If you've ever taken a road trip to Mexico or to San Diego, you've probably passed through Gila Bend, a tiny town about an hour southwest of Phoenix with a population just over 1,800. Most of the businesses reside along Pima Street, which serves as the main road leading directly through the center of town to Interstate 8.

On the roughly 2-mile stretch of restaurants, gas stations, souvenir shops, motels and convenience stores, many of the buildings sit empty. Some were damaged in a 2021 flood and never reopened. Others appear to have simply been abandoned. A few signs read "opening soon" on buildings that have not been under construction in months or years.

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