Places You Can No Longer Go: Barren Island - Atlas Obscura
Just Released! The second edition of our bestselling book.
  • Trips
    • Upcoming Trips
    • All Trips

    Upcoming Trips

    View All Trips »

    Cambodia: Contemporary Art, Spiritual Traditions, and Hidden Wonders

    Photographing Chernobyl in Winter

    Science After Dark: Spotting Squid in the Tides of Oahu

    Mexico's Great Monarch Butterfly Migration

  • Experiences

    Quick Links

    • All Experiences

    Experiences by City

    • Chicago
    • Denver
    • Los Angeles
    • New York
    • Philadelphia
    • Seattle
    • Washington, D.C.

    Upcoming Experiences

    View All Experiences »
    Brooklyn

    Atlas Obscura Trivia for the World’s Most Adventurous Explorers

    Washington, D.C.

    Atlas Obscura Trivia for the World’s Most Adventurous Explorers

    City of Industry

    Flirting with Love

    Philadelphia

    Ascend Ascend: A Poetic Performance

  • Places
    • Top Destinations
    • Newly Added Places
    • Most Popular Places
    • Random Place
    • Lists
    • Itineraries
    • Add a Place
    • forum Visit Our Forums

    Newly Added Places

    View All Places »
    The shrine.
    Munich, Germany

    Orlando di Lasso Statue

    48.1401, 11.5731
    Evanston Garage Door Gallery.
    Evanston, Illinois

    Evanston Garage Door Gallery

    42.0674, -87.7184
    The outlet store.
    Tacoma, Washington

    Brown & Haley Factory Store

    47.2379, -122.4330
    Front view.
    Nafplio, Greece

    Church of Agioi Pantes

    37.5658, 22.8109

    Top Destinations

    View All Destinations »

    Countries

    • Australia
    • Canada
    • China
    • France
    • Germany
    • India
    • Italy
    • Japan

    Cities

    • Amsterdam
    • Barcelona
    • Beijing
    • Berlin
    • Boston
    • Budapest
    • Chicago
    • London
    • Los Angeles
    • Mexico City
    • Montreal
    • Moscow
    • New Orleans
    • New York City
    • Paris
    • Philadelphia
    • Rome
    • San Francisco
    • Seattle
    • Stockholm
    • Tokyo
    • Toronto
    • Vienna
    • Washington, D.C.
  • Foods

    Newly Added Food & Drink

    View All Food & Drink »
    A bottle of amaro, with other monastery snacks.
    Drinks

    Amaro di Sant'Antimo
    Drinks

    Hot Springs Beer at Superior Bathhouse Brewery
    Prepared Foods

    Our Lady of Lourdes French Meat Pie

     A Whirla-Whip creation, flavored with with Nutella.
    Sweets

    Whirla-Whip Ice Cream at Dakota Drug Co.

     A mild moose milk cheese similar to Camembert.
    Meats & Animal Products

    Moose Cheese at the Elk House
  • Stories

    Most Recent Stories

    View All Stories »
    Font Romeu, France — Above the tree line just east of Andorra, the River Tet has its headwaters in many small streams that eventually converge. One June day, a fierce storm stalled over this area, dropping so much hail that it remained until the next day, and accumulated as though it were snowfall. The line at the bottom of this image represents a fence—a grazing boundary that had an effect on the hail's presentation. 

    See What the Pyrenees Look Like From an Antique Airplane

     Bison help engineer the spring regrowth with their grazing patterns.

    Understanding How Bison Might Help Shape the Future of the Badlands

     Arabinda Das Gupta in his historic shop, which was founded by his grandfather in 1886.

    The Uncertain Future of the World's Largest Secondhand Book Market

     Duluwat Island, now officially back in the hands of the Wiyot Tribe.

    How the Wiyot Tribe Won Back a Sacred California Island

     The road is no longer in use, but there's still a lot of nostalgia around it.

    Along the Remains of Route 66, Road Trip Trash Has Become Treasure
  • Videos

    Most Recent Videos

    View All Videos »

    What Exactly Is a Bezoar?

    3:13

    Discovering the Legendary Instruments at Nashville’s Carter Vintage Guitars

    Sponsored by Mitsubishi Outlander Sport

    Inside Ohio's Experimental Archaeology Lab

    7:29

    Where Parade Floats Go to Retire

    3:04

    Discover Asheville's Hidden Craggy Gardens

    Sponsored by Mitsubishi Outlander Sport
  • Sign In Join
  • Sign In
    Join
What's near me?
Brought to you by
Delta logo

Places You Can No Longer Go: Barren Island

The small slip of land near Brooklyn used to be a moldering cesspool—before Robert Moses stepped in.

by Lucas Adams March 17, 2016
Places You Can No Longer Go: Barren Island
Read next

Cold War Spies Sifted Through Used Soviet Toilet Paper In Search of Clues

Operation Tamarisk has been called one of the most successful spy operations of the era.
garbage weekgarbagenew york cityplaces you can no longer gocolumns
Keep Exploring
garbage

Video Wonder: Roosevelt Island's Trash Vacuum

One of only six in the U.S.
Tao Tao Holmes March 15, 2016
nazis

The Gigantic Nazi City that Was Never Built

Albert Speer designed a truly epic monstrosity that never saw the light of day.
Lucas Adams October 20, 2016
science fiction

Places You Can No Longer Go: Ray Bradbury's House

The developers who tore down the iconic house called the public response "a bummer."
Lucas Adams September 22, 2016
places you can no longer go

Places You Can No Longer Go: The Floating Church of the Redeemer

It turns out that praying on the water has some serious downsides.
Lucas Adams September 8, 2016
Related

Object of Intrigue: Disneyland's Flirty, Talking Trash Can

An animatronic trash can named PUSH eventually got the shove.
Read more

Get Our Email Newsletter

Thanks for subscribing! View all newsletters »

Follow Us

Second edition footer
Get the Atlas Obscura book
Shop Now »

Places

  • Recently Added
  • Most Popular
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place

Foods

  • Latest
  • Food & Drink
  • Stories
  • Places
  • Add a Food

Experiences & Trips

  • Upcoming Experiences
  • Upcoming Trips

Community

  • Travel Forum
  • Latest Posts
  • Top Posts

Company

  • About
  • Contact Us
  • FAQ
  • Work With Us
  • Advertising
  • Unique Gifts
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
Second edition footer
Get the Atlas Obscura book
Shop Now »
© 2019 Atlas Obscura. All rights reserved.

Thanks for sharing!

Follow us on Twitter to get the latest on the world's hidden wonders.

Like us on Facebook to get the latest on the world's hidden wonders.

Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook

Want a Free Book?

Sign up for our newsletter and enter to win the second edition of our book, Atlas Obscura: An Explorer’s Guide to the World’s Hidden Wonders, before it hits the shelves.
No Thanks Visit AtlasObscura.com
Atlas Obscura: An Explorer's Guide to the World's Hidden Wonders

Stay in Touch!

Follow us on social media to add even more wonder to your day.
Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Follow Us on Instagram No Thanks Visit AtlasObscura.com
No purchase necessary. Winner will be selected at random on 10/15/2019. Offer available only in the U.S. (including Puerto Rico). Offer subject to change without notice. See contest rules for full details.

Add Some Wonder to Your Inbox

Every weekday we compile our most wondrous stories and deliver them straight to you.
No Thanks

We'd Like You to Like Us

Like Atlas Obscura and get our latest and greatest stories in your Facebook feed.
No Thanks
We value your privacy

Atlas Obscura and our trusted partners use technology such as cookies on our website to personalise ads, support social media features, and analyse our traffic. Please click below to consent to the use of this technology while browsing our site. To learn more or withdraw consent, please visit our privacy policy.

I Accept
Win a trip for two to Turkmenistan
and the Gates of Hell
A sweeping, eclectic adventure from Mar 30-Apr 8, 2020
A sweeping, eclectic adventure from
Mar 30-Apr 8, 2020
Learn more about this trip
Thanks for entering!
We’ll notify you if you’re selected as a winner.
SEE ALL OF OUR UPCOMING TRIPS
I agree to receive email communications from Atlas Obscura and its partners listed below, according to the Official Rules.
No Thanks Visit AtlasObscura.com
aoc-cancel aoc-video aoc-building aoc-clock aoc-clipboard aoc-help aoc-arrow-right aoc-arrow-left aoc-ticket aoc-place-entry aoc-facebook aoc-instagram aoc-reddit aoc-rss aoc-twitter aoc-accommodation aoc-activity-level aoc-add-a-photo aoc-add-box aoc-add-shape aoc-arrow-forward aoc-been-here aoc-chat-bubbles aoc-close aoc-expand-more aoc-expand-less aoc-forum-flag aoc-group-size aoc-heart-outline aoc-heart-solid aoc-home aoc-important aoc-knife-fork aoc-library-books aoc-link aoc-list-circle-bullets aoc-list aoc-location-add aoc-location aoc-mail aoc-map aoc-menu aoc-more-horizontal aoc-my-location aoc-near-me aoc-notifications-alert aoc-notifications-mentions aoc-notifications-muted aoc-notifications-tracking aoc-open-in-new aoc-pencil aoc-person aoc-pinned aoc-plane-takeoff aoc-plane aoc-print aoc-reply aoc-search aoc-shuffle aoc-star aoc-subject aoc-trip-style aoc-unpinned aoc-cancel aoc-video aoc-building aoc-clock aoc-clipboard aoc-help aoc-arrow-right aoc-arrow-left aoc-ticket aoc-place-entry aoc-facebook aoc-instagram aoc-reddit aoc-rss aoc-twitter aoc-accommodation aoc-activity-level aoc-add-a-photo aoc-add-box aoc-add-shape aoc-arrow-forward aoc-been-here aoc-chat-bubbles aoc-close aoc-expand-more aoc-expand-less aoc-forum-flag aoc-group-size aoc-heart-outline aoc-heart-solid aoc-home aoc-important aoc-knife-fork aoc-library-books aoc-link aoc-list-circle-bullets aoc-list aoc-location-add aoc-location aoc-mail aoc-map aoc-menu aoc-more-horizontal aoc-my-location aoc-near-me aoc-notifications-alert aoc-notifications-mentions aoc-notifications-muted aoc-notifications-tracking aoc-open-in-new aoc-pencil aoc-person aoc-pinned aoc-plane-takeoff aoc-plane aoc-print aoc-reply aoc-search aoc-shuffle aoc-star aoc-subject aoc-trip-style aoc-unpinned