There are so many abandoned places in Pennsylvania! This is a list of the top three abandoned places in Pennsylvania. Browse through all abandoned places in Pennsylvania

1. Concrete City

I heard about this place a few years back and decided to stop on my way back from visiting Eastern State prison in Philly. It was a rainy afternoon and when I finally found my way through the woods, it was like something to see. There is access from the road to the south, or through the main subdivision. It is a must see if you are near, even tho there is not a lot of stuff around, except the buildings.

The Concrete City was an early example of International Style architecture in the United States, built as company housing in 1911 for select employees of the Delaware, Lackawana and Western Railroad's coal division in Nanticoke, Pennsylvania

Each of the 22 buildings was divided into a duplex meant to house two families within the spare concrete spaces. The identical edifices were spread out around a central courtyard which contained tennis courts and a baseball field. Despite their intended futurism, life in the pure concrete community was far from Utopian. In addition to the rent of $8 a month, residence in the homes was surprisingly conditional requiring that tenants not only be a high-level employee at the mine, but also that English be their first language. Many families complained of near-constant damp creeping in through the stone walls, and the recreational areas were haunted by accidents such as a boy who drowned in the wading pool. Then there were the concrete outhouses which were located behind each of the homes. It was these bathrooms that would prove to be the downfall of the company town as the owners of the property refused to install an expensive but necessary sewer system, and instead simply abandoned the concrete city in 1924.
Attempts were made to demolish the buildings, but after 100 sticks of dynamite were unable to significantly damage one of the stone homes, the city was left to just deteriorate. Today the Concrete City is a popular spot for graffiti artists and, conversely, law enforcement training exercises.

2. Centralia, PA

Centralia was a mining town that ended up having an underground mine fire. The town was forced by the government to leave after a kid fell into a sink hole and died. The highway is the main attraction as it moved and cracked from the fire burning underneath. It is now covered in graffiti and based on the amount of people there when we were there, a moderate tourist attraction. More info with the links provided. It's the town Silent Hill was based on. We also found an abandoned and vandalized mobile home close to the old town church. That was actually my first exploration and what sparked my love for this hobby.

Update by fiso, Sept 2015

For anyone who enjoys this hobby, there is a lot more to see than one would believe at first blush. The beautiful church, wonderful yet private property, the cemetery and co-located coal miner museum, the sidewalks, stairs to nowhere, fire hydrants, the municipal building, the remaining residents (three families), the neighbouring communities (visit Ashland, please!) and their willingness to chat with "respectful" visitors, the kids and their rice burners who use the abandoned roads as a track (and who, quite properly, step aside when an SRT8 encroaches) and everything else. I was going to save this for my "200th" and was profoundly disappointed to see the effort I am "adding to". The highway, graffiti'd yes, was a great chance to talk to people about why they were there. The heaving is extraordinary. Bucket list...despite the fact it is all gone....it is all still there.

From Ashutosh_730:

Centralia is a self-municipal entity that is nearly a ghost town in Columbia County, Pennsylvania. Its population is said to have declined to 5 residents in 2017 making it the least populated municipality in Pennsylvania. The town which has been surrounded by Cunningham Township was claimed by the government in 1992 and the postal code ceased ten years later. The residents who still reside in the place accepted an agreement with the state and local officials permitting them to keep residing in Centralia until their deaths, after which their rights to property will be officially taken by the government. 

History of Centralia 

The land was owned by Robert Morris back in 1793 until the acclamation of his bankruptcy in 1798. The land was taken over by the bank of the United States. It was then purchased by Steven Girard for 30,000 US dollars together with other 68 tracts of East Morris. After buying he noticed that hard coal was abundant in the area leading him to sell the property to Locust Mountain Coal and Iron Company. A small community began as a village after a mining engineer migrated with his family to reside in the region.  A mine-run railroad was constructed in 1854 to transport the coal out of the valley after mining. From 1856 to 1863, there were only two mines in the small community but this later changed by 1865 as the town had a total of five well-established mines. A second railroad, Leigh and Mahoney's railroad was constructed to promote transport and markets in the area. By 1890, the town had expanded, having seven churches, five hotels, and a population of over 2700.

 Decline of Centralia 

After 37 years of production of anthracite coal, the quantity had begun diminishing. There was almost zero production when the US entered World War I. The Lehigh valley coal company shut down all the five local mines due to the Wall Street crash of 1929. Only a few mines kept on operating in the idle mines until the 1960s when most companies withdrew. The railroad services stopped in 1966 and by 1980 only 1012 residents were left. The town was set ablaze in 1990 with the intention of doing away with the town. The residents were prompted to relocate to other towns.

 State of the town today 

The government made sure that there was no other permanent structure standing in the town by the time they were done with it. Most of the town was destroyed leaving only burnt ruins all over the extensive piece of land. Currently, the town is open to the general public for visits and tours. Steam gasses from the Centralia mine and ditches that dominate the surface of the land can be hazardous.

3. Pithole Pennsylvania

Pithole City is now a ghost town situated in Cornplanter Township, Venango County in Pennsylvania. Pithole which is located a few miles from Drake well Museum and Creek State Park was among the well-known oil boomtowns in Pennsylvania. Pithole was made an official town in November 1865 with a population of 20,000. 

Story of Pithole City 

Oil Creek which was located near Pithole is where the first oil well was drilled with success. It was along the banks of the oil creek and the drilling was done by Edwin Drake. After the success, it induced the development of 500 wells built along the Oil creek that was along a 26 km part from Titusville to the mouth of the creek at the Allegheny River in Oil City. Pithole Creek at its early stages of existence was disregarded as investors saw it as a risky investment. In 1865, the Frazier well struck oil which was followed by another strike of The Twin Wells. 

The two lucky events at the two wells increased interest towards the town increasing its population and investors. The town was divided into 500 lots and by July the area’s population was more than 1900. Pithole was made part of the Borough in November of 1865. The town had 54 hotels, three churches, a railroad, and a post office that was said to be the third-largest in Pennsylvania.

Decline of Pithole 

In March 1866, the major financiers of a chain of Banks, owned by Charles Vernon Culver, collapsed. This led to financial turbulence in the oil region leading to most investors withdrawing from the town. There were fires in February and August of 1866 that brought down some buildings to ashes. In December 1866, the population had dropped to 2000. The Chase house and Marcus Theater were sold in August 1868 while the newspaper was relocated to the petroleum Center in July of 1868. By 1870 the census noted a population of 237. The City Borough was incorporated in August 1877 and the remains of the city were sold in 1879 back to Venango County.

What remains of Pithole? 

The site was bought by James B. Stevenson in 1957. He cleared the vegetation from the site and later donated it to the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum commission where he had served as chairman from 1962 to 1971. Pithole was registered as a historic place in 1973 and is under the management of the Pennsylvania Historic Museum. Pithole is open to the general public for visitations and has several historic exhibits like an old oil transport wagon that was stuck in mud in its operational days to date. It is advised to always be cautious when visiting the town.