Archives: Atlas Obscuras

Aztec Serpent Head Cornerstone

Discover Aztec Serpent Head Cornerstone in Mexico City, Mexico: On a cornerstone of the City Museum is the head of a monstrous serpent stolen from an Aztec pyramid 400 years ago.

D.W. Correll Museum

Discover D.W. Correll Museum in Catoosa, Oklahoma: It reportedly took three years to sort through all the objects in this eclectic lifelong collection.

The Wedding Cake House

Discover The Wedding Cake House in Kennebunk, Maine: The most photographed house in Maine looks good enough to eat.

Union 76 Gas Station

Discover Union 76 Gas Station in Beverly Hills, California: The dramatic upward-curving roof is one of the most iconic examples of Googie architecture that still stands today.

Abandoned Garcia Moreno Prison

Discover Garcia Moreno Prison Museum in Quito, Ecuador: An abandoned Ecuadorian prison that once held ex-presidents and notorious con artists is now a carceral museum.

Morrison Street Minigallery

Discover Morrison Street Minigallery in Portland, Oregon: A tiny art gallery in Sunnyside helps keep Portland weird.

Leo Petroglyph

Discover Leo Petroglyph in Ray, Ohio: A slab of sandstone covered with mysterious 1,000-year-old rock carvings from a vanished North American culture.

Plaza de Toros de Acho

Discover Plaza de Toros de Acho in Cercado de Lima, Peru: This bullring in Lima is the oldest in the Americas and the second-oldest in the world.

Tovrea Castle

Discover Tovrea Castle in Phoenix, Arizona: A mysterious "wedding cake" castle in the middle of the urban desert.

The Real Winnie the Pooh & Pals

Discover The Real Winnie the Pooh & Pals in New York, New York: The original toys that inspired the beloved children's stories are on display at the New York Public Library.

The Irkutsk Babr

Discover The Irkutsk Babr in Irkutsk, Russia: Thanks to a spelling mistake this bizarre beaver-tiger hybrid became the symbol of a Siberian town.

Daredevil Tattoo Museum

Discover Daredevil Tattoo Museum in New York, New York: This iconic tattoo shop has its own onsite museum with artifacts from the early history of modern body art.

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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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