Top 10 Historical Buildings Ruined by MORONS

French for Our Lady of the Heights, Notre-Dame du Haut is a Roman Catholic chapel found in eastern France. It was completed in 1955 by architect Le Corbusier. Renowned for its modernist architecture, the building was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2016. But just two years prior, the chapel was the target of a destructive break-in that resulted in much public outcry. Vandals entered the building on January 17, 2014, shattering the only stained glass window that was signed by Le Corbusier. The window was irreplaceable, as the architect died back in 1965. And with this wanton act of petty vandalism, the World Heritage Site was never the same.

The world-famous Giza pyramid complex consists of three main pyramids - the big one, suitably named the Great Pyramid of Giza, the middle one, the Pyramid of Khafre, and the smallest, the Pyramid of Menkaure. The latter has suffered extensive damage, and it doesn’t take an eagle-eyed tourist to notice the gaping hole on the northern face. That massive gash came about thanks to a Sultan of Egypt named Al-Aziz Uthman. In the late 12th century, Uthman ordered that the pyramids be destroyed, as he was convinced that they harbored secret treasure. But workmen found the effort of moving massive stones incredibly taxing, not to mention ridiculously expensive, so they basically just gave up.

Even those who don’t harbor an ounce of interest in architecture know the name Frank Lloyd Wright. Perhaps the most influential American architect of all time, Wright designed more than 1,000 buildings in seven decades of work. One of the most famous is Unity Temple, an Illinois church built in the early 20th century. Found above one of the building’s entrances is the phrase “For the worship of God and the service of man,” written in bronze lettering. In September of 2010, fifty-six of the bronze letters were ripped from the wall, leaving behind mere indentations in the concrete. Thankfully, the letters were restored at a cost of $42,000 thanks to metallurgists at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Found in the cathedral city of York, England is the York Castle complex. And in this complex is an ancient keep called Clifford’s Tower. Much of the tower was destroyed in a 17th century explosion, leaving it in its currently-ruined state. But that’s not what we’re talking about here. No, we’re talking about an unfortunate act of graffiti that occurred back in 2010. Red paint had been sprayed onto the stone walls, bearing bizarre messages like “stop cancer” and “x hatch implant killer.” This act of vandalism was traced to a conspiracy theorist named Adam Blythe who, according to his solicitor, quote “was convinced cancer was the result of babies receiving brain implants.” He was found mentally sound and given nine weeks in prison.

The ancient city of Troy is at the heart of the mythical Trojan War, which is most prominently described in Homer’s “The Iliad.” While the historicity of the Trojan War is questioned, we know that Troy itself was real. That’s thanks to the archaeological work of Heinrich Schliemann, who both found and destroyed much of the ancient city. Schliemann was not actually an archaeologist, but a businessman, and his inexperience resulted in catastrophe. Schliemann essentially dug straight through the ancient city, destroying its foundations and losing important historic information. To this day, there’s a massive trench carved through the area, known not-so-nicely as Schliemann’s Trench. One scholar named Kenneth Harl even joked that Schliemann completed the Greeks’ work by razing the city of Troy.

Go to San Diego, California and you’ll find the Dunaway Building, an old brick structure dating back to the 1920s. The building was constructed by a young pharmacist named Sam Dunaway, who ran the city’s iconic Dunaway Pharmacy. The location changed hands numerous times throughout the decades, and by 2023 it was being used by numerous companies as a retail space. But in January of that year, the historic structure was hit by vandals, who proceeded to wreak some havoc. They not only scattered glass, tiles, and cinder blocks across the sidewalk below, they also destroyed a number of irreplaceable glass lanterns. The owner, Melody Nobel, said the damage “was heartbreaking…to look at.”

Dating as far back as 3500 BC, El Paraíso is an ancient archaeological site found in central Peru. Spanish for “The Paradise,” El Paraíso is believed to have been a religious hub featuring a complex of pyramids. One of these pyramids measured twenty feet high, and according to property developers Alisol and Provelanz, it was on some seriously valuable land. In June of 2013, the companies bulldozed the ancient pyramid and set its ruins on fire. This act drew an outcry of criticism, and the police were forced to intervene and prevent further destruction. The act was said to cause “irreparable damage to a page of Peruvian history.”

Regarded as one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, the Temple of Artemis was found in modern Turkey and earned renown for its size, featuring more than 127 columns. But this was actually the third iteration of the Temple of Artemis. The first was destroyed in a flood, prompting a second to be constructed around 550 BC. This one lasted about two hundred years before it too was destroyed in 356 BC. This time it wasn’t from water, but fire. While some modern scholars have questioned the story, the burning is typically attributed to a Greek man named Herostratus. Legend claims that Herostratus burned the temple down in a desperate attempt at becoming famous.

Ancient cities don’t get much bigger - literally and figuratively - than Babylon. The main hub of ancient Babylonia, Babylon was once considered the largest city in the world, being the first to reach a population of 200,000. Its ruins can be found in modern-day Hillah, a city about fifty miles south of Baghdad. Unfortunately, this became the sight of Camp Alpha during the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Many bodies, including the United Nations and the British Museum, condemned the American military for their treatment of ancient Babylon. They contend that military vehicles crushed brick pavements, that personnel tried stealing decorative bricks from the Ishtar Gate, and that entire areas were leveled to make helipads and parking lots.

You’re just asking for trouble when you open a historic building to the public. Finished in 80 AD, the Colosseum stands as the crowning achievement of Ancient Roman culture and architecture. And it has been relentlessly attacked by tourists. Carving initials or phrases into the ancient concrete is a common occurrence, although it comes at a steep price - a $15,000 fine and up to five years in prison. Some just want to be memorialized. Others, including an English tourist who carved his and his girlfriend’s names into the wall, aren’t aware of the significant penalties. So, as much as you may be tempted, don’t carve your name into the Colosseum. You may be in Italy a lot longer than you had planned.

Have you visited any of these historic sites? Let us know in the comments below!