Archives: Atlas Obscuras

Guardian Lions of Route 66

Discover Guardian Lions of Route 66 in Amboy, California: A pair of large white marble lions guard this stretch of the Mojave Desert, and it is utterly mysterious how they got there.

Tardis Police Box at Earl’s Court

Discover Earl's Court Police Box in London, England: The Metropolitan Police refurbished the blue box (perhaps not coincidentally) the same year "Doctor Who" returned to TV screens.

White House Helipad

Discover White House Helipad in Washington, D.C.: Disks are rolled out onto the south lawn to absorb the impact of Marine One's wheels like giant coffee coasters.

Mount Vernon Slave Cemetery

Discover Mount Vernon Slave Cemetery in Alexandria, Virginia: The graveyard holding the remains of George Washington's slaves was forgotten for nearly 200 years.

The Twice-Abandoned Okaton Ghost Town

Discover Okaton Ghost Town in Murdo, South Dakota: The deserted railroad town had a last gasp as a ghost town attraction before being abandoned for good.

Fort Lawton

Discover Fort Lawton in Seattle, Washington: This Puget Sound military post has a long, turbulent history as a gateway to the Pacific.

Potato Vending Machine

Discover Potato Vending Machine in Heuvelland, Belgium: Because sometimes you need to make a batch of frites even when the stores are all closed.

Potato Shed Memorial

Cast stone sacks of spuds where the iconic potato sheds once stood along the Charles River.

Observatory Castle of Abbadia

Discover Château d'Abbadie in Hendaye, France: The eclectic observatory castle of a 19th-century astronomer and explorer.

Abandoned SS Bakery

Discover Abandoned SS Brotfabrik in Oranienburg, Germany: A crumbling bakery where forced laborers from the nearby concentration camp toiled to feed their fellow prisoners and Nazi soldiers.

An Accidental Hobbit Castle

Colin's Barn looks like a castle built by a hobbit, but really it was built by a shepherd to take care of his flock.

Necco Wafer Sculpture

Discover Necco Wafer Sculpture in Cambridge, Massachusetts: A tiny monument to the classic American candy.

Maine Avenue Fish Market

Discover Maine Avenue Fish Market in Washington, D.C.: The oldest continuously operating fish market in the United States.

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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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