The Ryugyong Hotel
DQ reader and future Nobel Prize Winner Brian Pilnick sent me an e-mail about an amazing building. Here it is:Apparently, in 1987, North Korea started building a gigantic hotel in response to a South Korean built hotel in Singapore. After 5 years and $750 million, construction got canceled. The building, all 3000 rooms and 7 rotating restaurants, is complete. However, it's without windows or furnishings, making it the world's 18th tallest building and world's tallest unoccupied building.
North Korea, having put it on maps and stamps before even breaking ground, now denies its existence.
Until his e-mail, I had never heard anything about this, and it's fascinating. Here are several links and the pictures are just amazing.
Pictures:
http://googlesightseeing.com/wp-content/ryugyong.jpg
http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&t=k&ll=39.036486,125.730329&spn=0.003063,0.005182&t=k
Story:
http://theshapeofdays.com/2004/09/the_ryugyong_ho.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ryugyong_Hotel
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