Archives: Atlas Obscuras

Miami Jai-Alai

Discover Miami Jai-Alai in Miami, Florida: The timeworn "Yankee Stadium" of the fastest game in the world isn't going anywhere.

The Whaling Wall of Portsmouth

Discover Isle of Shoals Humpbacks in Portsmouth, New Hampshire: One of 100 “Whaling Wall" murals painted in 13 different countries by a renowned marine life artist.

Intempo Building

Discover Intempo Building in Benidorm, Spain: This 47-story "M" remains totally uninhabited.

The Apple Garage

Discover The Apple Garage in Los Altos, California: The garage at the childhood home of Steve Jobs was a hangout for the founders of Apple, even if they never built computers there.

PEZ Visitor Center

Discover PEZ Visitor Center in Orange, Connecticut: The world's largest public collection of PEZ memorabilia.

Annesley Hall

Discover Annesley Hall in Nottinghamshire, England: This romantic, decaying 13th-century ruin on the edge of Sherwood Forest is reputedly one of England's most haunted places.

Maeklong Railway Market

Discover Maeklong Railway Market in Mae Klong, Thailand: Six times a day a train runs right through the middle of this Thai street market, sending vendors scrambling.

Amalgam Gallery of Art

Discover Amalgam Gallery of Art in Caledonia, Missouri: This "little gallery in the middle of nowhere" is housed in a 170-year-old horse barn in the Missouri Ozarks.

The School Bus Graveyard

Discover The School Bus Graveyard in Alto, Georgia: Where school buses go to die and be reborn as whimsical works of art.

The First Ever Public Christmas Tree

Discover First-Ever Public Christmas Tree Marker in Riga, Latvia: A stone marker and sculpture in the city of Riga stake a claim for the very first community Christmas tree.

Monument of States

Discover Monument of States in Kissimmee, Florida: After the attack on Pearl Harbor, rocks and fossils from every U.S. state were collected into a pyramid of national unity.

Jaime Duque Park

Discover Jaime Duque Park in Tocancipá, Colombia: A little known Colombian theme park of giant curiosities.

Princess Theatre

Discover Princess Theatre in Melbourne, Australia: One of the oldest theaters in Australia, it's also said to be haunted by a performer who died on stage.

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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

PP ToS