Architectural Oddities

This rural Australian restaurant claims to be the only restaurant in the world to be built almost entirely of sea shells.

This octagonal rotary jail built in 1889 now serves as a visitor's center.

A mysterious castle "in the clouds" has had many lives including a radar bunker, dog hotel, and conference center.

This prefabricated building was built in Belgium and shipped to Mozambique but was never inhabited, since its iron exterior was unsuitable for the tropical environment.

A 19th-century house filled with secret trap doors and hidden basements has been turned into a museum.

It may be a historic 17th-century coaching inn, but the George Inn still functions like a modern pub.

A centuries-old pine tree is growing through the floor and roof of this building.

Split's smallest church, and one of its oldest, has been reconstructed inside the city's Roman walls.

High rises built to house displaced military personnel and their families form a unique cylindrical shape.

A 30-foot-tall goat tower in central Illinois is home to a herd of Swiss ungulates.

A neighborhood of houses made of poured concrete through a process invented by Thomas Edison.

A cornucopia of gargoyles adorns the oldest portion of Oxford’s Magdalen College.

This distinctive bug-like bridge is made of recycled horseshoes.

This tiny triangular cottage is one of a kind in England, and has housed everything from a watchmaker's studio to coffin storage.

This seaside property, an example of Art Deco Streamline Moderne style, was designed to embody the curves of a great ship.