The Abyss movie set rules the roost even after two decades, probably a tribute to James Cameron’s affinity towards big budget movies

According to the article below, the Abyss set still exists, but from what I've read it was destroyed in 2009.

Having said that, it sure would have been fun to be able to visit this site and dive in the set!

From Rounded Off: The Abyss movie set rules the roost even after two decades, probably a tribute to James Cameron’s affinity towards big budget movies
We see movies, we get amazed by the entire extravaganza and we move on to the next one. Well that is the drill for most of us who are avid movie fanatics, and if one happens to be an action, adventure movie lover then the name James Cameron will definitely tingle you movie taste buds. Over the decades the acclaimed movie director, film producer, screenwriter and inventor James Francis Cameron has bamboozled us with his epic movies that are still etched in our memories deep inside. One of the movies from the late 1980’s called The Abyss awe-inspired the audience and other film makers by the large scale on which its sets were build. Most of the underwater scenes were filmed in the containment building of Cherokee Nuclear Power Plant, which is an unfinished nuclear power plant on Owensby Road, Shelby, North Carolina, United States. At that time it was the largest underwater filming set ever constructed for the shooting of a movie.

Now you might be wondering that why are we making such a fuzz about this whole The Abyss movie thing? Just wait a second; we have a valid reason to take up your time and finally tell you that it has something special associated with it. First of all, the movie set is set in a real location set amidst a real nuclear plant location and secondly it is still intact as it was at the time of the movie shoot. Moreover the set was made in all real, with a real life big size scale model that still stands the onslaught of time.

This is utterly amazing because in most likeliness the movie sets are torn down to give way for new ones or some other construction plan, but The Abyss movie set has become a real location over decades and can be seen on Google Earth by entering the coordinates 35° 2′ 13.2″ N, 81° 30′ 43.2″ W.

The photos above are full scale from the set from the 1989 movie "The Abyss." Located in Gaffney, SC at the site of an abandoned nuclear power plant that was never completed. The large set was in the cooling tower, and it held over 7 million gallons of water. Watch the special features on the DVD version of the movie for more info.