matthewthomson's User Profile - Atlas Obscura
Loading map...
Shenzhen Shi, China

Dafen Oil Painting Village

The knock-off oil painting capital of the world.
Detroit, Michigan

Grand Trunk Pub

The grandiose interior of this bar speaks to its past as home to famous jewelers and railway offices.
Detroit, Michigan

Michigan Central Station

A Beaux-Arts triumph set to become Ford's innovation campus
Detroit, Michigan

The Raven Lounge

One of Detroit’s oldest blues clubs stands in defiance of the passage of time and the city’s shifting fortunes.
Detroit, Michigan

Lincoln Street Art Park

This former industrial site has transformed into a community sculpture garden that hosts monthly Full Moon parties.
Detroit, Michigan

Giant Boxing Arm of Joe Louis

Controversial tribute to the heavyweight champion boxer who grew up in Detroit.
Detroit, Michigan

Motown Museum

Berry Gordy Jr.'s old home was the original headquarters of Motown Record Corporation.
Hamtramck, Michigan

Hamtramck Disneyland

A wacky two-story folk-art assemblage of carved and found objects, with lights, motion, and sound now in need of financial support.
Detroit, Michigan

St. Agnes Church and School

This Detroit ruin was once a gothic bastion of its community, but now it stands as a haunting ruin.
Porto, Portugal

Igreja de São Francisco

The stunning interior of this Gothic church is covered in ornate gold details.
Port Colborne, Ontario

The Incredible Shrinking Mill

This mill on Lake Erie appears to shrink as a viewer approaches thanks to an optical illusion.
Thunder Bay, Ontario

Sleeping Giant

Profile of a sleeping person 4km long in 250m high cliffs.
Sedona, Arizona

Chapel of the Holy Cross

A spiritual vortex among the red rocks in Sedona.
Marrakesh, Morocco

Almoravid Koubba

The oldest monument in Marrakesh and the city's only surviving example of Almoravid architecture.
Marrakesh, Morocco

Jemaa el-Fna Square

Fortune tellers, snake charmers, poets, and storytellers all gather on this historic square in Morocco.
Porto, Portugal

Livraria Lello

One of the most beautiful bookstores in the world hides a neo-Gothic interior behind an art nouveau facade.
Lisbon, Portugal

Jerónimos Monastery

Elaborately carved to showcase the glorious wealth that the age of exploration brought to the Portuguese empire.
Lisbon, Portugal

Rhinoceros of Belem Tower

A king's pet, a pope's gift, an artist's inspiration, and a tragic shipwreck.
Brooklyn, New York

Coney Island Mermaid Parade

The famed amusement district marks the beginning of summer with a wild procession of nautical creatures.
Brooklyn, New York

Mount Prospect Park

This city park was once a lookout point for George Washington’s army during the Battle of Brooklyn in 1776.
Brooklyn, New York

Coney Art Walls

This outdoor gallery of graffiti-covered walls pays homage to the past, present, and possible future of street art.
New York, New York

Union Square Metronome

The most confusing clock in New York.
Brooklyn, New York

The Carousel in Prospect Park

You can still ride this 100-year-old work of art in Brooklyn's largest public park.
New York, New York

Statue of Liberty's Original Torch

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