pjmurrill's User Profile - Atlas Obscura
Loading map...
Hawaii

Punalu`u Black Sand Beach

This black shoreline is made up of exploded lava particles.
Anchorage, Alaska

Turnagain Arm Bore Tide

During the summer, surfers in Alaska take advantage of this inlet’s unusual water patterns.
Palmer, Alaska

Musk Ox Farm

An Alaska livestock farm devotes itself to harvesting wool from creatures that once ran with mammoths and sabertooth tigers.
Santa Monica, California

Route 66 End of the Trail Sign

A sign at the end of the Santa Monica Pier marks the traditional end of the legendary American highway.
San Luis Obispo, California

Madonna Inn

A hotel and restaurant serving as the mecca of kitsch.
Minneapolis, Minnesota

Spoonbridge and Cherry

A toweringly silly piece of modern art has been delighting locals since the 1980s.
Los Angeles, California

Venice of America Canals

After starting as a whimsical tourist attraction that eventually found its way to ruin, these renovated canals offer a lush and exotic locale on the Pacific Coast.
Washington, D.C.

Washington Monument Marble Stripe

Look closely and you’ll notice that the color changes a third of the way up the tower.
Seattle, Washington

Hammering Man

This working class sculpture pounds his hammer all the livelong day.
Cannon Beach, Oregon

Haystack Rock

A massive sea stack famous for its appearance in The Goonies.
Seattle, Washington

Gas Works Park

This former coal gasification plant found a curious second life as a popular public park.
Bloomington, Minnesota

The Mall of America

Equal parts record-breaking temple to consumerism and bizarre fun park, it's more than you think it is...
Vancouver, British Columbia

Gastown Steam Clock

A working steam clock, one of only a few in the world, located in Vancouver's Victorian Gastown.
Berlin, Germany

Vestiges of the Berlin Wall

On the Spree bank, discover one of the last reminders of a symbolic wall that divided, and was torn down by the people.
Los Angeles, California

Muscle Beach

An historic and oft-filmed spot for musclebound iron pumpers on the Pacific coast.
Wall, South Dakota

Wall Drug

The granddaddy of all tourist traps, built on ice water, jackalopes, and a giant dinosaur.
Denver, Colorado

Blue Mustang

The Denver airport is guarded by a 32-foot-tall sculpture of a demonic horse.
New York, New York

One Times Square

This historic address is home to the beloved ball and is an almost totally empty building among the most expensive real estate in the world.
Los Angeles, California

Griffith Observatory's Tesla Coil

High on a hill overlooking Los Angeles lives a world famous, high power conical Tesla Coil.
New Orleans, Louisiana

Saint Louis Cemetery No. 1

The oldest cemetery in New Orleans, resting peacefully for over 200 years now.
Corbett, Oregon

Multnomah Falls

A roaring, awe-inspiring double cascade of icy water flows through woodland Oregon like something out of a Tolkien novel.
Paris, France

Centre Pompidou

An "inside out" building in the historical center of Paris, featuring Europe’s largest modern art museum.
Chicago, Illinois

Crown Fountain

The twin towers in this Chicago fountain use 50 foot tall video screens to spit on people.
Boston, Massachusetts

Faneuil Hall

A former waterfront market is now in the center of town due to some interesting Boston engineering.