Must form and function forever remain at odds? Not if the Florida Department of Transportation has its way.

Public works and national defense project meant to carve a canal all the way across the state of Florida.

An 18th-century Spanish watchtower made entirely of seashell and concrete.

A secret, rocky playground hidden amongst the plain white beaches of the Florida coast.

A curiosity-seeker's paradise set inside a three-story historic school house.

Paths are maintained, but trees have taken over plots.

One of the oldest living oak trees in the Southeast.

Once the most flame resistant building in the country, the South Carolina Historical Society building was almost burnt down in a fire.

The only working large-scale tea plantation in the United States.

I-95's Tijuana-style celebration of kitsch at the Carolina border.

Charleston's historic city jail once held everyone from pirates to Civil War POWs.

Every week, a festive public jam session breaks out in downtown Asheville.

This giant iron playfully pays tribute to an early 20th-century architectural trend.

The U.S. Supreme Court's secret Cold War relocation facility in the mountains of North Carolina.

The enormous 250-room Vanderbilt mansion conceals hidden doors and secret passageways.

The grave of the iconic Kentucky Fried Chicken mascot features a bust of the man behind the goatee.

The oldest operating Mississippi River–style steamboat still navigates the Ohio River.

The largest cemetery in Louisville is the final resting place of Col. Sanders and Muhammad Ali.

This industrial area was the dumping ground for massive amounts of trash, some of which washes up as tiny bits of sea glass.

This blowhole is supposedly caused by a trapped monster.

This former luxury resort in Kaua'i is now an abandoned relic.

A full-scale replica of a 1774 colonial settlement in Kentucky.

This historic train station has been converted to a locomotive themed hotel.

Icelandic folklore says this giant boulder was ripped from the mountains and placed at its current location, where it became home to elves.