Ohio’s abandoned list is unusually mixed. Two of the best-known sites are ticketed attractions, one is a lived-in neighbourhood, and the tunnels under Cincinnati are bricked shut. Here is where each one actually stands.
What is actually there
The Cincinnati Subway is sealed, not open. The city says the entrances are filled with concrete and the tunnels blocked by brick walls and steel fences. The bore now carries a relocated water main and fibre-optic cable, and the city issued a request for information on possible reuse in late 2024.
The B&O Harmar Bridge in Marietta has been barricaded since 28 January 2020, when an inspection found it unsafe. It is not rotting quietly: work on the swing span started 22 April 2026 and the Historic Harmar Bridge Company announced a $300,000 donation on 8 May 2026.
Sidaway Bridge in Cleveland has been impassable since 1966, decking gone, buried in overgrowth. It was listed on the National Register in autumn 2022 and given Cleveland Landmark status in February 2023. The last dated look at it was September 2023, so its present condition is unconfirmed.
Iron Soup in Campbell is not an abandoned block. The Iron Soup preservation group rehabilitates units in the old Youngstown Sheet and Tube company housing and rents them out, so people live there. Other units are still boarded and derelict.
The Ohio State Reformatory in Mansfield is a working museum, not a ruin you sneak into. It draws over 120,000 visitors a year and opens daily 11am to 4pm from April to October, Thursday to Monday from November to March.
Hillandale Bridge in Euclid sits at the end of an old brick road behind Hillandale Park. Local records research has debunked the asylum legend attached to it. Nothing dated since 2018 describes its condition, so treat that as unconfirmed.
What you can visit legally
The Reformatory is a ticketed site with sanctioned tours. Iron Soup can only be visited on a booked tour, most Sundays, with the guide deciding which buildings you may approach. Hillandale Park is public and free, and the bridge is unfenced. At Harmar you can look from the Marietta and Harmar riverbanks, but the deck itself is barricaded. There is no legal way into the Cincinnati Subway or onto Sidaway Bridge.
Conditions vary a lot: the Reformatory is staffed but still has lead paint, asbestos and open six-tier walkways, and Hillandale’s deck has holes through the pavement with railing sections fallen into the ravine.
See the full list of abandoned places in Ohio, with a verified status and check date for every site.