Jesse Rockwell is a 30-year-old photographer who loves to stumble upon unexpected wonders. During his wanderings in Thailand, Rockwell came upon the New World shopping mall. The place used to be bustling with customers and filled with rack upon rack of various consumer goods available for sale. Today, the abandoned shopping mall has been converted into an aquarium.
The entrance of the four-storey Thai mall sports a rusty sign reading ‘No Entry Beyond This Point’. However, the determined photographer found himself inside what was originally developed as an 11-storey structure. In accordance with the building code, the upper seven floors were demolished by the Thai government in 1997.
The New World shopping mall was burned as a result of a fire. Some people believe that the fire was not accidental but an arson.
Since the tragic incident, the New World shopping mall has been abandoned. The basement is flooded with water while the roof of the building has long been gone. The California-based photographer reported that someone introduced the exotic koi and catfish in the derelict building in early 2000. See more images of the mall turned aquarium below:
Today, the mall has transformed into the largest urban aquarium in Bangkok.
