History Main / AbandonedWarehouse

* ''Series/{{Arrowverse}}'':
** In ''Series/{{Arrow}}'' Oliver Queen's HQ is underneath the derelict Queen foundry -- but not for long, as he quickly turns it into a nightclub, giving him an excuse for being there. There are actually repeated instances of abandoned warehouses and other buildings being used as hideouts/bases by various characters throughout the series, though it's justified as most of the action takes place in the rundown part of the city known as the Glades (and it's not like the city's economy improves with a major terrorist attack happening for every season finale). To the point that in a Season 3 episode, Ray actually [[CasualDangerDialogue takes the time out of a serious mission]] to [[LampshadeHanging wonder just how many abandoned warehouses Starling City has]].
** {{Lampshade|Hanging}}d in the ''Series/{{Supergirl|2015}}'' [[Recap/Supergirl2015S1E18WorldsFinest crossover episode]] with ''Series/{{The Flash|2014}}'', in accordance with the latter's repeated instances.
--->'''Barry''': Livewire's ability to absorb the electrical energy in the air surrounding her gave me an idea. So I wrote an algorithm to monitor variations in meter usage around the city, and it all leads to that warehouse. I see bad guys love their abandoned warehouses on your Earth, too, huh?

* Every episode of [[TheSixties the 1960s]] ''Series/{{Batman|1966}}'' TV series had the villain's hideout located in an abandoned warehouse.

-->'''Joey''': Tonight. Midnight. The abandoned warehouse on seventh.\\
'''Cory''': No. Four o'clock. Feeny's backyard.\\
'''Joey''': No! Eight o'clock! The abandoned shipyard by the pier.\\
'''Cory''': No! Dinnertime! My kitchen!\\
'''Joey''': Is it abandoned?

* In ''Franchise/{{Buffyverse}}'':
** In ''Series/{{Angel}}'', Gunn's gang, as well as some street-level demons, use abandoned warehouses as their living and working area. Cordelia also gives birth to Jasmine inside an abandoned meatpacking plant, which is given a sinister air thanks to its rows of hanging meat hooks.
%%** Plenty of these in ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer''. {{Lampshade|Hanging}}d by a deleted line in "[[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS5E14Crush Crush]]" which had Buffy learning of some vampires hanging out in an abandoned warehouse and commenting, "Is there any other kind in Sunnydale?" Another example would be Spike and Drusilla using one as their lair in Season 2. %%Example needs context to make sense on its own.

* The ''Series/CriminalMinds'' episode "Ashes and Dust" has an arsonist who likes to watch his victims burn to death and a man dying of leukemia who's disgusted and angered that the arsonist is using the group he founded to target victims. The arsonist gets lured by the man to an abandoned building filled with highly flammable material. When the arsonist asks how the man plans to escape, he says, "I don't," and lights the building up, killing them both. Doubles as a ThanatosGambit and a DyingMomentOfAwesome.
* ''Series/DoctorWho'': In [[Recap/DoctorWhoS29E12TheSoundOfDrums "The Sound of Drums"]], the Doctor, Martha and Jack hide from the Master in an abandoned warehouse and discuss backstory.
* The second episode of ''Series/{{Flash Forward|2009}}'' had the main characters' investigation of the blackouts lead them to a creepy abandoned warehouse full of dolls hanging from the ceiling.

* In ''WesternAnimation/SheepInTheBigCity'', Sheep tries to lose General Specific in the [[ExaggeratedTrope "Spotlight, Dry Ice & Ominous Music Warehouse."]]

** ''VideoGame/UnrealTournament'' has many arenas that qualify for the "Abandoned X" trope, but as far as warehouses go, DM-Shrapnel][ (itself an adaptation of an old ''VideoGame/UnrealI'' Deathmatch level) outright states that "burnt-out factories, foundries, and warehouses" are favorite arena types of the Tournament coordinators due to "the natural height and architectural hazards they provide". Another example is DOM-Gearbolt, an underground storage base for military weapons and inventory that went abandoned with the peace treaties signed by the N.E.G..

* A large chunk of the levels in the ''VideoGame/{{Unreal}}'' series (especially [[VideoGame/UnrealTournament the]] [[VideoGame/UnrealTournament2004 Tournament]] [[VideoGame/UnrealTournamentIII games]]) are described as being abandoned warehouses, factories, smelting plants, stress-testing labs, etc. that have been re-purposed as battle arenas.

[[folder:Web Original]]

* Franchise/DCAnimatedUniverse:
** ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'':
*** In [[Recap/BatmanTheAnimatedSeriesE2ChristmasWithTheJoker "Christmas with the Joker"]], the Joker's hideout is the abandoned "Laff Co" Toy company warehouse, which has been left abandoned for fourteen years.
** ''[[WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague Justice League Unlimited]]'' episode [[Recap/JusticeLeagueUnlimitedS2E4TaskForceX "Task Force X"]]: Justified by Colonel Flag, when Lawton (AKA Deadshot) observes that the Justice League SpySatellites could hear the Suicide Squad planning their operation while inside a warehouse. Flag answers that [[ComicBook/LexLuthor the guy]] who abandoned this warehouse had a very good security installation on it.
%%*** There's one in [[Recap/BatmanTheAnimatedSeriesE25TheClockKing "The Clock King"]]. Not abandoned since Fugate owns it, but it plays the same role. %%Example needs context to make sense on its own.

-->'''Homer:''' D'OH! Stupid economic recovery!
** In the "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS35E5TreehouseOfHorrorXXXIV Treehouse Of Horror XXXIV]]" segment "[=Ei8ht=]", the adult Lisa and Nelson, who are working as a criminal psychologist and police officer, respectively, are investigating a serial killer and track the killer's pattern to Ana Gram's Spooky Abandoned Warehouse, where the slogan is "If it's gotta be cryptic, it's gotta be Ana Gram's". [[spoiler:There, Nelson gets murdered and Lisa learns ''she's'' the killer they're searching for, or more accurately, her trauma-induced split personality is.]]

-->'''Homer''': "D'OH! Stupid economic recovery!"

* Subverted in [[Recap/TheSimpsonsS8E4BurnsBabyBurns an episode]] of ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons''. Homer and Larry Burns are being chased by the police (since they faked a kidnapping) and Homer suggests they hide in a nearby abandoned warehouse. They open the door only to find that it's full of people at work.

%%** In another episode, Bart buys one for a buck. %%Example needs context to make sense on its own.

* ''WesternAnimation/SouthParkBiggerLongerAndUncut'': The kids have their LaResistance meeting in Carl's Warehouse.

%%* ''ComicBook/DisneyDucksComicUniverse'': In the Creator/DonRosa story "The Black Knight Glorps Again", Gyro Gearloose hid the Black Knight armor -- coated in a universal solvent that dissolves everything but diamonds -- in a giant cube of concrete in one such location. While checking to see if it had been stolen, Gyro comments on the ease of finding an abandoned warehouse. %%Example needs context to make sense on its own.
* The old Chicago [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Union_Stock_Yards Union Stock Yards]] are used as the home of the Netherworlders, a populace of metahumans. One of the settings for the Post-Hawkworld ''ComicBook/{{Hawkman}}'' series.
* ''ComicBook/SpiderMan'': A key part of his origin takes place in an abandoned warehouse.
* In ''ComicBook/{{Superman}}'' story arc ''ComicBook/TheLeperFromKrypton'', villain Ventor's headquarters are located in an abandoned warehouse where he keeps his equipment, including his brainwashing devices.

* In ''VideoGame/TheSaboteur'', LaResistance sets up one its [[PlayerHeadquarters hideouts]] in the basement of a deserted slaughterhouse ThoseWackyNazis used as a base for their own before an Allied air raid.

For extra trope points, the warehouse should feature a large and complex series of catwalks running among the rafters. This allows the villain to position additional {{Mooks}} there for the hero to [[RailingKill shoot down]], and means that he may retreat onto them for the traditional ClimbingClimax. There will also be ''lots'' of chains and hooks hanging from the ceiling for [[NoOSHACompliance unexplained purposes]], still-operational machinery that can be turned on, as well as lots of water dripping from the roof to give off some nice and eerie clanking and dripping noises for the "cat and mouse"-style chase.

Common iterations: pre-appointed confrontations, busting up a bunch of {{Mooks}} in a video game, and ambushes for the TooDumbToLive sorts in the cast. In SuperHero settings, there will generally be large amounts of property damage, since "abandoned warehouse" is shorthand for "building we can completely destroy during production without feeling guilty."

Can serve the same purpose of a [[ParkingGarage Parking Garage]], with the exception that a parking garage does not need to be abandoned to appear as a credible place where things can happen while none is passing through.

* ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'': Visoreds occupy one in Karakura town. They protect it with forcefields that would turn any random passerby away, and have a giant well-lit cavern underneath to train in.

* These are a frequent site for confrontations in ''Manga/GTOTheEarlyYears'', as well as its prequel ''Manga/BadCompany'' (for example, when the Kamakura Mad Dogs got [[spoiler:Makoto]] to lure Onizuka into a trap), usually prefaced by a warning to ComeAlone. Onizuka also fights in a few in the sequel ''Manga/GreatTeacherOnizuka''.

* ''ComicBook/DisneyDucksComicUniverse'': In the Creator/DonRosa story "The Black Knight Glorps Again", Gyro Gearloose hid the Black Knight armor -- coated in a universal solvent that dissolves everything but diamonds -- in a giant cube of concrete in one such location. While checking to see if it had been stolen, Gyro comments on the ease of finding an abandoned warehouse.
* The old Chicago [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Union_Stock_Yards Union Stock Yards]] is used as the home of the Netherworlders, a populace of metahumans. One of the settings for the Post-Hawkworld ''ComicBook/{{Hawkman}}'' series.

* ''Fanfic/GuardiansWizardsAndKungFuFighters'': In Chapter 27, [[KnowledgeBroker Charles Ludmoore]] arranges a meeting between the Rebellion and the Dark Hand in one of these. His brother Cyrus, present in his SecretIdentity as [[spoiler: Rebel leader Drake]], finds the choice of locale cliched.
* In ''Fanfic/QueenOfAllOni'', [[EvilSorcerer Monsieur Verde]] uses one as his base when operating in San Francisco. Uncle complains about the unoriginality and says that Section 13 should just buy up all such properties so that they can't do it anymore.
* In ''Fanfic/{{Webwork}}'', [[FallenHero Jade]] takes a fondness to these as her lairs after her transformation into a [[SpiderPeople Jorogumo]].
** [[DiabolicalMastermind Chang]] also uses one as his base when operating out of Mexico.

* Absolutely ubiquitous in ''Literature/{{Worm}}'' fanfiction, used as places to fight or as secret bases by heroes and villains alike. While the city of Brockton Bay was hit by a major economic depression and subsequent urban decay in canon, the prevalence of this trope in fanfiction can make it seem like the city is 50% abandoned warehouses by volume.

* ''WesternAnimation/SouthParkBiggerLongerAndUncut'': The kids lave their LaResistance meeting in Carl's Warehouse.

* Filipino action films almost ''always'' use this trope, mostly used as a setting for climatic action scenes, such as those from Creator/FernandoPoeJr. Occasionally they'll feature TheCartel's fancy villa instead.
* Quite a few Hong Kong action movies have shootouts or kung fu battles in warehouses.

* The ''Film/{{Apocalypse}}'' film series: An underground cell group of Christians (called Haters by One Nation Earth) was meeting there during the Tribulation period in ''Revelation''.
* ''Film/DeathFactory'': Six teenagers who sneak into an abandoned chemical factory where a disaster happened when they were all still children.
* The gangs in ''Film/DeathWishII'' and ''[[Film/TheExterminator Exterminator 2]]'' used abandoned warehouses.

* In ''Film/TheFly1986'', reclusive scientist Seth Brundle has converted the top floor of one of these into a lab and living quarters; this serves as the film's primary setting.
* Creator/JohnWoo's ''Film/HardBoiled'' has a ''big'' two-part shootout in one of these things. The first part has the bad guys led by Johnny Wong shooting up the place because they're taking over the gunrunning operation being run within from Uncle Hoi. The second part has Tequila rappelling in and blowing away the bad guys as only Chow Yun-Fat can.
* The final shootout in ''Film/HardTarget'', also directed by John Woo, takes place in a derelict warehouse.

* ''Franchise/StarWars'': ''Film/AttackOfTheClones'' ends with Count Dooku reporting to [[BigBad his master]] in a vacant factory complex.
* Subverted in ''Film/Transformers2007'', where it first looks as though an action scene will take place in one, and then the characters move on to somewhere else.

* Creator/JohnConnolly's ''Literature/CharlieParkerSeries'': ''Every Dead Thing'' has a particularly horrible one of these [[spoiler:where Parker discovers ''the bodies of dozens of murdered children''.]]

** PlayedWith in case of the Pork Futures Warehouse - it's actually full of [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin future pork]] ([[ItMakesSenseInContext in keeping]] with the {{LiteralMinded}}ness of Ankh-Morpork citizens), but it plays similar narrative role as an abandoned warehouse in e.g. ''Literature/MenAtArms'' and ''Literature/{{Thud}}'' It's also [[LockedInAFreezer very cold]] - with semitransparent carcasses of future pigs as a creepiness bonus.
* The city in ''Literature/EdenGreen'' is going through a decade-long recession, leaving many businesses and warehouses boarded up — perfect hunting grounds for giant alien needle monsters.
* ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'':
** The White Council uses an abandoned warehouse in Chicago for trying and executing violators of the Laws of Magic.
** Such places turn up numerous times in the series. When used by practitioners of black magic, the abandonment is justified in-universe by the fact that even regular people sense ''something'' is not right and leave the areas alone.

* The Port in ''Literature/SeptimusHeap'' is ''filled'' with these, mostly for goods impounded by the super-strict Port Customs Office. One of them becomes critical in ''Physik'' as the place where the [[TimeMachine Glass]] is.

** The same holds true for many of the villains in other series, including ''Series/TheFlash2014'' and ''Series/LegendsOfTomorrow''.

** Plenty of these in ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer''. {{Lampshade|Hanging}}d by a deleted line in "[[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS5E14Crush Crush]]" which had Buffy learning of some vampires hanging out in an abandoned warehouse and commenting, "Is there any other kind in Sunnydale?" Another example would be Spike and Drusilla using one as their lair in Season 2.

* ''Series/{{Hawkeye 2021}}'': Clint and Kate get captured by the Tracksuit Mafia and brought to an abandoned toy store. They point out how unnecessarily creepy it is. One of the Tracksuits goes on a rant about how with New York's gentrification, it's actually getting really hard to find a good abandoned building for criminal enterprises, so yes, they had to settle for the creepy toy store.
* ''Series/{{Highlander}}'' Immortals seem to favor this trope as sites for their battles to the death or simple sparring practice.

* ''Series/MiamiVice'' contained a lot of these. Of particular note is an abandoned hangar that appears as the site of a weapons demonstration in "Evan," a double execution in "Phil the Shill," a secret lab in "Missing Hours," and a drug deal in "To Have and to Hold" before finally getting blown up in ''Film/BadBoys1995''.

* Subverted in the ''Series/SavedByTheBell'' episode "The Rave". Plans to host a rave at one of these are derailed when it turns out that the warehouse is being turned into a Walmart. "Stupid economic recovery." [[OlderThanTheyThink The episode aired two years before]] ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' [[ItsBeenDone did it]].

* ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'': Crowley is fond of using abandoned warehouses, factories, and [[AbandonedHospital hospitals]] as his bases.
** Crowley's hardly the only one; supernatural creatures, in general, seem to love 'em.

* Dingy abandoned warehouses are fairly common battlegrounds for {{Toku}}satsu shows, but they're ''everywhere'' in ''Franchise/SuperSentai''[=/=]''Franchise/PowerRangers'', giving the Zords and giant monsters an endless supply of [[ConvenientlyEmptyBuilding empty buildings]] to crush. The second season even occasionally [[LampshadeHanging referred to]] the "abandoned warehouse district" of the city.

* On ''Series/TeenWolf'', despite supposedly being an out-of-the-way town in a non-coastal part of California, Beacon Hills has a seemingly endless number of these, with vast, cavernous interiors. One serves as the headquarters of Derek and his pack, with a couple of subway cars thrown in for good measure.

* ''Series/WonderWoman1975'': In "Fausta, the Nazi Wonder Woman", Fausta lures Wonder Woman to one using [[DistressedDude Steve Trevor]] as the bait.

* This trope is the setting for about half of all Metal music videos.
* The Music/JanetJackson video "The Pleasure Principle" seems to take place in one that was converted into a loft.

[[folder:Theme Parks]]
* At Ride/UniversalStudios:
** One serves as the Sinister Syndicate's lair in ''Ride/TheAmazingAdventuresOfSpiderMan''.
** ''Ride/TheSlaughterhouse'' from ''Theatre/HalloweenHorrorNights'' 1993 consisted of one of these which had been converted into [[ImAHumanitarian a packing and processing facility for human meat]].
[[/folder]]

* A stage like this, appropriately called Vacant Warehouse, appears in ''VideoGame/{{Backyard S|ports}}occer''.
* Many locations in the ''VideoGame/CarolReedMysteries'' are this.
* There is one in ''VideoGame/CobraMission'' near the end of the game. You can find a plot-important item there if you missed it earlier (which is very easy to do). However, there are no traps or enemies inside, so it's something of a subversion.
* ''VideoGame/Die2Nite'' has ruins named ''Warehouse'' and ''Disused Warehouse'' that serve as special item spawn locations. Few of the items found at these abandoned buildings are rare, but nearly all of them are useful to the town in some way.

* The final parts of ''VideoGame/FirstEncounterAssaultRecon'' takes place in an abandoned industrial district full of these.
* The ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAuto'' series (''III'' and onwards) feature plenty of abandoned warehouses for shootouts. A nice example of this tropes would be in ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIV'' [[spoiler:when Dimitri arranges with Niko to meet in an abandoned warehouse after Niko killed Faustin, only to have Dimitri turn on him and have a grand shootout]].

* [[spoiler: The Origami Killer]] from ''VideoGame/HeavyRain'' has one of these. [[spoiler: He uses it as a base where he can kill his victims without drawing suspicion to himself.]]

* In ''VideoGame/Left4Dead'' the survivors will usually pass through one or more of these on each level. The warehouse can be either abandoned or are crawling with infected.

* Creator/StanLee {{Lampshade|Hanging}}s this cliché in ''VideoGame/SpiderMan2000''.
* A common sight in the ''VideoGame/{{STALKER}}'' series. They tend to provide the best (read: only) defence against the elements in the Zone, and are reliable cover against blowouts, emissions, and bandit attacks.
* The very first ''VideoGame/TonyHawksProSkater'' level is one of these, taking the form of a DIY skatepark.

* Subverted in ''Webcomic/Project0''. Owen actually [[http://centralcitytower.blogspot.com/2010/03/location-introduction-warehouse.html lives in one.]]

* The first ''WebVideo/{{lonelygirl15}}'' SeasonFinale had the characters chased into one of these, although they hid and avoided an actual fight.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/Ben10UltimateAlien'' episode "Double or Nothing", Albedo works on his "bomb" in an abandoned warehouse. Kevin {{lampshade|Hanging}}s it.
* Happens often in ''WesternAnimation/DarkwingDuck''. It was even {{lampshade|Hanging}}d.
-->'''Darkwing:''' It always comes down to this, Launchpad: You, me, a {{supervillain}} craving my destruction and an abandoned warehouse.\\
'''Launchpad:''' Yeah, I wish for once it could be a roller rink or something.

*** There's one in [[Recap/BatmanTheAnimatedSeriesE25TheClockKing "The Clock King"]]. Not abandoned since Fugate owns it, but it plays the same role.

** ''[[WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague Justice League Unlimited]]'' episode [[Recap/JusticeLeagueUnlimitedS2E4TaskForceX "Task Force X"]]: Justified by Colonel Flag, when Lawton (AKA Deadshot) observes that the Justice League SpySatellites could hear the Suicide Squad planning their operation while inside one of these. Flag answers that [[ComicBook/LexLuthor the guy]] who abandoned this warehouse had a very good security installation on it.
* Used ''frequently'' in ''WesternAnimation/MegasXLR''. Signs on buildings reading "Empty Warehouse", "Good thing this is abandoned", and "Abandoned Warehouse District" are common, since it's the writer's favorite trope to make fun of. Of course, there's also the "Gunpowder, Ball Bearing, and Shrapnel Factory", the local public school, and the [[Creator/{{MTV}} PoP TV studio]].

** In another episode, Bart buys one for a buck.
* A common locale in the original ''WesternAnimation/{{Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles|1987}}'' cartoon. In one episode, Michaelangelo asked why villains always chose to meet in abandoned warehouses. Raphael told him it was "because there aren't any old, abandoned luxury penthouses!"

** Actually, ''modern'' Detroit has [[GhostCity plenty of abandoned warehouses already]].

* Subverted in the 2007 ''Film/{{Transformers|2007}}'' movie. It looks as though an action scene will take place in one, then the characters move on to somewhere else.

* Subverted in the 2007 ''[[Film/Transformers2007 Transformers]]'' movie. It looks as though an action scene will take place in one, then the characters move on to somewhere else.

* Subverted in the 2007 ''Film/{{Transformers}}'' movie. It looks as though an action scene will take place in one, then the characters move on to somewhere else.

* The final confrontation of ''LightNovel/TheGardenOfSinners'' occurs at an abandoned warehouse somewhere in the Mifune City docks. This is justified by the fact that the warehouse is the base of operations for the ArcVillain of the final chapter, who needs a lot of space in a relatively remote and inaccessible location to grow his [[FantasticDrug mystically-enhanced weed]].

For extra trope points, the warehouse should feature a large and complex series of catwalks running among the rafters. This allows the villain to position additional {{Mooks}} there for the hero to [[RailingKill shoot down]], and means that he may retreat onto them for the traditional ClimbingClimax. There will also be lots ''lots'' of chains and hooks hanging from the ceiling for [[NoOSHACompliance unexplained purposes]], still-operational machinery that can be turned on, as well as lots of water dripping from the roof to give off some nice and eerie clanking and dripping noises for the "cat and mouse"-style chase.

For extra trope points, the warehouse should feature a large and complex series of catwalks running among the rafters. This allows the villain to position additional {{Mooks}} there for the hero to [[RailingKill shoot down]], and means that he may retreat onto them for the traditional ClimbingClimax. There will also be lots and ''lots'' of chains hanging from the ceiling for [[NoOSHACompliance unexplained purposes]], as well as lots of water dripping from the roof to give off some nice and eerie clanking and dripping noises for the cat and mouse chase.

An abandoned pier is a common variation. See also AbandonedHospital. Sometimes overlaps with DarkenedBuildingShootout.

Common iterations: pre-appointed confrontations, busting up a bunch of {{Mooks}} in a video game, and ambushes for the TooDumbToLive sorts in the cast. In SuperHero settings, there will generally be large amounts of property damage, since "abandoned warehouse" is shorthand for "building we can completely destroy without feeling guilty."

Contrast NotSoAbandonedBuilding.

* The ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAuto'' series (''III'' and onwards) feature plenty of abandoned warehouses for shootouts. A nice example of this tropes would be in ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIV'' [[spoiler:when Dimitri arranges with Nico to meet in an abandoned warehouse after Nico killed Faustin, only to have Dimitri turn on him and have a grand shootout]].

* Subverted in an episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons''. Homer and Larry Burns are being chased by the police (since they faked a kidnapping) and Homer suggests they hide in a nearby abandoned warehouse. They open the door only to find that it's full of people at work.