Archives: Atlas Obscuras

Martin Van Buren National Historic Site

Discover Martin Van Buren National Historic Site in Kinderhook, New York: At this farm in upstate New York, the former president plotted his reelection campaign.

Mile High Comics Megastore

Discover Mile High Comics Megastore in Denver, Colorado: While comics are the main attraction at this megastore, the second floor plays host to an exhibit fit for a museum.

Woodside

Discover Woodside in Troy, New York: A man used his Civil War-era fortune to build this sanctuary in memory of his wife.

Silver City Cemetery

Discover Silver City Cemetery in Eureka, Utah: These headstones and a few stone foundations are all that remain of a once-booming mining town.

Off the Rez Cafe

Discover Off the Rez Cafe in Seattle, Washington: Where else would a linchpin of post-colonial Native American cuisine anchor the menu but a museum?

Frog Rock

Discover Frog Rock in New Boston, New Hampshire: A popular 19th-century natural landmark is now hidden within a sprawling forest.

Chùa Giác Minh

Discover Chùa Giác Minh in East Palo Alto, California: An eatery within a Bay Area Buddhist temple pulls off all your favorite Vietnamese classics without the meat.

The 747 Experience

Discover The 747 Experience in Atlanta, Georgia: One-of-a-kind museum inside the first Boeing 747-400 ever made.

Crna Reka Monastery

Discover Crna Reka Monastery in Ribariće, Serbia: This fresco-covered medieval monastery hangs from the side of a steep cliff.

Port Meadow

Discover Port Meadow in Oxford, England: Legend says this public grazing area hasn't been plowed for thousands of years.

Mahoning Drive-In Theater

Discover Mahoning Drive-In Theater in Lehighton, Pennsylvania: Featuring the largest CinemaScope screen in Pennsylvania, this drive-in has entertained moviegoers for more than half a century.

Split Rock Quarry

Discover Split Rock Quarry in Camillus, New York: The quarry was abandoned over 100 years ago, after a massive ammunition explosion ended in tragedy.

The Cottage Museum

Discover The Cottage Museum in Lincolnshire, England: This unique museum is housed in a rare example of an early 19th century prefabricated cottage.

Cave of Maltravieso

Discover Cave of Maltravieso in Cáceres, Spain: A neighborhood park in the city of Cáceres hides what some believe are revolutionary examples of Neanderthal cave art.

Atching Lillian Restaurant

Discover Atching Lillian Restaurant in Mexico, Philippines: In her ancestral home, one chef preserves ancient Filipino recipes and serves up traditional, home-cooked food to history-loving foodies.

Dinosaur Fossil Park and Museum

Discover Dinosaur Fossil Park and Museum in Jetholi, India: The village where the park and museum are located is also the third-biggest hatchery of dinosaurs discovered.

Menu

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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