Archives: Atlas Obscuras

Peru’s Olive Grove Forest

Discover Bosque el Olivar (Olive Grove Forest) in San Isidro, Peru: A pretty park of over 1,600 olive trees that grew from just three saplings brought over from Spain.

Erie Canal Village

Discover Erie Canal Village in Rome, New York: A historic recreation of the golden age of the Erie Canal now sits dilapidated and abandoned.

World’s Tallest Lincoln Statue

Discover World's Tallest Lincoln Statue in Ashmore, Illinois: This abandoned Abraham Lincoln statue has also earned the honorary of "World's Ugliest.".

Woodpecker Disco

Discover Woodpecker Disco in Cervia, Italy: A domed disco abandoned since the '70s now attracts artists and explorers under its unique roof.

Chicago’s ‘Alley of Death’

Discover Couch Place (The Alley of Death) in Chicago, Illinois: This alley in downtown Chicago held the bodies of over 600 people after the fateful Iroquois Theatre fire.

Contrabands and Freedmen Cemetery

Discover Contrabands and Freedmen Cemetery in Alexandria, Virginia: Once forgotten and built over, this historic Black cemetery now houses a poignant memorial.

China’s Tunnel of Books

Discover Yangzhou Zhongshuge in Yangzhou Shi, China: Mirrored floors and arched shelves create the illusion of an infinite tunnel of books.

Hassal Chained Grave

Unexplained chains and four iron stakes adorn this mysterious grave on the Isle of Man.

Barker-Karpis Hideout House

Discover Barker-Karpis Hideout House in Saint Paul, Minnesota: Where the notorious gang lived while on the run from the FBI.

San Romedio Sanctuary

Discover San Romedio Sanctuary in Romeno, Italy: A stunning hermit's shrine on a steep rocky spur in Northern Italy.

Museum of the Gulf Coast

Discover Museum of the Gulf Coast in Port Arthur, Texas: Hidden within a Gulf Coast port city is a wonderfully eclectic museum whose beginnings were housed in a bank window.

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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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