Not even a series of devastating fires could keep this odd castle in upstate New York from bouncing back.

What was once a trend-setting, phrase-coining icon of architectural splendor is now a rotting, forgotten hulk.

A once grand hotel is being retaken by the wilderness it once capitalized on.

This curved Manhattan building was built to house the opulence of John D. Rockefeller's oil empire.

Hundreds of antique bank vault locks on display in New York City.

What happens here stays here – unless it affects the whole world.

One Brooklyn man's collection of life-size fiberglass statues has taken over his entire yard.

This small New York museum examines Chinese history from its origins right up to its arrival in the city.

A working metal shop and venue for outrageous art and music shows in a former cannonball factory.

This was one of the first (and last) university-built and operated nuclear reactors.

Piano-making empire filled with 200-year-old steam machines still churning out 1,000 instruments a year.

The first museum in the United States dedicated entirely to posters.

19th century cemetery hidden in Brooklyn's Prospect Park.

The most unloved grain elevator in Brooklyn was a “Magnificent Mistake.”

A posh members-only club with a literally dramatic history.

This former crime corner has been turned into an eclectic community center.

Records of the dead describe the myriad odd ways people used to die.

This Queens hospital has stood abandoned for almost 20 years after its patients were secretly relocated in the dead of night.

The mummified relics of an American missionary.

More than 300,000 historical artifacts from the famous music venue, from Duke Ellington's handwritten score to The Beatles' booking slip.

The world's largest collection of materials relating to lesbian history is housed in a Brooklyn townhouse.

A uniquely lettered street sign marks the corner where the iconic word game was invented.

This small, hidden cove is home to abandoned boats.

This lavish room at NYC's French Embassy is a rare relic from the end of the Gilded Age.