Archives: Atlas Obscuras

Wanlockhead Beam Engine

Discover Wanlockhead Beam Engine in Wanlockhead, Scotland: The last water-powered beam pumping engine in Britain.

Riker-Lent-Smith Homestead

Discover Riker-Lent-Smith Homestead in Queens, New York: The oldest private residence in New York City.

West Bell Street Car Park

Discover West Bell Street Car Park in Dundee, Scotland: A reportedly haunted parking structure with alleged links to Jack The Ripper.

Lenoir Preserve

Discover Lenoir Preserve in Yonkers, New York: A beautiful, historic location open to the public.

Obadov Brijeg

Discover Obadov Brijeg in Danilovgrad, Montenegro: A swan-like monument on Obad's Hill honors those that defended the area from German invaders during WWII.

McBryde Sugar Plantation Cemetery

Discover McBryde Sugar Plantation Cemetery in Eleele, Hawaii: A burial ground for workers at one of Hawai'i's largest sugarcane producers that laid buried for decades.

Casa di Rigoletto

Discover Casa di Rigoletto in Mantua, Italy: A small villa said to have inspired the design of the court jester at the heart of Giuseppe Verdi's 1851 opera.

Tumbo del Indio

Discover Tumbo del Indio in Jayuya, Puerto Rico: A place to pay homage to Taíno heritage.

Kapa’a Japanese Stone Lantern

Discover Kapa’a Japanese Stone Lantern in Kapaʻa, Hawaii: This monument built by Japanese American immigrants spent decades underground.

Villa Charlotte Brontë

Discover Villa Charlotte Brontë in Bronx, New York: Built in the 1920s, this co-op in the Bronx feels more like an Italian villa than a typical New York apartment building.

Jabal Ikmah

Discover Jabal Ikmah in Al Ula, Saudi Arabia: The rocks around this mountain are filled with so many carvings that the area became known as the "open library.".

QDOS Arts

Discover QDOS Arts in Lorne, Australia: A tranquil gallery and sculpture garden situated within the classic Australian bush.

Söderto Fortress

Discover Söderto Fortress in Söderto, Sweden: This makeshift concrete bunker is an unusual reminder of the Cold War.

Torre da Estrela

Discover Torre da Estrela in Loriga, Portugal: This tower once served as a radar station during the Cold War.

Mighty Joe the Gorilla

Discover Mighty Joe the Gorilla in Shamong, New Jersey: This 25-foot-tall gorilla made his way from the Wildwood boardwalk to a Pine Barrens gas station and deli.

Exposition Park Marker

Discover Exposition Park Marker in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: A piece of baseball history is preserved in a Pittsburgh parking lot.

Ka Hale La’au

Discover Ka Hale La’au in Honolulu, Hawaii: Hawai'i's oldest wooden house was shipped around Cape Horn from Boston in 1820.

Calvary Cathedral’s Stained-Glass Windows

Discover Calvary Cathedral's Stained-Glass Windows in Sioux Falls, South Dakota: The 19th-century artwork was once highly controversial—because it was donated to the church by a divorcee.

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i
To represent a masterpiece of human creative genius. 261 ii
To exhibit an important interchange of human values, over a span of time or within a cultural area of the world, on developments in architecture or technology, monumental arts, town-planning or landscape design. 480 iii
To bear a unique or at least exceptional testimony to a cultural tradition or to a civilization which is living or which has disappeared. 514 iv
To be an outstanding example of a type of building, architectural or technological ensemble or landscape which illustrates (a) significant stage(s) in human history. 642 ix
To be outstanding examples representing significant on-going ecological and biological processes in the evolution and development of terrestrial, fresh water, coastal and marine ecosystems and communities of plants and animals. 137 v
To be an outstanding example of a traditional human settlement, land-use, or sea-use which is representative of a culture (or cultures), or human interaction with the environment especially when it has become vulnerable under the impact of irreversible change. 172 vi
To be directly or tangibly associated with events or living traditions, with ideas, or with beliefs, with artistic and literary works of outstanding universal significance. (The Committee considers that this criterion should preferably be used in conjunction with other criteria). 256 vii
To contain superlative natural phenomena or areas of exceptional natural beauty and aesthetic importance. 151 viii
To be outstanding examples representing major stages of earth's history, including the record of life, significant on-going geological processes in the development of landforms, or significant geomorphic or physiographic features. 98 x
To contain the most important and significant natural habitats for in-situ conservation of biological diversity, including those containing threatened species of outstanding universal value from the point of view of science or conservation. 168

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