This impressive scene portrays the elusive forest giraffe of Central Africa.

Creating this diorama spurred naturalist Carl Akeley to begin advocating to protect the apes.

Outstanding taxidermy dioramas showcase the grandeur of the continent's wildlife with spooky realism.

One of the most dazzling dioramas at the American Museum of Natural History is also one of the oldest.

This taxidermy scene brings the struggle for survival in the Indian jungle to a quiet corner of a Manhattan museum.

This magnificent herd of stampeding elephants has been frozen in time for over a century.

This morbid scene depicts the Darwinian drama of death on the African savannah.

An eerie diorama that captures the majestic nature of a few prehistoric-looking beasts.

This poignant display is now a memorial to these regionally extinct species.

A controversial magical figure is hidden within a diorama of the city.

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

Though its celestial ceiling is impressive, the true star is the vast collection of French books.

An uber-secure, windowless tower of doom in the center of Manhattan is an NSA spyscraper.

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

An artist's cute bronze subway sculptures belie his violent artistic past.

Twenty-three trees, each paired with a basalt stone, line a street in Chelsea, continuing an urban project started by German Fluxus artist Joseph Beuys.

One of the only single-person private gravesites in New York City.

This giant boulder is sandwiched between apartment complexes in upper Manhattan.

Look closely and you’ll notice that the color changes a third of the way up the tower.

Architecture lovers won’t stop touching the National Gallery's 19.5 degree marble prow.

Those with a sharp eye can find the hidden image of a German Shepherd on the memorial's Mural Wall.

The first purpose-built art gallery in the United States is once again open as a center of craft arts.

The Byzantine, pre-Columbian, and medieval art at this stately mansion are some of the most under-appreciated collections in D.C.

This stunning blue and gold room changed cities twice before becoming part of the Smithsonian.