From Notre Dame to the Taj Mahal, many of the world’s most iconic buildings seem so perpetually packed with tourists and so universally beloved that they run no risk of ever being sold and demolished.

But is this still the case? Stacker took a look at 20 buildings around the world that were designed by some of the most important architects of their time and have hosted many important historical figures and events. And yet each of them was ultimately demolished nonetheless.

Significant wealth has proven no bulwark against the potential of a wrecking ball to hit a building. The famous family of American industrialists the Vanderbilts themselves demolished several buildings on Manhattan’s famous Fifth Avenue to make way for their own mansion in the late 19th century. But when the family finally sold the building to a developer decades later, the developer wasted no time in knocking the mansion into the ground, just like the Vanderbilts once did.

Historical status is also not a sure indicator of a building’s longevity. Namely, the Brown Derby Restaurant in Hollywood was once one of the most famous restaurants in Los Angeles and served as a famous hangout for the celebrities the city is so famous for. But despite the hordes still clamoring to catch a glimpse of their favorite movie stars inside the restaurant, it closed abruptly in 1980. Legions of Brown Derby fans were hoping for a reopening that never came.

Which is not to say that beloved buildings are destroyed without a fight. From striking housewives in New York to protests by famous architects, fans of many famous buildings have fought for years to save structures from destruction. But as the ruins of the next 20 buildings show, protests, historic status, and superfans aren’t a certainty when it comes to the relentless tide of modernity and the appetite of real estate developers.

You may also like: 30 beautiful structures from the mind of Frank Lloyd Wright