Holy Land USA was an 18-acre (73,000 m2) park in Waterbury, CT representing a miniature Jerusalem and Bethlehem. It was one of Connecticut’s biggest tourist attractions in the 1960s and 1970s with 50,000 visitors per year. Holy Land USA was built in the 1950s by local attorney John Baptist Greco. The 50' cross was designed and built by Frank Veto Lyman. This steel cross was once lit up purple for Lent and red for the Christmas season. Holy Land USA closed in 1984 and the plaster, wire caves and structures are now in miserable shape. Some local residents wish to see the place restored while others want it razed and turned into a park. ( from Wikipedia)

I have got more images here:
http://lazlo.us/slideshows/holyland_slideshow/show.html

Hi Lazlo,
I really enjoyed the slide show, plus it gave me a better sense of the scale of the buildings.

Cheers Ray

Thanks Ray.
It is a fascinating place indeed, the ruins make good photos.

Well done, Lazlo, but a strange place it is. The buildings look embarrassed by trying to be something they are not.

Lazlo - amazing that you were able to get permission or sneak into a sight like that. I could spend days there. thanks for showing us.
regards, tom

Beautiful.

Wonderful photo, Lazlo, my friend! That goes without saying. I looked at the whole collection and they are all very striking. It looks like the whole thing was kind of cheesey-looking even when it was in good repair. I'd probably be among those who would vote to have it returned to being parkland.

Warm regards,

Endre

What an interesting place.
The three crosses from the slideshow was definitely my favorite of the bunch.
-Tim

Lazlo, nice photos. I haven't been there in years. I remember going there as a kid. I belive the neighborhood says a lot for the condition of Holy Land.

I second sjkk's comment.

m

sjkk wrote:
Well done, Lazlo, but a strange place it is. The buildings look embarrassed by trying to be something they are not.
It is a strange place indeed, very different from everything else I have photographed

tomandmarj wrote:
Lazlo - amazing that you were able to get permission or sneak into a sight like that. I could spend days there. thanks for showing us.
regards, tom
Tom, there was no one guarding the place ( no readable signs either), so we just walked in.

Kaden K. wrote:
Beautiful.
Thanks Kaden

Strad wrote:
Wonderful photo, Lazlo, my friend! That goes without saying. I looked at the whole collection and they are all very striking. It looks like the whole thing was kind of cheesey-looking even when it was in good repair. I'd probably be among those who would vote to have it returned to being parkland.

Warm regards,

Endre
It is a very different place from everything, plus it was a real gloomy day which fit in very well with the character of it.

T-bone1 wrote:
What an interesting place.
The three crosses from the slideshow was definitely my favorite of the bunch.
-Tim
Thanks Tim, that were my favorite as well

sxdirt wrote:
Lazlo, nice photos. I haven't been there in years. I remember going there as a kid. I belive the neighborhood says a lot for the condition of Holy Land.
Zeke, you got to go there before it gets bulldozed over

marcelo wrote:
I second sjkk's comment.

m
That was an easy one

Looks like a photographers playground there Lazlo. Very nice shot!

Strange, unusual. Your photo captures that. Very nice.