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#Mysteries of the Abandoned- Hidden America
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00:00A suburban house with an abandoned basement full of secrets.
00:05This has to be one of the biggest stories of police corruption in American history.
00:12A ruined resort where one woman took on the mob.
00:17Gangsters shot her father, stabbed her brother, but she never gave up.
00:22And a forgotten training base that helped save the world.
00:26The sacrifices that they made for this country, boy, is it a story to tell.
00:44Hidden deep within a forest in central Louisiana lie the ruins of a site that played a vital role in American history.
00:56It's hard to believe with all the trees here now, but at one time, you would have seen over 7,000 structures.
01:09The built environment is gone, and it leaves you with a strange impression of what once was here is no more.
01:15But if you know where to look, hidden among the trees are clues of a monumental operation.
01:25You see a lot of concrete blocks that almost look like overgrown tombstones lined up.
01:31As well as concrete ruins, there are complete buildings here jam-packed with machinery and equipment from a bygone era.
01:40These sites joined forces when America was called upon to help bring an end to the deadliest war in human history.
01:49These relics and ruins that you see out here played a significant role in the history of the United States.
01:56This is where the U.S. war machine geared up to take on the Nazi menace.
02:01Growing up as a child not far from here, I never fully understood or appreciated the historical significance of all that happened right here.
02:15Lisa Lewis now works for the Forestry Service and is one of the leading authorities on the extraordinary events that took place here.
02:27This here was a parade ground.
02:29Hard to imagine with all the trees here now, but this area was expansive, and you could see literally for about a half mile in either direction.
02:37Thousands of soldiers once gathered here to listen to a rousing speech from one of World War I's greatest American heroes.
02:48A man awarded the Medal of Honor for taking out a German machine gun nest and capturing 130 prisoners.
02:57Sergeant Alvin York.
02:59He came back to his old unit to basically give them a pep talk and to remind them of what they were fighting for, for America's freedom and America's future.
03:10This is Camp Claiborne, a U.S. Army training facility constructed in 1939 in response to the outbreak of war in Europe.
03:22At first, the U.S. had been reluctant to get involved in war in Europe.
03:28The popular public mood was one of isolationism.
03:33But President Roosevelt foresaw America's official neutral stance coming to an end.
03:39And he knew the country's army was far from ready.
03:43The U.S. had the largest economy in the world, but our military was the 17th largest.
03:51Our army was smaller than that of Romania.
03:54To address this, in October 1940, the draft was brought back.
04:00And hundreds of thousands of new recruits poured into the army.
04:04Our present program will train 800,000 additional men this coming year.
04:12And somewhat less than a million men each year thereafter.
04:16To the 16 million young men who will register today.
04:20I say, the democracy is your cause.
04:25But boosting numbers wasn't the only goal.
04:29At that time, the United States Army was primarily an infantry force.
04:34We had the mounted cavalry.
04:36A lot of the ammunitions, the howlitzers, guns, were pulled with horses.
04:41Hitler had tanks.
04:44The American army was going to have to learn how to fight a war like this.
04:49And they needed a place big enough to train thousands, hundreds of thousands of troops.
04:54This sparsely populated area of Louisiana, cleared of trees after decades of intensive logging,
05:05was ideally suited for large-scale war games.
05:09They would become known as the Louisiana Maneuvers.
05:13Zero hour in Louisiana.
05:15The greatest field exercise in American military history.
05:19With over 40,000 motorized vehicles and half a million men.
05:22One of the key things was learning to work with this relatively new technology of the tank.
05:31General Marshall Chief of Staff stated,
05:33I want the mistakes made in Louisiana, not in Europe.
05:37The 1941 Louisiana Maneuvers revealed deficiencies in Army training in this new era of mechanized warfare.
05:46Three military camps already in the area rapidly expanded to meet this new demand for training.
05:55Camp Livingston, Camp Polk, and the largest, Camp Claiborne.
06:01In less than one year, over 8,000 construction workers built hundreds of semi-permanent buildings and thousands of pyramid-shaped tents.
06:10Camp Claiborne was massive.
06:13At its zenith, it supported over 50,000 troops.
06:17And some called it the third largest city in Louisiana.
06:23Predominantly made up of temporary structures,
06:26all that is left today are remnants of the more permanent constructions.
06:31Doug Rhodes is an expert on this site and knows exactly where the remains are hidden in this vast forest.
06:42We're here at the rifle range.
06:45In fact, we're at the target pit.
06:48As the soldier would raise the target up,
06:52the paper target would appear,
06:55the soldier would fire at it,
06:56and then they would bring it back down where they would grade it.
07:01With over 500,000 soldiers coming through Camp Claiborne
07:06and each having to qualify with some sort of firearm,
07:11the range saw constant action.
07:15This is where all those bullets that didn't hit the target land.
07:21You can just walk along and easily pick up spent rounds.
07:25There were probably literally millions of these embedded in the berms here.
07:32Two of the most famous World War II Army divisions were activated here at Camp Claiborne,
07:38the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions.
07:42Both of those divisions are thrown into combat during the Normandy invasion.
07:48And then, my God, the things that they go off and accomplish during the Battle of the Bulge.
07:52Both of them are critical to our victory
07:55in the costliest battle the American military fought in its history.
08:00But there were some less heralded units at Camp Claiborne
08:04that also had a significant impact abroad.
08:06A location nearby was a key part of their training.
08:13Starting in around 1890, Louisiana was known for its timber industry.
08:18There was vast acreages of longleaf pine.
08:22And many, many mills popped up, including this one.
08:26This is the Kroll Sawmill.
08:28And the troops who came here were part of forestry battalions.
08:31When we think of the Second World War and the way the American military fought it,
08:39we think about the M1 rifle or the Sherman tank.
08:41But the reality is that probably the tool that paved the way for more success
08:46during the course of the conflict was this large-scale U.S. Army-issued chainsaw.
08:52You're building bridges.
08:53You're laying railroad tracks.
08:55They needed fresh lumber for all of that.
08:58These battalions were trained in sawmilling because when you think about it,
09:03once they got to whether it be Pacific or over in Europe,
09:07you just couldn't go to a Lowe's or a Home Depot to purchase your building supplies.
09:11It was very important to bring them here to see how the whole operation worked.
09:18Another little-known unit that trained at Claiborne were the railroad battalions.
09:23As well as maintenance and repair, they were also skilled in launching deadly attacks.
09:33In central Louisiana, a World War II U.S. facility called Camp Claiborne
09:39once trained a unique group of soldiers, railroad battalions,
09:45and a neighboring sawmill provided the locomotives.
09:50They had several of their own engines that they used in their own logging operations in the woods.
09:59The actual 106 engine helped construct the Pope-Claiborne Railroad.
10:06This railroad, as well as being used for transportation,
10:11was used to train troops in the rapid repair of railroads
10:14that in Europe would be vital supply lines.
10:18These troops also practiced sabotage.
10:23They would blow up different sections of track
10:27because they wouldn't determine how much TNT a saboteur would need
10:32to damage the track to the point to where it would cause a train to derail.
10:39Camp Claiborne-trained soldiers would first see action on November 8, 1942,
10:45during Operation Torch, the successful Allied invasion of North Africa.
10:53Approximately 11 million U.S. Army personnel would go on to serve in World War II,
10:59and half a million of them trained here in this Louisiana forest.
11:04We pulled millions of people into uniform, trained them at places like Camp Claiborne,
11:09and then at the end of that conflict, we went back to the business of being at peace.
11:14Camp Claiborne was officially shut down by the U.S. Army in 1946.
11:19The Army sold the buildings for scrap
11:22and then transferred the 30,000 acres back to the Kasachie National Forest.
11:31The Crowell Sawmill continued operating as a private business until 1969.
11:37By this time, much of what was left at Camp Claiborne had been swallowed by the forest.
11:45But thankfully, ruins are still visible today,
11:49places to remember the heroes America produced
11:53during the world's greatest time of need.
11:55Some of the most storied divisions that fought World War II
12:01trained right here at Camp Claiborne,
12:04and the sacrifices that they made for this country
12:07was to help win not only the war in Europe,
12:11but ultimately in the Pacific as well.
12:13In Motor City, an underground lair fought the law and won.
12:35This is Detroit, a city on the Great Lakes
12:38that will forever be entwined with the great American car industry.
12:43On the east side of the city,
12:46an unassuming house hides an astonishing secret.
12:51When I first came down here, I got to the door,
12:54and it was screwed shut.
12:56But this entire window was painted over,
13:00so we couldn't see what was inside,
13:01and you got the sense that nobody had really been in here for years.
13:07Behind this door lies an abandoned world.
13:11This basement is huge,
13:13and it's divided into several different rooms.
13:19The furniture here looks really old,
13:22like early to mid-20th century.
13:26Once, this was a crucial cog
13:28in a criminal network that spread across America.
13:32When I first came into the room,
13:35I honestly got shivers down my spine.
13:44Kimberly Holt bought this house in October 2022.
13:48At the time, she thought it was a normal residential property,
13:54but she didn't know what was hidden below.
13:57Nobody came down here.
14:00Nobody really knew what was in here.
14:03This had been a rental property for 70 years.
14:07The people that lived in the building
14:08never had access through this door.
14:11As its new owner,
14:14Kimberly entered the forgotten world left behind.
14:20I knew exactly what it was.
14:22I could feel the history
14:25and the people that had been in this space.
14:28Kimberly was certain
14:30this was a clandestine bar
14:33known as a speakeasy.
14:35It would have kept Detroit wet during Prohibition.
14:38Speakeasy, actually, the word comes from
14:41speak softly and easily.
14:43These were illegal bars during Prohibition.
14:47I could see the bar.
14:48I could see where the liquor went.
14:51And then over here
14:53is an early refrigeration unit.
14:56It's freezing down here.
14:58This house was constructed in 1917,
15:02a year before Michigan banned alcohol.
15:06They knew Prohibition was coming.
15:08They built it with a purpose.
15:12Michigan banned alcohol
15:13two years before national prohibition,
15:17making Detroit the first major city
15:19to turn its alcohol taps off.
15:23It's a period Mickey Lyons
15:25has spent the last 15 years studying.
15:28When Michigan first went dry,
15:30we were able to import booze
15:31from neighboring states like Ohio.
15:34So folks would take a day trip,
15:35grab some booze,
15:36and head right back out.
15:37So much illegal booze
15:41came in along the Dixie Highway.
15:43It was nicknamed
15:44the Avenue de Booze.
15:47The Avenue de Booze
15:50didn't stay open for long.
15:52In 1920,
15:53it skidded to a halt
15:55when the 18th Amendment
15:56ushered in national prohibition.
15:59But that didn't turn Detroit's
16:01speakeasies like this one dry.
16:03In Detroit,
16:05despite the national prohibition,
16:07the party kind of
16:08continued unabated.
16:09They just had to operate
16:11with paying off cops
16:12a little bit more.
16:14And the criminal element
16:15came in.
16:17Detroit's criminal gangs
16:18kept the booze flowing
16:20by smuggling it
16:21across an international border.
16:24Detroit's southern border
16:26is the Detroit River,
16:27which separates America
16:28from Canada.
16:30So booze was brought in
16:31from Canada
16:32over the water.
16:35Despite Canada
16:36also being in the grips
16:38of prohibition,
16:39its laws only prohibited
16:40the consumption of alcohol.
16:43They were still allowed
16:44to make booze
16:45and sell it abroad
16:46to countries like America.
16:47People in Detroit
16:49were pretty ingenious
16:50on how they got access
16:52to booze
16:52across the river
16:53from Canada.
16:54In addition to
16:56just the regular
16:56speedboats,
16:57motorboats,
16:58they brought things
16:58over on canoe.
17:00During the winter,
17:01the water would ice over
17:03and they would drive
17:03cars across.
17:06Detroit became
17:07the capital
17:07of illegal booze
17:09in America.
17:10Rum running
17:10became the second
17:11largest industry
17:12in Detroit
17:12after the automotive industry.
17:16During prohibition,
17:17three quarters
17:18of all the alcohol
17:20that came into America
17:21was smuggled
17:22across the Detroit River
17:23and much of it
17:25was sold
17:26in speakeasies
17:27like this one.
17:29It's estimated
17:29that 25,000 speakeasies
17:31operated during
17:32prohibition
17:33in southeast Michigan.
17:34But the operators
17:35of this speakeasy
17:37were sitting
17:38on a dangerous secret.
17:43On the east side
17:45of Detroit,
17:46Kimberly Holt
17:46discovered
17:47an abandoned
17:481920 speakeasy
17:49in the basement
17:51of her new house.
17:52And she thinks
17:53the evidence suggests
17:55this establishment
17:56was owned
17:57by some shady characters.
17:59I think
18:00that this place
18:02was actually
18:03gang-owned.
18:04I'm 95%
18:06there to tie it
18:07to the Purple Gang
18:08directly.
18:09The Purple Gang
18:12was an organized
18:12crime syndicate
18:13from Detroit's
18:15Lower East Side
18:15where this speakeasy
18:16is located.
18:18The true origin
18:19of the gang's name
18:20has been lost
18:21to time.
18:23Yet many believe
18:24it's from their victims
18:25describing gang members
18:27as being tainted
18:28and off-color
18:29like rotten purple meat.
18:31The Purple Gang
18:32was founded
18:33by the Bernstein brothers.
18:35They were the children
18:36of Jewish immigrants
18:38from Russia
18:38and they ruled Detroit
18:40with an iron fist.
18:43The Purple Gang
18:44would become
18:44one of the most
18:45feared gangs
18:46in America
18:47and the east side
18:48of Detroit
18:48was ground zero
18:50for their bootlegging business.
18:53They were very prolific
18:54in this area.
18:56This was a gang
18:57gathering spot.
19:00Across the street
19:01I discovered
19:02a hidden secret boat dock
19:03where they would
19:04drop off the alcohol.
19:06People were able
19:06to come right in
19:08on their little speedboats
19:09off of the Detroit River
19:10and just tuck right
19:11into garages
19:12underneath the houses.
19:14You could literally
19:15walk across the street
19:17between the little alleyways
19:19and come in the back
19:20speakeasy door
19:22and you would never be seen.
19:25While this might have been
19:27a Purple Gang stronghold
19:28another abandoned building
19:30nearly three miles away
19:32tried to stand
19:33in their way.
19:36This is the Belle Isle
19:38police station.
19:39It's right here
19:40on the island
19:41in the middle
19:41of the Detroit River
19:42halfway between
19:43Detroit and Canada.
19:46This was America's
19:48front line
19:49against Detroit's
19:50rum runners.
19:51But despite
19:52countless arrests
19:53six years into
19:55prohibition
19:55the Belle Isle
19:57police station
19:58took a unique approach.
20:00In the spring of 1926
20:02the captain
20:03of the Belle Isle
20:04police force
20:05Captain Berkheiser
20:06gave a really strange
20:07order to his officers.
20:09He told them
20:10to lay off
20:10the bootleggers
20:11and to keep
20:12their police boat
20:13lights on
20:14at all times
20:14citing safety
20:16as his reason.
20:17But in reality
20:18it meant that
20:19the smugglers
20:20could see the police boats
20:21from miles away.
20:22This wasn't the only
20:25strange thing
20:25that Berkheiser did.
20:27At one point
20:27the police captured
20:28100 cases of spirits
20:30but he only reported
20:3164
20:32making sure
20:33that the rest
20:34of that number
20:34got delivered
20:35to his home.
20:36It became pretty clear
20:38that Berkheiser
20:39was crooked.
20:41With Berkheiser
20:43turning a blind eye
20:44booze worth
20:45over 200 million
20:46dollars
20:47was smuggled
20:48across the Detroit River
20:49each year.
20:52Yet in 1928
20:54the police captain's
20:55empire
20:56came crashing down.
20:59After some of his
21:00own officers
21:01gave evidence
21:01against him
21:02he was eventually
21:03removed from
21:04the Belle Isle
21:04police station
21:05demoted to being
21:06a lieutenant
21:07and fined
21:08500 dollars
21:09a fraction
21:10of the money
21:11he made
21:11being crooked.
21:13Over the next
21:14five years
21:15the Belle Isle
21:16police station
21:17fought a losing
21:18battle against
21:19the Rum Riders
21:20but in Michigan
21:22a new law
21:23turned the tide.
21:27In May 1933
21:28Michigan became
21:29the first state
21:30to vote for
21:30the 21st amendment
21:31which repealed
21:32the 18.
21:34By the summer
21:35of that same year
21:35the rest of America
21:36followed suit
21:37and once again
21:38became wet.
21:40As above ground
21:41bars reopened
21:42their doors
21:43speakeasies like
21:45this became
21:46a distant memory.
21:47After Prohibition
21:49this was just
21:50a rental property.
21:51The door
21:51was locked
21:52and the tenants
21:53would not have
21:54had any reason
21:54to use this space
21:56so decade
21:57after decade
21:58the disrepair
21:59and disintegration
22:00began
22:00and it was
22:01totally forgotten.
22:07Today
22:07over 90 years
22:09later
22:10the doors
22:11to this speakeasy
22:12have been opened
22:13once more
22:14and Kimberly
22:15is hoping
22:16it will welcome
22:17visitors
22:17once again.
22:19My plans
22:20for this speakeasy
22:22is to tell
22:24its story.
22:25It should be
22:26a museum.
22:26I am definitely
22:27not talking
22:28about a
22:29stuffy museum.
22:31I think
22:32this space
22:33is meant
22:33for people
22:34to enjoy
22:35a cocktail
22:35or two
22:36and have
22:36a good time.
22:37In the mountains
22:44of southern
22:45Colorado
22:46an elusive
22:47structure
22:48stands
22:48as a testament
22:49to the
22:50ingenuity
22:51and perseverance
22:52of humankind.
22:59A lot of people
23:00wonder
23:00why he built it.
23:02I think
23:02that there's
23:03a presence
23:03of something
23:04greater
23:05a higher power
23:06at work
23:07here.
23:09We're about
23:1040 miles
23:10from Pueblo
23:11deep
23:11in the
23:12San Isabel
23:12National Forest
23:13at about
23:149,000 feet
23:15elevation.
23:17A strange
23:18stone building
23:19towers
23:20above the trees.
23:22This looks
23:23like a marriage
23:24between
23:24M.C. Escher
23:25and Dr. Seuss.
23:27There's bridges
23:28and some of them
23:29don't even lead
23:30to anywhere.
23:31I mean
23:32who built this?
23:33Why?
23:33There's so much
23:36intricate
23:36ornate
23:37ironwork
23:38all over this
23:39and despite
23:40the fact
23:40that it does
23:41look like
23:41a sort of
23:42mishmash
23:42of styles
23:43it seems
23:44to be
23:44very thought
23:45through.
23:46Each detail
23:47is more
23:48puzzling
23:48than the next.
23:50There's a
23:51dragon
23:51sticking out
23:52on the roof
23:53and there's
23:54a beautiful
23:55room with
23:55a big
23:56stained glass
23:56window
23:57almost like
23:57you're in
23:57a giant
23:58church
23:58but it's
23:59empty.
23:59So why
24:02would someone
24:03build this
24:04space
24:04up here
24:05in the
24:06wilderness?
24:07This place
24:08symbolizes
24:09what one
24:09man can
24:10do
24:10by himself
24:11without money
24:12if he puts
24:12his mind
24:13to it.
24:18Deep
24:18in the
24:19woods
24:19of Colorado's
24:20wet mountains
24:21a mysterious
24:22stone structure
24:23has cast
24:24its shadow
24:24on the valley
24:25below
24:25for decades.
24:27But when
24:28Dan Bishop's
24:29father bought
24:30this plot
24:30in 1959
24:31this site
24:33was just
24:34heavily forested
24:35parkland.
24:36My dad
24:36loved it up
24:37here.
24:37He believed
24:38his whole
24:38life that
24:39this is
24:39one of
24:40the last
24:40true places
24:40of freedom
24:41in America.
24:43In 1967
24:45Jim Bishop
24:46married his
24:47wife Phoebe
24:48and he soon
24:49decided to
24:49build a small
24:50cottage on
24:51the property
24:51for his
24:52growing family.
24:54Jim didn't
24:55have the money
24:56to buy
24:56building materials
24:57so he used
24:59stones from
25:00the forest
25:00around him.
25:02The building
25:02window was
25:03very short
25:04because when
25:05working with
25:06mortar
25:06it cannot
25:07freeze
25:08and the
25:09summers in
25:10this area
25:11are extremely
25:12short.
25:13It wasn't
25:14long until
25:15a twist of fate
25:16would send
25:17Jim Bishop
25:17on a path
25:18no one
25:19could have
25:19foreseen.
25:21As the cabin
25:22progressed
25:22Jim decided
25:23to bring up
25:23a water tank
25:24so they could
25:25have running
25:25water at the
25:26cabin.
25:27He put stone
25:28around it
25:28and hey
25:29it looked like
25:29a turret
25:30so people
25:30started saying
25:31are you
25:32building a
25:32castle?
25:33In the
25:34fall of
25:3568
25:36there was an
25:37article printed
25:37in the local
25:38newspaper about
25:39a castle going
25:40up near Lake
25:40Isabel and it
25:42turns out that
25:43they were talking
25:44about this and
25:44he didn't even
25:45know it.
25:47This ignited a
25:49spark in Jim
25:50Bishop's
25:50imagination and
25:52soon his humble
25:52cottage turned
25:53into one of the
25:54most incredible
25:55feats of
25:56engineering in
25:57Colorado history
25:58built by just
25:59one man.
26:01This is
26:02Bishop Castle.
26:04Jim undertook
26:06each task
26:07himself.
26:08He hauled the
26:09rocks, he felled
26:10the timber and he
26:11milled the lumber.
26:13He built the
26:14scaffolding himself
26:15as the building
26:16progressed and even
26:17devised a system
26:18of pulleys to bring
26:19things up.
26:20It's all self
26:22taught, one thing
26:23at a time, lots
26:24of balance.
26:25He never used a
26:26plumb bob or a
26:27square.
26:27Most of these
26:28walls in this
26:29castle are three
26:30foot thick.
26:31It's not like
26:32stacking one rock
26:33on top of the
26:33other when the
26:34wall is filled
26:35with rocks.
26:36Jim would seek
26:37inspiration from
26:38some of the
26:39world's greatest
26:39architectural wonders.
26:41Something like
26:42that.
26:43He would read
26:44an article on
26:45Neuschwanstein or
26:46Gowdy and wake
26:48up in the morning
26:49and start working
26:50in a different
26:50spot that was
26:52built without any
26:53blueprints and
26:53there was no
26:54plan.
26:55Whatever he
26:56decided he wanted
26:57to do, he figured
26:57how to add it on
26:58to the castle or
26:59build a structure
27:00that would support
27:01it.
27:03Jim would add
27:04towers, buttresses
27:05and bridges to
27:06his ever-expanding
27:08masterpiece.
27:09But in 1988,
27:11his world would
27:12be torn apart.
27:15Roy, Jim's
27:16third son,
27:18who was only
27:18four years old,
27:20was killed in a
27:21logging accident
27:22on the site.
27:25The tower that's
27:26not finished, he
27:27was building when
27:28my brother got
27:29killed.
27:29He stopped
27:30working on it.
27:31It was too
27:31painful for him
27:32to keep building
27:32that one at the
27:33time.
27:35But as Jim
27:36poured his grief
27:37into the
27:37construction, the
27:38project endured.
27:40And soon people
27:41were flocking to
27:42see the castle and
27:43meet Jim Bishop,
27:44the man who had
27:45dedicated his life
27:46to building it.
27:47Well, I feel
27:48very proud.
27:51There's not too
27:51many people done
27:52anything like that.
27:54And it wasn't
27:55long until word
27:56spread across the
27:58globe.
27:59People, they come
28:00from all over.
28:01They come from
28:02Siberia and
28:03Ukraine,
28:04Vladivostok,
28:05Kathmandu.
28:06But as the castle
28:09began attracting
28:09more and more
28:10attention, not
28:12everyone was
28:13rooting for Jim's
28:14success.
28:15Bishop finds
28:16himself increasingly
28:17at crosshairs with
28:18the government.
28:19First, the Bureau of
28:20Land Management says
28:21you can't just take
28:21stones from the
28:23national parks and
28:24use them in your
28:24building.
28:26He wasn't going to
28:27let them stop because
28:28as far as he cared,
28:28they were his rocks as
28:29much as they were
28:30anybody's rocks.
28:31And he was stacking
28:32them on top of a
28:32place in the middle of
28:33the same forest they
28:34came out of and
28:35letting people climb
28:36on them for free.
28:37Then the county came
28:39for him because his
28:40castle was not up to
28:41code.
28:43But none of these
28:44hurdles would get in
28:45the way of Jim and
28:46his castle.
28:48He would add
28:49increasingly fantastical
28:51features like a
28:52grand ballroom, an
28:53iron dome, and a
28:55fire-breathing
28:56dragon.
28:57An old friend in
28:58Pueblo that was
28:59running a trash truck
29:00said, hey, I got a
29:00whole bunch of
29:01stainless steel plates.
29:02You think you could
29:03do something with
29:03them?
29:04My dad's like, yeah,
29:05I'll figure out
29:06something to do with
29:06them.
29:06He took a pair of
29:07tin snips and he
29:08cut eight D-shaped
29:09scales out of them,
29:10and they became the
29:11scales on the dragon.
29:14But even as the
29:16castle's popularity
29:17soared, Jim was
29:18always adamant on
29:19one thing, keeping
29:21attendance free.
29:24He decided at a
29:25young age that he
29:26wanted to do
29:26something with his
29:27life that the poor
29:28person could enjoy as
29:30well as the rich man.
29:31The castle kept
29:34growing, but hardship
29:36lay ahead, which
29:37would test Jim to
29:39his limits.
29:43Almost two miles
29:45high in the mountains
29:46of Colorado, Jim
29:47Bishop built this
29:48castle alone.
29:50But in December
29:512014, Jim was
29:53diagnosed with a rare
29:55form of cancer.
29:56My dad spent months
29:58in bed.
29:59A lot of us didn't
30:00think he was going
30:00to survive it.
30:02While Jim would
30:03beat the odds and
30:04make a full recovery,
30:06his wife, Phoebe,
30:07lost her own battle
30:08with cancer in
30:09August 2018.
30:12Once again, working
30:13on his castle would
30:14carry Jim through
30:15his grief.
30:17He just kept on
30:18going.
30:18I mean, all of his
30:19pain that he ever
30:20suffered, he just put
30:21it into the rock
30:22work in one way or
30:23another.
30:23He talked about
30:25her every day for
30:26a long time.
30:28In the past few
30:29years, Jim's health
30:31has been deteriorating,
30:32throwing the castle's
30:33future into doubt.
30:36He hasn't stopped
30:37completely working on
30:38the castle, but he
30:39has slowed down.
30:45Today, the castle is
30:47one of Colorado's
30:48unique roadside
30:49attractions and still
30:51draws people from
30:52around the world.
30:54But Jim Bishop's
30:55life's work is not
30:57yet finished, and he
30:58has now passed the
30:59torch to his son,
31:01Daniel.
31:02You've handed the
31:03reins over to me.
31:04What do you expect me
31:05to do up here?
31:05What do you think I'm
31:06going to do?
31:07Whatever you want to
31:08do.
31:08Whatever I want to
31:09do, do you think I'll
31:10keep it open for you
31:10like you've done it?
31:11I hope so.
31:12That's the plan.
31:14It's been very
31:15successful in the 50
31:16years, like it is
31:17right now.
31:18It don't make anybody
31:19rich, but it makes a
31:20lot of people happy.
31:27In rural Pennsylvania
31:29sit the ruins of a
31:31groundbreaking
31:31institution where
31:33strength in numbers
31:34overcame a criminal
31:36underworld.
31:43Oh, my.
31:44Look at this.
31:46This is incredible.
31:47I never thought this
31:48would happen to a
31:49concrete building.
31:50It's going back to a
31:51jungle.
31:53The Poconos is kind of
31:54a perfect summer camp
31:55area.
31:56It's full of lakes.
31:57It's full of beautiful
31:58forests and woods to
31:59explore.
32:00And it used to be the
32:01kind of place that people
32:02would go on their
32:03honeymoon.
32:04On top of this mountain
32:05is a loose collection of
32:07large concrete buildings.
32:09But actually, it looks
32:10like they're fighting a
32:11losing battle with the
32:12forest.
32:12Inside these derelict
32:16structures, echoes of
32:18the past still ring out.
32:21This place is massive.
32:22I can see a bar, an
32:24auditorium, tennis courts,
32:26and bedrooms.
32:28Could this have been a
32:29hotel or a resort of some
32:30kind?
32:32This was once a haven for
32:34men and women who worked
32:36hard in grim conditions.
32:37But their lives would be
32:40infiltrated by organized
32:42crime.
32:43You'd never have guessed
32:45that a group like this could
32:46take down the mob.
32:47But that's exactly what
32:48happened.
32:57Arthur Bolger worked here
32:59during the 1970s and 80s.
33:03He remembers the magic that
33:05happened here.
33:08Over here was the general
33:10manager's office.
33:11Last five years I was here,
33:13I was the general manager.
33:15My door was always open.
33:17That was my management style.
33:19I loved working here.
33:20It was like being the mayor
33:22of a small town.
33:24This place first opened in
33:261892 as a summer resort for
33:28German Jewish people.
33:31But 25 years later, that all
33:33changed.
33:34The United States declared
33:36war on Germany in 1917, and
33:39that ushered in a huge wave of
33:41anti-German hysteria.
33:43The resort was shut down
33:45during World War I, but it
33:47was soon back on the market
33:48and purchased by an unlikely
33:51group.
33:52In 1924, the resort was bought
33:55by the largest women's union
33:58in the country, the International
34:00Ladies Garment Workers Union.
34:01The International Ladies Garment
34:05Workers Union would use this place
34:08as a vacation spot and training
34:10center for tens of thousands of its
34:13members.
34:15This is Unity House.
34:18The women were garment workers.
34:20They'd come up for different
34:22training sessions, and they would
34:24sing their songs.
34:25They were wonderful people.
34:27Many of the garment workers who
34:29came here in the early 20th century
34:31were escaping a difficult life.
34:34The garment industry at the time
34:36was a brutal one.
34:38This was exemplified by the Triangle
34:39Shirtwaist Factory Fire of 1911.
34:41The sweatshop practices at this
34:45Lower Manhattan factory would lead
34:48to a terrible tragedy.
34:50These women were locked into the
34:53building that was producing the
34:55garments under the justification
34:56that that prevented loss.
35:00146 young, mainly immigrant female
35:04workers died in that fire.
35:06They either burned to death or jumped
35:08from the top floors of the building.
35:10In the years after this awful fire,
35:15organizations like the International
35:17Ladies Garment Workers Union
35:19gained thousands of members,
35:22ensuring better pay and conditions.
35:24But Unity House gave them something
35:27money couldn't buy.
35:29For many of these garment workers,
35:30this would have been the only
35:31vacation that was affordable to them.
35:33It would have been life-changing.
35:35The idea was to get workers out of the
35:38city for a week or two a year,
35:39get some fresh country air,
35:41and educate themselves.
35:44And in 1956, Unity House
35:48would receive its crowning glory.
35:51We have 1,152 upholstered seats,
35:54which was pretty much filled every night.
35:56The union members came here,
35:59and even though they were
36:00almost minimum wage workers,
36:02they came dressed up in all their
36:04fine evening gowns, and they looked beautiful.
36:06Yet, while union members enjoyed the
36:10entertainment here,
36:12criminals were lurking all around.
36:15During the 1950s, the union did not
36:18control the garment industry here in
36:20northeastern Pennsylvania.
36:22It was in the hands of the mob.
36:25The local mob boss was an Italian-American
36:28named Russell Bufalino, and his influence
36:31was absolute.
36:33As well as the garment industry,
36:34he controlled the elections,
36:36he controlled policing,
36:37he controlled everything.
36:39Mob-run factories offered a lifeline
36:42for many in low-income Pennsylvania towns,
36:45and the industry's notorious sweatshop
36:48practices began to return.
36:51But Bufalino had underestimated the union,
36:54and there was one member
36:56willing to take on his gang.
37:00In the Poconos,
37:02the resort of Unity House
37:04had become a haven for the
37:06International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union.
37:09But in the 1950s,
37:12one frequent visitor was fighting
37:14a battle against organized crime.
37:18One member of the union
37:19who will go down in history
37:20was a fearless lady named Min Matheson.
37:25Matheson grew up in Chicago
37:26in a fiercely progressive household.
37:29Her father was a union activist
37:31who had frequent violent encounters
37:33with thugs and racketeers.
37:35Her bravery came in the face
37:37of extreme personal danger.
37:40Min's father was shot by gangsters
37:42in Chicago after speaking
37:44out against Al Capone,
37:45but thankfully he survived.
37:48But her brother,
37:49who was a union organizer in New York,
37:51was murdered with an ice pick in 1949.
37:56Bolstered by her family's history
37:58of taking on criminals,
38:00Min Matheson was tasked by the union
38:03with signing up garment workers
38:05in mob-controlled workshops.
38:08This led to her being in direct conflict
38:11with mob boss Russell Bufalino,
38:13apparently on one occasion
38:14she even pointed her finger
38:16in Bufalino's face
38:17and shouted,
38:18I'm twice the man you'll ever be.
38:21Min Matheson was also critical
38:23in striking a new deal
38:25with factory owners
38:26using the facilities here
38:28at Unity House.
38:30In 1953,
38:32the union organized a drive
38:33for Pennsylvania workers
38:34and it culminated in a nine-week strike
38:37and production ground to a halt.
38:39Eventually,
38:40industry management agreed
38:41to meet Matheson
38:42and other union leaders
38:44at Unity House.
38:46Talks lasted all day,
38:48but eventually,
38:49the union won
38:50a 6% increase in wages
38:52for their workers
38:53and a decrease in working hours.
38:55During her time in Pennsylvania,
38:59Min Matheson saved many
39:00from exploitation
39:01in mob-run sweatshops
39:03and the union signed up
39:05over 10,000 new members.
39:08But in 1969,
39:10many of these workers
39:11were on hand
39:12to see Unity House
39:13hit by a terrible fire.
39:17It burnt down the whole building
39:19and there really nothing could be done.
39:21People just came
39:22and sat around here and cried.
39:25But Unity House
39:26would bounce back
39:28and the main building
39:29that still stands today
39:31was constructed.
39:33This building opened
39:34in 1972
39:36and back then,
39:38the bar was popular.
39:39Everybody came here
39:40and had a cocktail
39:40before dinner.
39:42But during Arthur's time
39:44as general manager,
39:46attendance at Unity House
39:47began to decline.
39:50One reason was
39:51most of the members
39:52who really enjoyed
39:53using Unity House
39:54had passed away.
39:56Union membership
39:57fell from its peak
39:58of almost half a million members
40:00in the 1960s
40:01to 160,000 members
40:04in the late 1980s.
40:07Also,
40:08cheaper airfares
40:09provided competition
40:10for vacationing Americans
40:12and the resorts
40:13of the Poconos
40:14began to close.
40:16When suddenly Americans
40:18could jump on an airliner
40:20that will take them
40:20to Honolulu,
40:21why have the Poconos?
40:23And by that time,
40:24the Poconos
40:25had a little bit
40:26of an association
40:27with working-class people.
40:30Unity House
40:31shut its doors
40:32to tourists
40:33at the end
40:34of the 1989 season
40:36and was slowly
40:37overtaken
40:38by the forest.
40:39Today,
40:45local event organizer
40:47Savannah Rose
40:48is working to bring
40:49parts of the site
40:50back to life.
40:52The history here
40:53just makes you
40:55want to restore it.
40:56We bought the venue
40:57in 2022.
40:59Ever since then,
41:00we've been kind of
41:01renovating as many buildings
41:02as we can.
41:03We've upgraded
41:03the lake house.
41:04At our amphitheater,
41:06we host a variety
41:07of different music events
41:08and festivals.
41:10While it's unlikely
41:11the resort will be
41:12fully restored
41:13to its former glory,
41:15the memories made here
41:16by thousands of people
41:17will live on.
41:19I love this job
41:21and I did it for 20 years
41:22and I was happy
41:23and I was really sorry
41:24to see that it closed.
41:26As far as I'm concerned,
41:27I could have gone on
41:28forever with this job.
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