Mark Loftin's User Profile - Atlas Obscura
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Places visited in Encinitas, California
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Places edited in Jefferson City, Missouri
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Places visited in Beechworth, Australia
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Places edited in Canberra, Australia
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Places edited in Pacifica, California
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Places edited in Jemez Springs, New Mexico
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Places edited in Fredericksburg, Virginia
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Places edited in Hakone, Japan
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Places edited in Dunedin, New Zealand
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Chicago, Illinois

Wooden Block Alley

All of Chicago's wood-paved streets are long gone but two alleys remain.
Chicago, Illinois

Palmer House Hilton

This historic hotel invented the chocolate brownie.
Chicago, Illinois

Couch Place (The Alley of Death)

This alley in downtown Chicago held the bodies of over 600 people after the fateful Iroquois Theatre fire.
Fredericksburg, Virginia

Abandoned Virginia Renaissance Faire

The remains of a failed attempt at medieval nerdery are hidden deep in the woods of Virginia.
Fredericksburg, Virginia

Innis House

A home that witnessed Civil War combat on the Sunken Road has the battle scars to prove it.
Fredericksburg, Virginia

Monument to the Angel of Marye's Heights

The Kirkland Monument remembers a selfless Civil War hero who braved the battlefield to give water to his dying enemies.
Fredericksburg, Virginia

Hugh Mercer Apothecary Shop

This war hero's old shop remembers the fine line between medicine and quackery during the Revolutionary War.
Asheville, North Carolina

Biltmore Estate's Secret Passages

The enormous 250-room Vanderbilt mansion conceals hidden doors and secret passageways.
Asheville, North Carolina

Basilica of Saint Lawrence, Asheville

This rare basilica nestled right in downtown Asheville is an architectural marvel, inside and out.
Fremont, California

Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum

This quaint archive of the silent era preserves and pays homage to a seminal moment in film history.
San Jose, California

The Winchester Mystery House

A peculiar mansion built by the troubled heir to the Winchester Rifle Company fortune.
San Jose, California

Monopoly in the Park

The largest permanent Monopoly board makes one of the longest games even bigger.
Newark, California

Salt Ponds of San Francisco Bay

From the sky, a kaleidoscope of color brightens the grey landscape of the San Francisco Bay.
Birmingham, Alabama

Sloss Furnaces

Once one of the largest producers of pig iron in the world.
Sea Ranch, California

Sea Ranch Chapel

This whimsical seashell-shaped place of worship was designed to blend into its surroundings.
Dallas, Texas

'Eye' Sculpture

This downtown Dallas art installation is always on the lookout.
Yucca Mesa, California

Rhythms of Life

An artist's vision for connectivity spans seven continents and 16 countries.
Pioneertown, California

Pioneertown

A fake town founded by Western movie stars is now becoming a hip desert community.
Pioneertown, California

Pappy and Harriet's Pioneertown Palace

A music-filled, booze-soaked oasis in the desert.
Yucca Valley, California

Desert Christ Park

On a barren hillside in the Yucca Valley, the recently restored Desert Christ Park has attracted pilgrims and kitsch hunters for over 50 years.
Jefferson City, Missouri

Missouri State Penitentiary

The maximum security facility was once thought to have "the bloodiest 47 acres in America."
Columbia, Missouri

Thomas Jefferson’s Original Tombstone

The obelisk meant to mark the founding father's grave at Monticello is actually on the University of Missouri campus.
Columbia, Missouri

University of Missouri Columns

The iconic remains of the original Academic Hall that burned down in 1892.
Jerome, Arizona

Gold King Mine Ghost Town

Once the product of an inexplicable gold strike, this ghost town is now home to one man and his love of classic machines.