Giant space-age saucer bus station in Ukraine abandoned

KIEV, Ukraine — On the outskirts of the Ukrainian capital of Kiev lies a hidden relic of the Soviet Union.

The disc-shaped building that makes up the bus garage was once considered the most innovative structure of its kind.

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Opened in 1973, the garage was an important hub for Kiev's international, domestic and city bus routes.

Its unique design was the vision of a Moscow-based designer known as "V. Zinkevic."

More than 180 steel cables secure the roof, which is carried by a single mushroom-like support column in the center.

It played a key role in the Chernobyl nuclear disaster of April 1986 when about 70 buses at the station were drafted to evacuate residents of Pripyat, the town closest to the power station.

The collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 proved to be the beginning of the end for the station as well.

Routes steadily decreased throughout the 1990s and 2000s, with a full closure taking place in 2015.

There was an attempt to transform the abandoned park into a museum in 2018, but that petition was met by silence from officials.

CNN