“Invented in Key West, Perfected in Brooklyn."

This collection of grinning ephemera has grown from basement to Brooklyn.

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

The end of the 4 Line is also the end of the line for 300,000 souls in one of NYC's most illustrious cemeteries.

Once America's longest-manned military fort, now an abandoned hulk.

Manhattan's lighthouse, erected at the insistence of the unsinkable Molly Brown.

Hordes of precariously balanced stone figures crowd the shores of the Hudson River.

A Manhattan courthouse hides a small but scathing memorial to Holocaust injustice.

The fanciest public restroom in New York City boasts fresh flowers, art, and a classical music soundtrack.

One of the most enjoyable bits of history at Coney Island and “the most romantic ride in the world.”

Just your average Marie Antoinette–themed speakeasy in an abandoned 19th-century subway tunnel.

Detailed facade of a brownstone in Boerum Hill.

This sculpture by artist Fritz Keonig survived the 9/11 attacks and now stands as a monument to the victims.

The famous author's cottage hideaway.

Lady Liberty's first beacon of enlightenment is now displayed in a museum near the statue.

A dark, dank room in subterranean Manhattan was the site of a ghastly murder.

The walls are decorated with whimsical murals painted by the creator of the Madeline franchise.

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

Nikola Tesla's former home contains an homage hidden from plain sight.

The beautiful tunnel that ran from the lobby to Penn Station is still hidden underneath 34th Street.

A band of aerialists and circus performers putting on incredible shows in East Williamsburg.

The remnants of two World's Fairs are here, complete with a 12-story globe, a mini-Manhattan, and a UFO-shaped pavilion.

A popular European tradition makes its way to the states on one of America's most famous bridges.

For over 30 years the walls of this Harlem schoolyard have been a gallery of street art by "Kings and better."