Archives: Atlas Obscuras

Garfield Tea House

Discover Garfield Tea House in Long Branch, New Jersey: A small structure built from used railroad ties honors the short term of America's 20th president.

Spiagge Bianche (White Beaches)

Discover Spiagge Bianche (White Beaches) in Rosignano marittimo, Italy: This deceiving white sand beach gets its brilliant hue from the chemical discharge of a nearby factory.

Japanese American Exclusion Memorial

Discover Japanese American Exclusion Memorial in Bainbridge Island, Washington: This monument remembers the first Japanese Americans forcibly relocated during World War II.

Zweetkamertje (Sweat Room)

Discover Zweetkamertje (Sweat Room) in Leiden, Netherlands: Graffiti covers the walls of a room where university students through the centuries have waited nervously to defend their theses.

SPARK Museum of Electrical Invention

Discover SPARK Museum of Electrical Invention in Bellingham, Washington: An electrifying collection of gadgets and literature from the 16th through 20th centuries.

Arlington Temple United Methodist Church

Discover Arlington Temple United Methodist Church in Arlington, Virginia: This church built atop a gas station promises to "equip you for the next stage in your life’s journey.".

Mailbox Art Space

Discover Mailbox Art Space in Melbourne, Australia: Tiny artwork tucked within glass letterboxes form this hidden gem of an art gallery.

Benigno Montoya Funerary Art

Discover Benigno Montoya Funerary Art in Durango, Mexico: A historic cemetery doubles as a museum containing hundreds of unique tombs sculpted by a single artist.

The Beach Boys Childhood Home

Discover The Beach Boys Childhood Home in Hawthorne, California: The Southern California pop sounds of surf and sand were born right here.

The Chopin Centre in Szafarnia

Discover The Chopin Centre in Szafarnia in Szafarnia, Poland: The manor house where the Polish composer spent childhood summer holidays is now a museum and concert hall.

Poland’s Iconic ‘Saucer’

Discover Spodek in Katowice, Poland: While the U.S. and Soviet Union were engaged in a space race, Poland built a UFO on the ground.

Saint Anthony Falls Laboratory

Discover Saint Anthony Falls Laboratory in Minneapolis, Minnesota: One of the world's premier laboratories for hydraulic engineering research takes full advantage of the water's power.

Torre Sant’Andrea

Discover Torre Sant'Andrea in Melendugno, Italy: Dramatic sea stacks adorn the coast of this small village on the Adriatic coast.

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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