World's largest precision optical instrument used to detect Einstein's elusive gravity waves.

A 19th-century shrine covered with prosthetic body parts as votive offerings.

The crumbling remains of a 19th century fortess.

St Bernard de Clairvaux Episcopal Church, better known as one of the oldest European buildings in the Western Hemisphere.

A quirky Poe-themed joint on an island keen to celebrate its overlooked connection to the famous writer.

The maritime museum that boasts the largest nautical library in the western hemisphere.

This once-palatial plantation may have been the site where a draft of the Declaration of Independence was written.

This museum explores the grim reality of life in the earliest British colonies in America.

Giant busts of 42 U.S. presidents are sitting in a field in Virginia.

This beautiful vintage movie palace has seen little change in form or function since the 1920s.

Once on display alongside a giant Gumby, it’s as tall as a nine-story building when fully extended.

This 29-ton granite ball spins around at the slightest touch thanks to a scientific phenomenon.

This museum devoted to the gothic author holds such interesting ephemera as his socks and walking stick.

A hidden gem on the lawn of the U.S. Capitol Building designed by landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted.

A dramatic, 360-degree recreation of Pickett's Charge in the Civil War.

A railroad magnate's replica village has become home to a genetic seed bank for rare breeds of livestock.

An unsolved murder victim's grave which may or may not contain her body.

This restored house is like a time capsule of the president's unconventional inauguration.

Ruins of a once-prized railroad station in New York.

A forsaken wonder in the middle of the East Side neighborhood.

A preserved factory in the "Home of the Carrousel" is now a museum dedicated to the classic wooden ride.

One of Frank Lloyd Wright's greatest—and favorite—architectural masterpieces was almost lost.

Funded by John D. Rockefeller, this is one of the earliest, and most beautiful, shopping arcades in America.

A display of magnificent stained glass windows is the first exhibit of its kind.