Centralia is already played out in the sense of money moving from one pocket to another. I believe the heyday of the game was over 25 years ago.
I’ve talked to some of the players. Residents, realtors and some officials. I’ve seen Centralia. There is no town anymore and no one’s going to build a mockup, nor would anyone be permitted to. The environmental issues there are insuperable.
But there are many other little crossroads all over the place. Some with architecture more pitiful than those frontier towns in Texas. Old hotels and taverns, huge, crumbling, hiding in the weeds. Same situation in New York state. Local officials praying someone will come along and start something they probably can’t finish.
I took an Amtrak ride from 30th St Station to Pittsburgh a while ago. There were LOTS of ghost towns I saw along that route.