Voting in elections is one of our most cherished democratic rights but where we vote – and who the candidates are – can leave a lot to be desired.

Polling places (or “polling stations”, as they’re known in the UK) are by their nature temporary establishments typically situated in schools or community centers. Sometimes, however, alternative voting locations must be set up when conveniently located suitable buildings are not available. Take the example above – the Urbanimal Pet Store in Chicago, IL – where local resident Barbara Hunter exercises her democratic rights while Oreo the cat exercises his legs.

A Grave Matter

OK, so Chicago is notorious for its “deceased voters” but it’s not the only pace where those who’ve passed on can pass judgement on candidates. Here’s a polling station sign in the Wimbledon Church graveyard that looks eerily like the nearby tombstones. We wouldn’t be surprised if some nearsighted oldster leaves a bouquet of flowers at its base.

Election Re-Turns

Sure, most politicians are full of hot air and most voters are fed up with the windbags by the time election day finally rolls around. Well, what goes around comes around in Brighton, UK where returning officer Ahmed Jamee and volunteer assistants open a polling station set up inside the historic West Blatchington Windmill.

Political Life Finds A Way

One would hope the owner of this slapdash voting station in Mitrovica-North, Kosovo doesn’t have “Free Candy” scrawled on the other side of his van. Kudos to Flickr user Mitra Nazar for showcasing this small and conveniently mobile Balkan polling station in December of 2010.

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Devoted 12 Weird Unusual Election Polling Places

The golden age of television has long since passed, especially for these 8 abandoned TV stations whose cameras have permanently put on their lens caps.

The Sveriges Radio TV building in Gothenburg, Sweden opened in 1970 – the same year Swedish TV began broadcasting in color. We’re assuming the novelty wore off, as by the end of the decade the building had been abandoned to the depredations of squatters, salvagers and the unavoidable swing of the wrecking ball.

How Swede is was, now not so much. Kudos to Flickr user Rolfen who visited the decrepit SR television studios (or “TV-house”, as he puts it) in May of 2009.

KVVV-vvv…

Based in Friendswood, Texas and broadcasting to the metro Houston area, KVVV-TV was an independent television station that opened in February of 1968. A money-losing proposition from the get-go, the station fired most of its staff by the end of ’68 and finally shut down entirely on August 31st of 1969. The station may not have broadcasted for long but its studio building is still hanging in there, though after decades of vandalism hanging’s probably too good for it. Full props to urban explorers UER for recently posting some screencaps from their must-see video of the extremely decrepit ex-station.

Southern Discomfort

WTVY is a CBS-affiliated television station from Dothan, Alabama, that began broadcasting on channel 4 in 1960. In 1978 the station moved to new digs in Bethlehem, Florida where its 2,035 ft tall transmission tower is still the tallest in the state. Meanwhile, WTVY’s old studio building and much-faded kitschy Sixties sign molder away, slowly succumbing to the relentless march of scrub brush and kudzu.

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Commercial Break 8 Abandoned Tv Stations Studios

Battered by wind, waves and relentless weathering, these 9 abandoned lifeguard towers still stand watch though the watchers have long since left.

Genkai-jima, Japan

(images via: Another Tokyo)

The island of Genkai-jima in southern Japan’s Hakata Bay has seen a lot of history, not least being two unsuccessful Mongol invasions almost 750 years ago. Situated off the Itoshima Peninsula on the bay’s western side, Genkai-jima offers an ideal lookout platform in general and, wonder of wonders, boasts a man-made lookout platform to boot.

(image via: Catching Fish With Fish)

The abandoned lifeguard tower on Genkai-jima is rather luxurious as such constructions go, providing a windowed sheltering space beneath the topmost observation platform accessible via a poured concrete, railed staircase. An appreciable expense must have been expended to run an electrical power line to the hut, enabling the use of a powerful searchlight mounted on the roof. After all that, the tower was abandoned at some point and is inexorably deteriorating. Swim (or invade) at your own risk.

Koshkol, Kyrgyzstan

(image via: Wikipedia/Vmenkov)

Vladimir Menkov picked a picture-perfect day to document the current (well, 2007) state of the lifeguard station at the abandoned Lake Issyk Kul beach resort at Koshkol, Kyrgyzstan. Formerly patronized by vacationing Soviet-era poobahs, the resort and its facilities were caught between the fall of communism and the rise of Islamism.

Cape Town, South Africa

(images via: Sandra Maytham-Baily)

Sandra Maytham-Bailey used a Canon EOS 5D Mark II camera and some very creative processing techniques to bring out the best of this abandoned beachfront lifeguard hut. Cape Town’s beaches are both spectacular and dangerous – if the powerful riptides don’t get you, the local Great White Sharks will. Why’s this “Innocent” lifeguard HQ boarded up and abandoned, then? Perhaps potential lifeguards figured the hazards weren’t worth the pay.

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Drowned Out 9 Abandoned Lifeguard Huts Towers

When is a building not a building? When it is only a facade, (aka a) dummy! You might have passed right by train tunnels, communications towers or even entirely empty buildings and never realized you were being duped – until now.

Underground Train Passage & Ventilation in Rowhouse

Consider units 23 & 24, Leinster Gardens in Paddington, London. When underground rail was routed through the neighborhood in the 1860s, the residences at those addresses were razed … and replaced with a very convincing facade. Behind it: an empty void for the old engines to vent along their route, and metal bracing to help hold up adjacent structures. Hoaxes played on this place include everything from the pizza-delivery redirect to a prankster selling tickets to a charity ball at the address. Bonus: near London, there is an entire fake town used by the police for militarized simulations of everything from bank robberies and terror threats to hostage situations.

Subway Emergency Exit & Energy Converter in Townhouse

One more urban ventilator before we move on: 58 Joralemon Street in Brooklyn, New York follows a similar pattern to its British brethren – blacked-out windows are the only up-close giveaway to an otherwise-complete illusion of occupation, while the railway runs below. This faux building has had multiple subway-related purposes beyond ventilation, though, including electrical conversion and emergency egress. It is also not the only example of unique urban camouflage in and around the Big Apple.

Power Substations in Houses, Offices, Factories & Castles

Toronto has a century-long history of hiding its urban energy substations as all kinds of architecture, from small single-family homes to huge block-sized factory buildings, at addresses including 29 Nelson Street, 2833 Yonge Street & 640 Millwood Road. Some have caught fire in freak accidents – not something the neighbors like to worry about. Others have been decommissioned and converted to residential or commercial use, in a strange instance of life imitating the art of imitation.

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Faux Facades Fake Buildings Hide Trains Power More