Archives: Atlas Obscuras

Ben Abeba

Discover Ben Abeba in Lalibela, Ethiopia: An otherworldly restaurant perched on the edge of a jagged cliff next to a medieval holy city.

Cheesewright Studios

Discover Cheesewright Studios in Pasadena, California: This 1920s masterpiece of French Quarter architecture hides a secret tunnel used by Albert Einstein.

Branch Boy Sculptures

Discover Branch Boy Sculptures in Kuopio, Finland: A stick-sprouting statue watching a duo of disembodied dancing deities.

Museum of Old and New Art (MONA)

Discover Museum of Old and New Art (MONA) in Berriedale, Australia: This controversial museum includes such detested exhibits as a chocolate suicide bomber and fecal-smelling digestion machine.

Monserrate Sanctuary

Discover Monserrate Sanctuary in Bogotá, Colombia: Pilgrims each carried a brick to the top of Mount Monserrate to help build this historic sanctuary in Colombia.

Musso and Frank Grill

Discover Musso and Frank Grill in Los Angeles, California: This star-studded Old Hollywood restaurant is where fettuccine Alfredo made its United States debut.

Wade Memorial Chapel

Discover Wade Memorial Chapel in Cleveland, Ohio: Inside the unassuming cemetery chapel is a magnificent stained glass window and mosaics.

Birthplace of the Banana Split

Discover Birthplace of the Banana Split in Latrobe, Pennsylvania: A larger-than-life statue of America's favorite sundae marks the place it was invented.

Princeton Chapel Bulldog

Discover Princeton Chapel Bulldog in Princeton, New Jersey: The mysterious canine hides atop a drain pipe on the back of the building, some say as a sneaky shoutout to Yale.

Images of the Unconscious Museum

Discover Images of the Unconscious Museum in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: An overlooked collection of over 350,000 artistic works created by psychiatric patients using art therapy.

Smither Park

Discover Smither Park in Houston, Texas: A park filled with vibrant mosaics created by more than 300 folk artists.

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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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