Brisbane’s spookiest abandoned buildings

From scary strip clubs to alarming asylums, these are the decrepit ruins - once bustling businesses and community hubs - that now give Brisbane residents chills.

From scary strip clubs to alarming asylums, these are the decrepit ruins - once bustling businesses and community hubs - that now give Brisbane residents chills.

Take a walk through some of the city’s most recognisable abandoned buildings.

Abandoned jail

Abandoned jail. Picture: Boggo Road Gaol

Known as the Brisbane Prison, the Boggo Road Gaol opened in the 1880s.

While initially only housing prisoners serving short sentences, over the years the jail transformed into a place where some of Australia’s most infamous criminals, including the Whisky Au Go Go bombers were held.

There are even rumours that the ghost of Ernest Austin, the last man to be executed in Queensland, continues to haunt the prison’s walls.

The jail closed in 2002.

The precinct around the gaol is currently undergoing a massive transformation as part of Brisbane’s Cross River Rail project.

Ghost tours are currently suspended at the gaol, however they are expected to resume in 2024.

Abandoned asylum

The ruins of Wolston Park.

Just the mention of Wolston Park was enough to fill generations of Queenslanders with fears.

The Wacol asylum, on the edge of Brisbane, first opened its doors in 1864.

Former patients have detailed horror stories of the torture and abuse they suffered while in the ‘care’ of Wolston Park.

The building’s heritage listing means it cannot be demolished, so instead its become a place of mystery, with police even having to step up patrols over recent years to stop ‘sticky beaks’ from exploring the ruins.

Abandoned bowling alley

Abandoned bowling alley. Picture: @abandoned.aus

Once a bustling community hub, this Brisbane northside bowling alley is now a wreck.

Zone Bowling in Kedron has been sitting vacant since it closed in 2017, and has been hit by vandals, who’ve smashed window and doors and sprayed graffiti on walls over recent years.

In 2020, locals described it as looking like a “Beirut bomb site in the suburbs”.

Plans were lodged with Brisbane City Council in 2017 to transform the site into a fresh food centre. The development is still in process.

Abandoned strip club

Abandoned adult club. Picture: @abandoned.aus

This is what is left of the interior of the once-popular Grosvenor Hotel in Brisbane’s CBD.

The strip club last operated on George St in 2019, before the business relocated to Fortitude Valley.

The building is heritage listed and cannot be demolished, however a 30-storey office tower, sitting on top of the original hotel, was approved in 2019.

The proposed tower, which will be just 9.5m wide, is expected to be the city’s narrowest building when built.

Abandoned skating rink

Abandoned skating rink. Picture: @exploring_madness

Once a vibrant skating rink in Brisbane’s south, this building has been vacant for over 10 years.

The building was originally designed in the 1950s.

Applications for the development of the site have been approved however the building remains vacant to this day.

Abandoned lolly store

Abandoned lolly store. Picture: @abandoned_brisbane

This was once a beloved lolly shop near the M1 on Brisbane’s south.

The building has many hidden rooms decorated with original art and graffiti.