19th-century operating theatre in which the use of ether was first demonstrated - plus, a skeleton and a mummy!

Macabre headstones carved with winged skulls, dancing skeletons, and pithy reminders of impending death.

The Boston square dedicated to the dark poet who was born nearby.

The oldest Italian café in Boston, this spot also serves as a veritable museum of vintage coffee ephemera.

A morbid secret lies hidden within the beautiful walls of the Boston Athenaeum.

Two thousand artifacts from around the world collected by one woman who loved to travel.

This upscale streetwear store is hidden behind a fake Snapple machine in the back of a deli.

A beautiful Victorian-era cemetery, complete with a miniature village.

This Boston medical museum features the skull of the famous medical case of Phineas Gage.

An enormous, inside-out glass globe built in 1935.

“Invented in Key West, Perfected in Brooklyn."

A huge resale shop for the cast-offs of the film & television industry.

Touching mementoes from those who didn't make it back from World War I still hang in one of New York's oldest bars.

Spiral-bound community recipes and antiquarian gems mingle at this small East Village shop.

Some of the best Persian food in New York comes from the front window of an unassuming pizza shop.

A strip of modern stores in historic buildings.

Snack on a partially gestated duck egg.

New York City's only wildlife rehabilitation center treats more than 3,000 feathered and furry patients each year.

A collection of fanzines, recordings, and documents detailing the rise and influence of the feminist punk movement.

Unusual books about food and drink abound in this 19th-century New York townhouse.

At this hidden studio, the dying art of taxidermy is alive and well.

This micro-industry of Latino cuisine along Red Hook's Ball Fields represents a victory in a food fight with the city.

One of the last taxidermists in New York City.

The first piece of public art dedicated to LGBT rights.