wbseaman's User Profile - Atlas Obscura
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Istanbul, Turkey

Viking Runes at Hagia Sophia

A small etching on the white marble parapet was written in runic script by a Viking mercenary.
Honolulu, Hawaii

Amelia Earhart Memorial Plaque

Hiding in plane sight.
Oxon Hill, Maryland

The Awakening

The 72-foot giant escaped confinement in a large patch of mulch only to be reburied in the sandy shores of the Potomac River.
San Diego, California

Hotel del Coronado

L. Frank Baum wrote part of the "Wizard of Oz" series in this wooden Victorian beach resort.
Virginia Beach, Virginia

Edgar Cayce A.R.E. Library

Headquarters of the legendary clairvoyant's readings, spiritual hospital, and massage school.
Virginia Beach, Virginia

Military Aviation Museum

A museum dedicated exclusively to aircraft used in the military.
Inyo County, California

Manzanar National Historic Site

The tragedy of the Japanese internment camps is remembered here by a stark "Soul Consoling Tower."
Furnace Creek, California

Harmony Borax Works

This crumbling Death Valley mining complex was known for its use of giant, 20-mule team wagons.
Inyo County, California

Artist's Drive

Millions of years of oxidation make a drive down this winding Death Valley road surprisingly colorful.
Inyo County, California

Badwater Basin

The lowest point in North America is home to an undrinkable pool surrounded by fields of geometric salt flats.
Boulder City, Nevada

Winged Figures of the Republic

A Norwegian-born sculptor created these soaring guardian angels at the entrance to Hoover Dam.
Boulder City, Nevada

Hoover Dam Old Exhibit Building

Experience a charming 1930's version of "infotainment."
Baker, California

World's Largest Thermometer

This giant temperature attraction created some giant electric bills.
Inyo County, California

Ballarat Ghost Town

This old mining town, deep in the California desert, has a year-round population of one.
Inyo County, California

Fossil Falls

Smooth basaltic rocks tell a tale of ancient glacial waterfalls.
San Diego, California

Unconditional Surrender

A sculpture of the famous photograph stands on San Diego's "Greatest Generation Walk."
Gettysburg, Pennsylvania

Gettysburg Cyclorama

A dramatic, 360-degree recreation of Pickett's Charge in the Civil War.
Hummelstown, Pennsylvania

Indian Echo Caverns

These tourist trap caverns are said to be the former home of a legendary Pennsylvania Hermit.
Ponce Inlet, Florida

Ponce De Leon Inlet Lighthouse

The third tallest lighthouse in America once guided author Stephen Crane to safety.
Cape Canaveral, Florida

Launch Complex 34

This abandoned NASA launch site is now a memorial to a trio of astronauts who were killed there.
Titusville, Florida

NASA Vehicle Assembly Building

A building so large that it has its own weather.
Annapolis, Maryland

John Paul Jones' Crypt

Rediscovered after a century, the father of the American Navy was reinterred in something dredged up from Davy Jones' Locker.
Washington, D.C.

Martha, the Last Passenger Pigeon

The remains of Martha, the last known passenger pigeon, serve as a tool to educate about conservation.
Washington, D.C.

National Archives Vault

An atomic bomb-proof strongbox protects the U.S. Constitution from terrorists and thieves.