Archives: Atlas Obscuras

Library of Congress Book Conveyor Tunnel

Discover Library of Congress Book Conveyor Tunnel in Washington, D.C.: A fantastic array of trays and cables once whisked books over to the Capitol at 600 feet per minute.

Pinang Peranakan Mansion

Discover Pinang Peranakan Mansion in George Town, Malaysia: The lavish, well-preserved home of a wealthy Baba Nyonya family is now a cultural museum.

A Whimsical Garden in the Alps

Discover Little Paradise Lodge in Mount Creighton, New Zealand: A lakeside garden in the Southern Alps full of whimsical artwork and thousands of beautiful flowers.

Paddy the Wanderer Fountain

Discover Paddy the Wanderer Fountain in Wellington, New Zealand: A memorial to Wellington's well-loved, well-traveled wharf dog.

British Cemetery of Ocracoke

Discover British Cemetery of Ocracoke in Ocracoke, North Carolina: The North Carolina grounds are leased in perpetuity to the British Commonwealth for as long as the WWII sailors are buried there.

Giant Royal Heads

Discover Giant Royal Heads in Oakley Green, England: Enormous terracotta heads of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Phillip can be seen on the side of the road to Windsor.

National Poo Museum

Discover National Poo Museum in Sandown, England: This British museum hopes to take the taboo out of poo.

Bridge of No Return

Discover Bridge of No Return in Paju, South Korea: The site of many tense prisoner exchanges across the Military Demarcation Line between North and South Korea.

Telegraph Building Belfast Blitz Scars

Discover Telegraph Building Belfast Blitz Scars in Belfast, Northern Ireland: A small plaque highlights the damage caused by German air raids during World War II.

Pensacola Graffiti Bridge

Discover Pensacola Graffiti Bridge in Pensacola, Florida: A local landmark with generations of spraypainted messages, and more being added each day.

Air Crash Angel

Discover Air Crash in Madrid, Spain: A whimsical brother of the nearby Fallen Angel statue takes the falling part quite literally.

La Rotonda

Discover La Rotonda in Rovigo, Italy: A rare example of an octagonal Catholic church.

Stamford’s Miniature Ghost Town

Discover Stamford's Miniature Ghost Town in Stamford, Connecticut: Forgotten under the construction of a new urban roadway is a small, abandoned part of town.

Homewood Cemetery

Discover Homewood Cemetery in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: A quiet, gothic haven nestled between Pittsburgh's Squirrel Hill and Point Breeze neighborhoods.

Menokin

Discover Menokin in Warsaw, Virginia: The Virginia home of one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence is being preserved with a unique glass facade.

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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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