New Orleans is a city that has been dying and coming back to life for three centuries — and Hurricane Katrina in 2005 added an entire new layer of abandonment to a city already rich in forgotten architecture. A 1905 power plant with twin smokestacks visible for miles along the Mississippi. A 1939 charity hospital where 250 patients died during Katrina, left empty for twenty years. A 1933 Gothic almshouse draped in Spanish moss and vines. Here are 5 of the best abandoned places in New Orleans, selected from our Abandoned Places Map USA — 5,000+ GPS locations across the United States.
Why New Orleans Is a Hidden Gem for Abandoned Buildings & Urban Exploration
New Orleans's abandoned landscape exists on two timelines — the pre-Katrina decay of a city too poor and too culturally intact to demolish its past, and the post-Katrina devastation that emptied entire neighborhoods overnight. The two layers overlap in ways unique to New Orleans, creating an urbex environment where Southern Gothic architecture, subtropical vegetation and the weight of racial and medical history combine in every crumbling facade.
1. Market Street Power Plant – 1905 Industrial Giant on the Mississippi, Seven Buildings and Twin Smokestacks, Closed Since 1973 (Known Location)
Built in 1905 on prime Mississippi riverfront land, the Market Street Power Plant grew over decades into a complex of seven interconnected buildings covering 160,000 square feet — once claimed to be the largest electrical generating plant in the entire South. It powered New Orleans for over 65 years before closing in 1973. For fifty years its twin smokestacks and decaying industrial facade have defined the Warehouse District riverfront — featured in the sci-fi film Oblivion and the AMC series Into the Badlands. One of the most photographed industrial ruins in the American South and a defining abandoned place in New Orleans urbex.
🔗 Learn more: Wikipedia – Market Street Power Plant
2. Charity Hospital – 1939 Art Deco Hospital That Treated the Poor for 270 Years, Abandoned After Katrina 2005, 20 Years Empty (Known Location)
Founded in 1736 by a French sailor's bequest — making it the second oldest continuously operating hospital in America — Charity Hospital's 1939 Art Deco tower served New Orleans's poorest residents for generations regardless of ability to pay. When Katrina struck in 2005, approximately 250 patients and staff were stranded inside for days as floodwaters rose. The hospital was evacuated and never reopened despite engineers confirming it was structurally sound. For twenty years it has stood empty in Lower Mid-City — 20 floors of decaying corridors, abandoned medical equipment and the accumulated weight of 270 years of New Orleans medical history. In 2025 the City allocated funds for Tulane University's conversion; the building still stands.
🔗 Also read: Top 5 Best Abandoned Places in the USA →
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Explore All 5000+ Locations →3. Touro Shakespeare Home – 1933 Gothic Almshouse for the Poor, Four-Story Columns Overtaken by Vines, Uptown New Orleans (Exclusively on Our Map)
Named after philanthropist Judah Touro — who bequeathed $80,000 for a house for the poor in 1854 — and Mayor Joseph Shakespeare, the 1933 Gothic Revival almshouse on Magazine Street is one of the most visually arresting abandoned buildings in New Orleans. Its four-story neoclassical columns are now completely wrapped in climbing vines, the grand front portico hidden beneath decades of subtropical growth and the interior wards visible through broken windows. One of the best abandoned places in New Orleans for Southern Gothic urban photography. Exact location available on our Abandoned Places Map USA.
4. Plaza Tower – 1969 45-Story Skyscraper Abandoned in the Early 2000s Due to Asbestos, Still Empty on the New Orleans Skyline (Exclusively on Our Map)
Opened in 1969 as the tallest building in Louisiana, the Plaza Tower's 45 floors of Modernist zebra-stripe concrete at 1001 Howard Avenue dominated the New Orleans skyline for a decade before asbestos contamination and structural issues began emptying it floor by floor. By the early 2000s it was completely abandoned — broken windows gaping on every floor, the interior stripped by scrappers and the building visible from most of the city as a monument to unrealized potential. One of the most unusual abandoned places in New Orleans for sheer urban scale. Exact location available on our Abandoned Places Map USA.
5. St. Roch Market and Surrounding Katrina Ghost Blocks – Lower Ninth Ward Neighborhood Frozen Since 2005, Houses Still Standing (Exclusively on Our Map)
Certain blocks of the Lower Ninth Ward were so completely destroyed by Katrina's floodwaters that they were never rebuilt — wooden shotgun houses still standing at angles from the flood surge, others collapsed into their own foundations and the street grid now running through an open field of grass and concrete steps where entire blocks of homes once stood. The combination of surviving structures, empty lots and the weight of what happened here makes the Lower Ninth Ward one of the most historically significant and most quietly devastating abandoned places in New Orleans. Exact location available on our Abandoned Places Map USA.
Safety Tips for Urban Exploration in New Orleans
- Mold & biohazard: post-Katrina buildings contain extreme mold contamination — always wear an FFP2 mask and never touch walls, floors or surfaces without gloves
- Subtropical heat: New Orleans summers are brutal — always carry water and avoid enclosed spaces in midday heat June through September
- Never explore alone — always bring at least one other person and let someone know your location
The urbex code applies everywhere: "Take nothing but photographs, leave nothing but footprints."
❓ FAQ – Abandoned Places in New Orleans
What is the most famous abandoned place in New Orleans?
The Market Street Power Plant — a 1905 industrial complex of seven buildings on the Mississippi riverfront, closed in 1973 after 65 years powering the city. Its twin smokestacks have defined the Warehouse District for fifty years and the plant served as a filming location for Oblivion and Into the Badlands.
Is Six Flags New Orleans still abandoned?
No — Six Flags New Orleans (originally Jazzland) was demolished in March 2026. The amusement park had stood abandoned since Hurricane Katrina flooded it in 2005, becoming one of the most photographed urbex sites in America before its demolition.
What happened to Charity Hospital after Katrina?
Charity Hospital — founded in 1736, making it one of the oldest hospitals in America — was evacuated after Katrina in 2005 despite engineers confirming structural integrity. It stood empty for twenty years while political disputes blocked its reopening. In 2025 the city allocated funds for its conversion into a Tulane University research facility.
🎯 Summary
New Orleans's abandoned buildings are shaped by two forces — centuries of Southern Gothic decay and the single catastrophic event of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. From a 1905 power plant that powered the city for 65 years to a 1939 charity hospital that treated the poor for 270 years, each of these 5 abandoned places in New Orleans carries the weight of a city that has always lived closest to the water and paid the highest price for it.
