Fascinating images reveal how a historic landmark property once home to a US state senator and a publisher of the Washington Post has fallen into ruin after being abandoned for decades.
Eerie photographs of the stunning coral rock Graham House in Miami, Florida, show its dilapidated interior that includes a kitchen falling in around itself and peeling walls in other rooms.
Other shots show a graffiti-plagued games room with a dusty pool table and rooms cluttered with rubble, old mattresses and furniture.
The 1926 property was once home to Ernest R. ‘Cap’ Graham – a renowned political figure in Florida who served as a member of the state’s senate from 1937 to 1944.
Smashed mirrors and rubble piled as high as the cupboards clutters the dilapidated kitchen inside the Graham House in Miami, Florida
The 1924 property’s graffiti-plagued games room features a dusty pool table and a ceiling falling in on itself
Other rooms in the historic landmark property are cluttered with old mattresses and furniture after being abandoned for decades
The stunning coral rock home was once home to Ernest R. ‘Cap’ Graham – a renowned political figure in Florida who served as a member of the state’s senate from 1937 to 1944
Born in 1886 in Croswell, Michigan, he moved to South Dakota to take up a job as a mining engineer at the turn of the century.
He and wife Florence Morris would have three children together: Philip Graham, former publisher of the Washington Post, William ‘Bill’ Graham and Mary Graham Crow.
In 1921, him and his family moved down to the company town of Pennsuco, Florida, to manage operations for the Pennsylvania Sugar Company. In 1924, he would build the coral rock home for his family.
As a state senator, Ernest Graham (left) sought to increase taxes on horse racing in order to increase funding for the elderly. He built the home in 1926 for his first wife and three children (right, one of the kids’ coat hangers still remains in the home)
Graham had four children who would grow up in the home (pictured, one of its communal rooms), including Philip Graham, former publisher of the Washington Post, and Bob Graham, future Florida Governor
The fascinating images (one showing tires and electrical appliances left to rot on in the garden) were captured by a photographer known as Bullet, who runs a website called Abandoned Florida
By 1929, Pennsylvania Sugar had discontinued operations in Florida, and Graham was involved as operator of the Pennsuco Farming Company, either leasing land from or in partnership with the sugar company.
He would acquire 7,000 acres to start a business called Graham Dairy. His wife, Florence, died of cancer in 1934 and in 1936, he remarried to Hilda Simmons, a schoolteacher.
They had one child together, future Florida Governor and United States Senator Bob Graham. In 1936, Ernest Graham was elected to the Florida State Senate, where he served two terms from 1937 to 1944.
As a state senator, he sought to increase taxes on horse racing in order to increase funding for the elderly.
This led to an investigation into horse racing in the state, revealing wide-scale corruption and mob connections within the Florida racing industry.
In 1942, he lobbied for Dade County and Miami, seeking more government contracts and other benefits for the area.
The photographer warned the house will continue to deteriorate until ‘it collapses or until it’s just a shell made of coral rock’
He promoted the use of a barge canal across Florida through Lake Okeechobee to avoid the risk of war-time shipping through the Florida Straits.
The family home was designated a historic landmark of Miami-Dade County in 1982 – 25 years after Ernest Graham’s death in 1957.
Despite that, the house has fallen into ruin with no plans for it in the future.
A mattress is left on the floor with broken furniture and shattered windows in one of the eerie images
The stunning pictures were taken by a photographer known as Bullet, who runs a website called Abandoned Florida.
‘Many people on Facebook were talking about this house but were only showing exterior photos of the home,’ the snapper said.
‘While that’s interesting and all, I needed to see what the inside looked like as well. Most of the photos are the interior of the Graham family home, a coral rock house built in 1924.
‘At some point in time, it looked as though some work was attempted on the home but it obviously didn’t get very far.
Tools are left scattered across the floor, suggesting renovation work was attempted at some point in the past
‘While the home is designated a historic landmark here in Dade County, it just means it would be difficult to demolish the home.
‘The house has deteriorated and sadly, will continue to do so until it collapses or until it’s just a shell made of coral rock.
‘Some people are appalled that such a landmark could have fallen into such disrepair. Others are heartbroken thinking how it’s like to see someone’s childhood home in such state.’