mlaaker's User Profile - Atlas Obscura
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Mexico City, Mexico

UNAM Central Library

This incredible college library is a visual masterpiece of mosaic art. It also looks kind of like a giant boombox.
Iceland

Hofskirkja

This fairytale-like structure is the last turf church ever constructed in Iceland.
San Luis Obispo, California

Poly Canyon - Experimental Structures Lab

A deserted hodgepodge of experimental structures designed by nearby university students.
Carthage, Missouri

Boots Court Motel

This historic motel standing at the "crossroads of America" offers a radio in every room and was saved by local protesters.
Saint-Rivoal, France

Mont Saint-Michel de Brasparts

An isolated 17th-century chapel on a remarkable site once dedicated to Celtic sun worship.
Stoke Heath, England

The Avoncroft Museum of Historic Buildings

A slightly surreal menagerie of structures that were lovingly spared from demolition and reconstructed in a field.
Ames, Iowa

Grant Wood Murals

The “American Gothic" artist's largest works hang in an Iowa State University library.
London, England

William Blake's Home

The townhouse where the English poet created some of his most influential work has been preserved in tribute.
Prague, Czechia

Idiom Installation

A Jenga-style cylindrical tower of books that appears to go on forever.
Santa Cruz, California

Court of Mysteries

A strange house built only at night, with rumored mystic inspiration.
San Francisco, California

Albion Castle

A 140-year-old castle with underground caves hidden in San Francisco.
Fürstenfeldbruck, Germany

Jeweled Skeletons of the Fürstenfeld Abbey

These blingy, baubled skeletons lie in glass boxes inside a baroque Bavarian church.
Puebla, Mexico

Secrets of Puebla Tunnels

A 500-year-old series of tunnels long believed to be folkloric was uncovered beneath the streets of Puebla.
Beiteddine, Lebanon

Beiteddine Palace

After this one-of-a-kind palace was built the architect's hands are said to have been cut off to keep it that way.
Orient, New York

Plum Island Animal Disease Center

A tiny islet just off Long Island offers a wealth of infectious curiosities.
London, England

Masonic Lodge of the Andaz Hotel

Hidden behind a wall for decades, this masonic lodge was only rediscovered during renovations.
Budapest, Hungary

Szabo Ervin Library

A 19th century artistocrat's mansion, turned into a library, hidden in a modern library.
Kansas City, Missouri

Kansas City Library's Community Bookshelf

Community bookshelf of 25-foot-tall book spines.
Lindsborg, Kansas

Coronado Heights Castle

Marking the spot where a conquistador gave up his search for the fabled Seven Cities of Gold.
Gloucester, Massachusetts

Hammond Castle Museum

An eccentric inventor's castle home with its own indoor weather system.
Shoreham, New York

Tesla's Wardenclyffe Laboratory

An unrealized dream to wirelessly electrify the entire Earth.
San Francisco, California

Prayer Book Cross

A monumental cross hides in the trees in Golden Gate Park.
La Paz, Bolivia

Valle de la Luna (Valley of the Moon)

A valley of unique erosion patterns lends to a view like nothing on Earth.
New Haven, Connecticut

Harvey Cushing/John Hay Whitney Medical Library

A vast collection of rare books, manuscripts & extraordinary objects illustrating the history of medicine.