Archives: Atlas Obscuras

Chaplin Keaton Lloyd Alley

Discover Chaplin Keaton Lloyd Alley in Los Angeles, California: The three biggest silent film stars once shot iconic scenes here.

Reclaim Arcade

Discover Reclaim Arcade in Fredericksburg, Virginia: A throwback to 1980's gaming nostalgia.

Pineapple dump pier

Discover Pineapple dump pier in Kealia, Hawaii: A local pineapple cannery once dumped pineapple trimmings off of this pier, with sometimes smelly results.

Bistro Nobel Signed Chairs

Discover Bistro Nobel Signed Chairs in Stockholm, Sweden: Maybe the only restaurant in the world where your seat will be signed by a Nobel laureate.

Swigart Museum

Discover Swigart Museum in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania: The oldest automobile museum in the United States.

Alley Spring Mill

Discover Alley Spring Mill in Eminence, Missouri: A historic, scenic mill that was forced to close due to overlogging.

Luna Park Melbourne

Discover Luna Park Melbourne in St Kilda, Australia: Home to the oldest operating roller coaster in the Southern Hemisphere.

Savannah Powder Magazine

Discover Savannah Powder Magazine in Savannah, Georgia: An abandoned munitions storage facility with a rich architectural history.

Wendell Gilley Museum

Discover Wendell Gilley Museum in Southwest Harbor, Maine: One of the few institutions in the United States devoted to the art of decorative bird carving.

Ancient Egypt Museum of Shibuya

Discover Ancient Egypt Museum of Shibuya in Tokyo, Japan: Discover the mummified remains of Ancient Egypt in the middle of metropolitan Tokyo.

Sally Lunn’s

Discover Sally Lunn's in Bath, England: This restaurant's specialty is "a major enigma for food historians.".

Skovtårnet (Forest Tower)

Discover Skovtårnet (Forest Tower) in Ronnede, Denmark: A spiralling hourglass-shaped tower rises from the forests in Denmark.

Gadsden Hotel Windows

Discover Gadsden Hotel Windows in Douglas, Arizona: The lobby of this hotel near the U.S.-Mexico border features a stained-glass mural that measures 42 feet long and 6 feet tall.

The French Church Built Like a Boat

Discover Église Sainte Catherine in Honfleur, France: One of the oldest and largest wooden churches in France was very evidently constructed by shipbuilders.

Sinnamon Cut

Discover Sinnamon Cut in Bridgeport, California:.

Icecap Ground Zero

Discover Icecap Ground Zero in Nye County, Nevada: A facility built in 1992 for an underground nuclear test remains in place today.

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i
To represent a masterpiece of human creative genius. 260 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. 474 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. 499 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. 633 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. 135 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. 167 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). 252 vii
To contain superlative natural phenomena or areas of exceptional natural beauty and aesthetic importance. 148 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. 96 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. 166

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