Hole in the Wall

In 1903, when America signed the treaty to build, operate and own the Panama Canal, the Panama Canal Zone was established. The zone was an unincorporated territory of the United States that spanned the length of the canal and is where American labourers and their families lived and worked. "Zonians", as they were called, had their own shops, schools, police stations, social clubs, and even American-style housing. In the 1950s, as many as 100,000 Americans lived in various settlements across the zone. But in 1977, after the treaty was abolished and the canal was turned over to Panama, the settlements emptied and many were left to rot.