Get Premium
Dark mode theme is available exclusively for premium users. Learn more about the benefits of subscribing.
No fees, cancel anytime.
Dark Mode 
No fees, cancel anytime 
785Kviews
40 Buildings That Got Repurposed For Something Their Architects Probably Didn’t Even Dream Of
It’s not a secret that humans are creative animals. They always find new ways to reuse old stuff, come up with clever solutions to live comfortably in tiny places, or decide to use their unique DIY powers and save the world altogether.
This time we are stepping into the old spaces that look nothing like their previous selves after having had an inventive makeover, from a grocery store which used to be a hockey stadium to a Brooklyn apartment built in an old church. Call it an architectural wonderland because there’s nothing impossible for these incredible minds. We invite all the fellow Pandas to share your ideas for repurposing old spaces in the comments!
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
Old Clock Tower Transformed Into A Penthouse
RELATED:
#2
This Former Theatre In Buenos Aires Transformed Into A Bookstore
MagicalUnicorn 4 years ago
i would spend hour there, perfect combination of books and architecture
Cristina Speluzzi 4 years ago
It's not far from home. You could borrow a book and sit on very comfortable armchairs to read it. There's also a coffee shop and a wonderful section for children. I used to go to that cinema when I was a kid and it was also beautiful.
Rob Chapman 4 years ago
Awesome. My local Barnes & Noble used to be a theater, unfortunately it doesn't look like it used to be a theater.
Viv Hart 4 years ago
This retired librarian would have loved this as a library, esp. the decor, plus escalators!
Mariana Schneider 4 years ago
The escalators are actually kind of useless, they're down from the main floor to the kids' section below. There are stairs from the front hall into the main room, and up two more stories.
Load More Replies...
Kenny Kulbiski 4 years ago
Amazing transformation. Also amazing that a bookstore is actually still in business. Win win.
Christina Uhlir 4 years ago
I would like to browse there all day, every day. I love books and architecture.
Piper Liniger 4 years ago
NICE. I would start reading actual books again if I could shop here.
Mónica Sacco 4 years ago
I've been at the building when it was a theatre back in the 70's. Then it remained clases for some 10 Yeats before being Turner into a bookshop.
Cristina Speluzzi 4 years ago
The original El Ateneo bookstore on Florida Street was magnificent. I spent hours there choosing which book to buy. And the employees were all so nice and warm. I have the best memories of the people and the place.
Michele Clarke 4 years ago
Very Cool! Would be awesome if they had places to sit and read on the balconies!
Gary Goodwin 4 years ago
it's great to see heritage building kept and repurposed. Such a shame if it had to be torn down.
#3
Hotel I Stayed At Was Formerly A Train Station And Had An Actual Train Inside It, With Rooms Inside Each Car
#4
My Friend’s Living Room In Brooklyn, NY. The Apartment Is Built Inside An Old Church
#5
The Building Used For The Swimming Events At The 2008 Summer Olympics In Beijing Was Transformed Into This Dope-Looking Waterpark
#6
Architect Turns Old WWII Era Cement Factory Into His Home
I’m Foxxy and I know it 😉 4 years ago
The outside give it more of a castle feel than a factory, looks very open inside. I really like an open floor plan and natural lighting.
#7
Church Repurposed Into Dominicanen Bookstore In Maastricht, Netherlands Is Now In The Top 10 Most Beautiful Bookstores Worldwide
#8
The Liberty Hotel In Boston Which Was Formerly The Charles St Jail
chi-wei shen 4 years ago
I would book a night there just to experience how it looks and feels.
#9
A 100-Year-Old Church In Spain Converted Into A Skatepark
#10
Waterpark "Tropical Islands" In A Former Airship Hangar In Krausnick, Germany
#11
Old Rusty Ship Turned Into Stunning Building With Trees And Plants
#12
The Walgreens In My Neighborhood Used To Be A Bank And They Used Its Vault As Their Vitamin Section
#13
Some Lucky Bastard Gets To Live In This Church
#14
The Tallest Indoor Climbing Wall Is Inside Of A Repurposed Grain Silo
#15
My College Used To Be A Shopping Mall
#16
My Apartment Building Used To Be A School
#17
Revitalized One Of The Last Remaining Art Nouveau Brewhouses As A Bar, In The Middle Of Fürth Südstadt
chi-wei shen 4 years ago
It's located in southern Germany. It has a very unique ambiance and it's not only a bar but a first class restaurant.
#18
What Used To Be An Abandoned Church Is Now One Of The Most Powerful Supercomputing Centers In The World
#19
My House Used To Be A Police Station And My Bathroom Is An Old Jail Cell, The Original Window Is Still In Place
#20
Former Power Station Converted Into An Industrial Cafe And Restaurant With Exposed Brickwork And Abundant Planting In Melbourne, Australia
#21
Swimming Pool In Old Church: Netherne, Surrey
ADHORTATOR 4 years ago
Perfect for mass christenings...if the church wants his building back :-)
#22
This Hotel Used To Be A Brewery
#23
My Hotel In Oxford, England Is A Former Prison
#24
Jail Turned Into Events Space In Melbourne, Australia
#25
Court Room That’s Now A Cafe. Cells Are The Toilets. St. Albans, England
#26
FBI Former NYC Headquarters Is Now A Target But They Kept This Safe
#27
This Starbucks Drive-Thru In An Old Car Wash
#28
My House Is A 20,000 Sq Ft 1926 Former Freemason Temple That We Have Been Renovating By Ourselves While Living Inside For The Past 2.5 Years
#29
Church Turned Into A Trampoline Park. The Hague, Netherlands
I’m Foxxy and I know it 😉 4 years ago (edited)
Much better use than a church lol. Never too old to trampoline.
#30
Ottawa's Jail Hostel, Each Cell Converted To A Two-Person Hostel Room
Iris Engler 4 years ago
There was one in Switzerland but seems to be closed now. Pity I think it's an interesting idea
#31
My School’s Library Used To Be A Bank
#32
My Hotel Room Used To Be A Chapel
#33
My Apartment Is An Old Police Station And Still Has The Original But Painted Cell Doors
#34
Former Chruch, Now Home To The Dutch Brewer, Jopen
#35
This Old Pool Converted Into Apartments
Emerald Joanna 4 years ago
If they had some way to leave the pool still usable it might have been even cooler 😎
#36
This Thrift Store Used To Be A Bowling Alley
Becca Gizmo the Squirrel 4 years ago
A friend of mine used our bowling alleys floors when the bowling alley remodeled. His hallway is a bowling lane. I think he bought them.
#37
My Apartment Used To Be A YMCA
#38
This Satellite Lab Used To Be A McDonald's
#39
My House Used To Be A Bank, So We Use The Old Safe/Vault As A Basement
Add New Image
What do you think ?
Carol Emory 4 years ago
We've had a former church turned into a Brewery and Restaurant. And a bank nearby us has been converted into an Island's Taco Bar.
Adrienne Early 4 years ago
There's an old stone church near me that was converted to a club for 10-20 years but recently was converted back to a church.
Marjorie Fabian 4 years ago
There were so many churches changed into something else. Well, my daughter's church used to be a legion hall, then a strip club. When they bought it for a church, the poles for pole dancing were still in the building. Now it's a open-style church, with a full kitchen in the basement, dining rooms, and side rooms that are used for college students to study, relax and have bible classes. Wish I had the photos, as they are quite interesting.
Donald Holder 4 years ago
It's shocking about the number of "used to be churches, Temple or chapels"! Where do people go for church nowadays?
Freya the Wanderer 4 years ago (edited)
Around the world churches are closing for want of members. As a society we are getting less religious - but not less charitable, fortunately.
Load More Replies...
Stephanie Hatton 4 years ago
Growing up we had a church move into a department store in our mall. The youth loved the still-operational movie theater And my current town has an Ace Hardware in the old skating rink--I like how they kept the original wooden skate floor.
Chris DiFonso 4 years ago
These are incredible, however I would be nervous sitting at the table (with the humongous, heavy "spout" over it) in the converted cement factory.
graye b 4 years ago
I like how many jails and prisons have been repurposed. That means there aren't enough criminals to fill them.
Dave P 4 years ago (edited)
Actually most were re-purposed because the old buildings could not be modified for modern security systems and other upgrades it is usually cheaper to build a new prison than spend the extra money retrofitting and partially gutting the old ones.
Load More Replies...
Celtic Pirate Queen 4 years ago
It's really cool to see old buildings re-purposed instead of being torn down.
Glynis Lailann 4 years ago
Here in Cape Town South Africa we have the Zeitz Mocca Art Museum which was re-purposed from grain silos. https://www.timeslive.co.za/sunday-times/lifestyle/2017-09-15-in-pictures-inside-zeitz-mocaa-the-museum-everyones-talking-about/
Holly Decker 4 years ago
Old Town Alexandria’s torpedo factory is an art league with studios and shops for artists.
Kaela Henderson 4 years ago
I co-own an old church that we’ve turned in to a Circus School space.
Jeffrey Teston 4 years ago
The original post had 48 pic's.. Why not just show all 48 pics instead of 40? I understand taking a post with 100 pics down to top 50 but 48 to 40. Seems odd.
Kathy Baylis 4 years ago (edited)
I have always loved the idea of repurposing old buildings. A lot of older architecture is beautiful, and it’s a shame to see it torn down (prime example is Trump tearing down the beautiful Bonwit Teller department store to build his tacky-a*s Trump Tower—-if he wasn’t so bourgeois, he might’ve instead seen value in converting the original building into really unique apartments). Done right, and with respect for the original, conversions can make the new business or living space inside incredibly unique and memorable—-and a vast improvement over the same old same old.
Carol Emory 4 years ago
We've had a former church turned into a Brewery and Restaurant. And a bank nearby us has been converted into an Island's Taco Bar.
Adrienne Early 4 years ago
There's an old stone church near me that was converted to a club for 10-20 years but recently was converted back to a church.
Marjorie Fabian 4 years ago
There were so many churches changed into something else. Well, my daughter's church used to be a legion hall, then a strip club. When they bought it for a church, the poles for pole dancing were still in the building. Now it's a open-style church, with a full kitchen in the basement, dining rooms, and side rooms that are used for college students to study, relax and have bible classes. Wish I had the photos, as they are quite interesting.
Donald Holder 4 years ago
It's shocking about the number of "used to be churches, Temple or chapels"! Where do people go for church nowadays?
Freya the Wanderer 4 years ago (edited)
Around the world churches are closing for want of members. As a society we are getting less religious - but not less charitable, fortunately.
Load More Replies... Stephanie Hatton 4 years ago
Growing up we had a church move into a department store in our mall. The youth loved the still-operational movie theater And my current town has an Ace Hardware in the old skating rink--I like how they kept the original wooden skate floor.
Chris DiFonso 4 years ago
These are incredible, however I would be nervous sitting at the table (with the humongous, heavy "spout" over it) in the converted cement factory.
graye b 4 years ago
I like how many jails and prisons have been repurposed. That means there aren't enough criminals to fill them.
Dave P 4 years ago (edited)
Actually most were re-purposed because the old buildings could not be modified for modern security systems and other upgrades it is usually cheaper to build a new prison than spend the extra money retrofitting and partially gutting the old ones.
Load More Replies... Celtic Pirate Queen 4 years ago
It's really cool to see old buildings re-purposed instead of being torn down.
Glynis Lailann 4 years ago
Here in Cape Town South Africa we have the Zeitz Mocca Art Museum which was re-purposed from grain silos. https://www.timeslive.co.za/sunday-times/lifestyle/2017-09-15-in-pictures-inside-zeitz-mocaa-the-museum-everyones-talking-about/
Holly Decker 4 years ago
Old Town Alexandria’s torpedo factory is an art league with studios and shops for artists.
Kaela Henderson 4 years ago
I co-own an old church that we’ve turned in to a Circus School space.
Jeffrey Teston 4 years ago
The original post had 48 pic's.. Why not just show all 48 pics instead of 40? I understand taking a post with 100 pics down to top 50 but 48 to 40. Seems odd.
Kathy Baylis 4 years ago (edited)
I have always loved the idea of repurposing old buildings. A lot of older architecture is beautiful, and it’s a shame to see it torn down (prime example is Trump tearing down the beautiful Bonwit Teller department store to build his tacky-a*s Trump Tower—-if he wasn’t so bourgeois, he might’ve instead seen value in converting the original building into really unique apartments). Done right, and with respect for the original, conversions can make the new business or living space inside incredibly unique and memorable—-and a vast improvement over the same old same old.
Related on Bored Panda
