Archives: Atlas Obscuras

Colored Musicians Club

Discover Colored Musicians Club in Buffalo, New York: This landmark jazz venue is the oldest continuously running African-American club in the United States.

The Lost Town of Proctor

Discover The Lost Town of Proctor in Bryson City, North Carolina: The scant remains of this flooded historic village can be explored in one of the most remote areas of the Great Smokies.

Shields Date Garden

Discover Shields Date Garden in Indio, California: A giant knight, sex education, date shakes, and Jesus coexist happily in this Coachella Valley desert oasis.

Leetonia Beehive Coke Ovens

Discover Leetonia Beehive Coke Ovens in Leetonia, Ohio: Rows of 19th-century brick ovens used to process coal into coke form the center of a wooded park.

Scarlet Macaws of Palenque

Discover Scarlet Macaws of Palenque in Palenque, Mexico: After becoming locally extinct, this esteemed avian now flies free in the forests around the ancient ruins.

Abandoned Turkish Bath

Discover Abandoned Turkish Bath in Gaziantep, Turkey: This hidden gem is bathed in beautiful natural light.

Cloos Tower

Discover Cloos Tower in Frederikshavn, Denmark: Plans for this local observation tower were debated for so long, the allocated funds lost value and the design had to be changed.

Pearce Ferry

Discover Pearce Ferry in Meadview, Arizona: The lost ruins of the forgotten ferry lie hidden beneath the silt.

Silo City

Discover Silo City in Buffalo, New York: Buffalo's abandoned concrete grain elevators are getting a second life.

Valley of Wonders

Discover Valley of Wonders in Tende, France: Tens of thousands of ancient rock carvings hidden in the heart of a French national park.

Parker Dam

Discover Parker Dam in Parker, Arizona: This huge dam across the Colorado River caused an armed standoff between two U.S. states.

John Kavanagh (‘The Gravediggers’)

Discover John Kavanagh ('The Gravediggers') in Dublin, Ireland: This pub built its reputation pouring post-shift pints for employees of the cemetery with which it shares a wall.

Boston Bricks

Discover Boston Bricks in Boston, Massachusetts: These whimsical works of art tell the story of the city's past and present.

Grave of the Last Sin-Eater

Discover Grave of the Last Sin-Eater in Ratlinghope, England: A quiet country churchyard holds a monument to the last known sin-eater in England.

Yonekoyaki Craft Center Shisa Park

Discover Yonekoyaki Craft Center Shisa Park in Ishigaki, Japan: Along the side of the road on a small Japanese island is an extensive garden of uniquely designed Shisa statues.

Ibi Toy Locomotive Sculpture

Discover Ibi Toy Locomotive Sculpture in Ibi, Spain: An enormous roadside attraction in the heart of Spain's toy-making hub.

Punakha Suspension Bridge

Discover Punakha Suspension Bridge in Punakha, Bhutan: This colorful overpass is one of Bhutan's longest suspension bridges.

Mountain View Mortuary and Cemetery

Discover Mountain View Mortuary and Cemetery in Altadena, California: This magnificent mausoleum is as much a work of art as it is a historic resting place.

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

PP ToS