building may finally rise from its bankruptcy, promising a new life as “the jewel of downtown LA.”

1 Seaport, New York, USA

World-class pizza isn’t the only thing Italy and New York City have in common: the city also has its own leaning tower. Tucked in the Financial District at 161 Maiden Lane, 1 Seaport was set to join the ranks of the World Trade Center, Empire State Building, and Chrysler Building. But when developers discovered the skyscraper was leaning slightly north in 2020, construction came to an abrupt halt, leaving the condo tower’s 58 stories unfinished.

Sathorn Unique Tower, Thailand

Dubbed Thailand’s “Ghost Tower,” this 47-floor skyscraper owes its emptiness not to spirits, but to scandal. While financial struggles are a common obstacle for many deserted buildings, Sathorn Unique Tower’s story takes a darker turn. Conceived in the 1990s to welcome the new millennium, construction abruptly halted in 1997 amid the Asian financial crisis. Adding to the chaos, the building’s architect, Rangsan Torsuwan, was arrested in 1993 for involvement in an attempted assassination. The combination of legal troubles and a lack of funding deterred investors, sealing the tower’s fate as an abandoned structure.

Burj el Murr, Lebanon

This shell of a skyscraper in Lebanon is known as the “tower of bitterness”—and not without reason. Construction on Beirut’s Burj el-Murr began in 1974 but ground to a halt just three years later as the Lebanese Civil War erupted. Once a symbol of progress in the Middle East, the 40-story building became a sniper perch for military forces and today stands as a haunting reminder of conflict.