Mysteries.of.the.Abandoned.S09E22.1080p.WEB-DL.AAC2.0.H.264-BTN_track3_[und] Movie Subtitles

1 00:00:02,121 --> 00:00:04,119 [narrator] A devastated Liberian landmark 2 00:00:04,161 --> 00:00:06,199 with American origins. 3 00:00:08,081 --> 00:00:11,319 They thought they could only fulfil their potential in Africa. 4 00:00:14,441 --> 00:00:18,199 [narrator] A Belgian town i the shadow of its destroyer 5 00:00:19,921 --> 00:00:21,839 [woman] It had to expand or die. 6 00:00:21,914 --> 00:00:24,599 But one group of people decided to do something about it. 7 00:00:26,681 --> 00:00:29,239 [narrator] And a mountainto retreat in Bolivia 8 00:00:29,241 --> 00:00:31,359 drained of its lifeblood. 9 00:00:32,481 --> 00:00:34,959 This building looks like it's teetering 10 00:00:34,961 --> 00:00:36,839 on the edge of the world. 11 00:00:41,641 --> 00:00:43,199 [narrator] Decaying relics. 12 00:00:44,761 --> 00:00:46,959 Ruins of lost worlds. 13 00:00:48,241 --> 00:00:51,399 Sites haunted by the past. 14 00:00:51,474 --> 00:00:54,999 Their secrets waiting to be revealed. 15 00:01:04,641 --> 00:01:07,759 In the heart of Liberia's capital, 16 00:01:07,834 --> 00:01:11,719 a disintegrating tower dominates the skyline. 17 00:01:20,041 --> 00:01:22,039 In the middle of a busy street 18 00:01:22,081 --> 00:01:25,639 in downtown Monrovia is a run-down skyscraper. 19 00:01:28,241 --> 00:01:30,079 [Dr. Mabry] What has survive 20 00:01:30,114 --> 00:01:32,119 are these decorative concrete slabs. 21 00:01:32,801 --> 00:01:34,265 Who are the people depicted here? 22 00:01:37,601 --> 00:01:41,599 The inside is every bit as decrepit as the outside. 23 00:01:41,601 --> 00:01:43,399 Crumbling walls, 24 00:01:43,401 --> 00:01:45,399 rotting stairwells, 25 00:01:45,441 --> 00:01:47,599 it's just a mess. 26 00:01:47,601 --> 00:01:50,559 [narrator] There are still a few lingering traces 27 00:01:50,561 --> 00:01:52,379 of its former grandeur. 28 00:01:53,521 --> 00:01:58,799 The standout feature is this massive abstract stained glass window. 29 00:01:59,721 --> 00:02:03,239 One large room looks like an auditorium. 30 00:02:03,241 --> 00:02:06,159 Could this have been a cinem 31 00:02:06,161 --> 00:02:09,039 You would never believe that this was once 32 00:02:09,114 --> 00:02:12,959 one of Liberia's most important buildings. 33 00:02:14,521 --> 00:02:17,799 [narrator] Built by a centuries-old organizatio 34 00:02:17,801 --> 00:02:20,559 with foundations in an American exodus, 35 00:02:21,921 --> 00:02:23,959 this hollow skyscraper 36 00:02:24,001 --> 00:02:27,039 would witness their spectacular downfall. 37 00:02:35,521 --> 00:02:38,239 Looking after this decaying building 38 00:02:38,241 --> 00:02:42,999 is an impossible task for its janitor, Losonny Gra 39 00:02:46,041 --> 00:02:48,999 [translation] This building used to be very beautiful. 40 00:02:49,001 --> 00:02:50,519 Very modern. 41 00:02:50,521 --> 00:02:52,839 These were all offices. 42 00:02:54,721 --> 00:02:57,199 You can see how this place was looted. 43 00:02:58,401 --> 00:03:01,999 Destroyed by human hands. 44 00:03:04,721 --> 00:03:07,639 [narrator] Before its untimely demise, 45 00:03:07,681 --> 00:03:10,759 this was Monrovia's cultural hub. 46 00:03:11,801 --> 00:03:14,359 The building was a combination of offices 47 00:03:14,361 --> 00:03:16,119 and an entertainment center, 48 00:03:16,121 --> 00:03:20,239 housing the largest auditori in the entire country. 49 00:03:21,201 --> 00:03:23,119 [translation] This was a theater. 50 00:03:23,121 --> 00:03:25,519 They used to have movies and shows here. 51 00:03:25,521 --> 00:03:27,919 All these things used to happen. 52 00:03:28,801 --> 00:03:31,799 It even had the best restaurants in Monrovia. 53 00:03:33,121 --> 00:03:34,599 [narrator] But its original function 54 00:03:34,601 --> 00:03:37,839 was primarily political. 55 00:03:40,521 --> 00:03:42,279 [translation] This building was constructed 56 00:03:42,354 --> 00:03:45,119 under the reign of the True Whig Party. 57 00:03:48,601 --> 00:03:49,959 [narrator] Built as the headquarters 58 00:03:49,961 --> 00:03:51,759 of the political party 59 00:03:51,761 --> 00:03:56,399 that would dominate a centur of Liberian politics, 60 00:03:56,401 --> 00:04:00,159 it was named after the organization's first president, 61 00:04:00,161 --> 00:04:04,039 EJ Roye, an American. 62 00:04:07,361 --> 00:04:10,519 [Sascha Auerbach] Edward James Roye was born in Newark, Ohio, 63 00:04:10,521 --> 00:04:15,439 and when he was 31 he decide to move himself to Liberia. 64 00:04:15,441 --> 00:04:18,519 He became a very wealthy and successful merchant, 65 00:04:18,561 --> 00:04:19,999 to the point at which he could even travel 66 00:04:20,001 --> 00:04:22,639 to the United States in his own ship. 67 00:04:25,001 --> 00:04:26,959 [narrator] Roye's rise to the head 68 00:04:26,961 --> 00:04:30,359 of one of the world's oldest political parties 69 00:04:30,401 --> 00:04:32,359 and the Liberian presidency 70 00:04:32,434 --> 00:04:36,759 began in the turmoil of 19th-century America. 71 00:04:39,441 --> 00:04:43,799 In 1816, a group of influential white Americans 72 00:04:43,801 --> 00:04:46,359 g***t together to discuss what they saw as 73 00:04:46,361 --> 00:04:51,119 the problem of growing numbers of emancipated African slaves. 74 00:04:53,641 --> 00:04:56,639 They believed that with their newfound freedom, 75 00:04:56,641 --> 00:04:58,879 the former slaves would find it difficult 76 00:04:58,881 --> 00:05:01,039 to integrate into white America, 77 00:05:01,041 --> 00:05:03,519 and they thought they could only fulfil their potential 78 00:05:03,521 --> 00:05:04,999 in Africa. 79 00:05:07,201 --> 00:05:09,159 So they established an organization 80 00:05:09,161 --> 00:05:13,879 called the American Colonization Society, or ACS, 81 00:05:13,921 --> 00:05:16,639 to fund and organize the transportation 82 00:05:16,641 --> 00:05:19,999 of former American slaves to West Africa, 83 00:05:20,001 --> 00:05:21,959 and to set them up when they arrived. 84 00:05:24,001 --> 00:05:26,719 The federal government also assisted the ACS 85 00:05:26,794 --> 00:05:29,999 in buying an area of land. 86 00:05:30,001 --> 00:05:32,839 [narrator] This land would eventually become 87 00:05:32,914 --> 00:05:34,999 part of modern Liberia. 88 00:05:36,321 --> 00:05:39,479 Tempted by a new life away from the nation 89 00:05:39,521 --> 00:05:43,279 that had seen them enslaved for generations, 90 00:05:43,281 --> 00:05:46,999 thousands set sail for Liberia's shores. 91 00:05:48,841 --> 00:05:53,679 Altogether, some 15,000 African Americans settled, 92 00:05:53,681 --> 00:05:57,519 and they became known as Americo-Liberians. 93 00:05:59,161 --> 00:06:01,879 They built American-looking homes 94 00:06:01,921 --> 00:06:03,719 that resembled plantation homes, 95 00:06:03,794 --> 00:06:05,639 they built American-looking churches. 96 00:06:05,714 --> 00:06:08,679 They tried to create an American society, 97 00:06:08,754 --> 00:06:10,159 essentially, in Africa. 98 00:06:11,961 --> 00:06:14,359 Even its flag reflects this relationship 99 00:06:14,401 --> 00:06:15,959 to the United States, 100 00:06:15,961 --> 00:06:18,359 because the two flags are strikingly similar. 101 00:06:20,241 --> 00:06:24,999 [narrator] In 1869, a group of these Americo-Liberians 102 00:06:25,001 --> 00:06:28,199 established the True Whig Party. 103 00:06:32,161 --> 00:06:35,679 Only American settlers and their descendants 104 00:06:35,754 --> 00:06:36,959 were allowed to vote, 105 00:06:36,961 --> 00:06:39,159 so this eliminated any possibility 106 00:06:39,201 --> 00:06:41,319 of competition from competing parties. 107 00:06:41,434 --> 00:06:44,239 [narrator] When Roye took office in 1870, 108 00:06:44,241 --> 00:06:47,399 he was immediately faced with financial crisis. 109 00:06:51,401 --> 00:06:54,599 His goal was to modernize Liberia, 110 00:06:54,601 --> 00:06:57,319 particularly its schools and infrastructure. 111 00:06:57,321 --> 00:06:59,959 But the way that he went about raising money 112 00:06:59,961 --> 00:07:01,919 for these projects would be his downfall. 113 00:07:04,041 --> 00:07:07,599 [narrator] He took punishin loans from British banks, 114 00:07:07,601 --> 00:07:09,839 which Liberia soon defaulted on, 115 00:07:09,914 --> 00:07:12,319 spiraling into recession. 116 00:07:14,921 --> 00:07:17,519 Deep resentment grew towards Roye. 117 00:07:17,521 --> 00:07:19,199 He was accused of embezzlement 118 00:07:19,201 --> 00:07:20,919 and even brought to trial, 119 00:07:20,921 --> 00:07:24,359 but managed to escape before the sentencing. 120 00:07:25,681 --> 00:07:28,599 Less than two years after coming into office, 121 00:07:28,641 --> 00:07:33,039 he was overthrown, and died in 1872. 122 00:07:35,281 --> 00:07:36,959 [narrator] The exact circumstances 123 00:07:36,961 --> 00:07:39,119 of Roye's death are unknown 124 00:07:41,961 --> 00:07:44,479 One theory...