Categories > Architectural Oddities

Architectural Oddities

Possibly our broadest category, it includes among other things: Eccentric and unusual homes, mazes, bizarre ruins, amazing outsider architecture and other strange buildings built by non-architects, the architectural follies of Princes and millionaires, gorgeous and unusual libraries, building and bridges grown from living trees, secret passageways, secret lairs, caves, caverns and buried treasure hordes.

Basically any building, structure, house, church, tunnel, that stops you in your tracks because it is unusual looking, has a bizarre back story, or curious method of creation belongs in architectural oddities. From ancient and mysterious ruins in South America to a Buddhist temple made of beer bottles, to a beautiful solar tower in Spain they all fall under the category of architectural oddities.

Ganca, Azerbaijan

Bottle House of Ganja

Quirky house, decorated with numerous bottles

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Architectural Oddities, Eccentric Homes, Outsider Architecture | Edited by Tawsam

Victoria, Canada

Fisgard Lighthouse

An operating lighthouse from the 1860s

As the western most province of Canada, British Columbia has a long and storied nautical history. As coastal communities grew with immigration from Europe, marine traffic grew. With gold rushes in... »

Architectural Oddities | Edited by RogueTowel

Victoria, Canada

Fan Tan Alley

The narrowest street in Canada was once a spot for dastardly doings, now a historic piece of Chinatown

Fan Tan Alley holds the record for narrowest street in Canada and is a central piece to Canada's oldest Chinatown. Just 0.9m wide (about 4 feet) at the narrowest point, it is filled with... »

Architectural Oddities, Outsider Architecture | Edited by RogueTowel, Rachel and others

Skarsjon, Sweden

STF Kolarbyn Eco Lodges

Bring your hiking shoes, wool socks, and thermal underwear for a stay in these cozy forest huts.

The STF Kolarbyn eco-lodges are located in the thick of Sweden's woods and are not your typical hostels. For anyone who's always dreamed of living inside the trunk of an actual tree, these... »

Extraordinary Flora, Commercial Curiosities, Odd Accommodations, Architectural Oddities, Outsider Architecture | Edited by katiebaker4, Mark_Casey and 2 others

Vientiane, Laos

Wat Dane Soung Jungle Temple

An ancient jungle temple carved into a rocky overhang of the Dane Soung Plateau.

The Dang Soung Plateau was once a spiritual epicenter in ancient Vientiane-Viengkham as evidenced by the numerious stone shrines scattered throughout. Apparently, today only a solitary monk by the... »

Disaster Areas, Architectural Oddities, Curious Places of Worship, Incredible Ruins | Edited by katiebaker4 and Rachel

Brittle Azra Stow Cemetery, Vermont, US

Emily’s Bridge

New England covered bridge where a jilted lover is said to have hung herself before haunting it

Most of the covered bridges in New England are known for their picturesque qualities, but Emily’s Bridge in Stowe, VT, has a more infamous reputation. Built in 1844 to carry what came to be known... »

Memento Mori, Hoaxes and Pseudoscience, Architectural Oddities | Edited by JWOcker and Rachel

Alcolea del Pinar, Spain

Casa de Piedra (Stone House)

An impressive home made of stone, carved more than a century ago

In 1907, Lino Bueno had a job to do. At first it seemed simple enough: excavate some of the soft, rich limestone from the nearby hillsides to create municipal buildings for the city he lived in.... »

Architectural Oddities, Eccentric Homes, Follies and Grottoes, Outsider Architecture, Subterranean Sites | Edited by Piedrasmagicas, Mark_Casey and others

Hoosac Tunnel

The railroad tunnel nicknamed the "Bloody Pit" for taking the lives of hundreds during its construction

The Hoosac Tunnel is a railway that burrows almost five miles through the Hoosac Mountain Range in western Massachusetts from the towns of North Adams on its west side to Florida, Massachusetts on... »

Memento Mori, Architectural Oddities, Subterranean Sites | Edited by JWOcker

Kotli, Pakistan

Baltit Fort

Tibetan-influenced mountain fortress in Northern Pakistan

In more simple times, an awesome house was really the only thing needed for both the defense and definition of one's empire. That may seem like a quaint notion today, but the grand and enduring... »

Museums and Collections, Architectural Oddities, Incredible Ruins | Edited by Tawsam, Mark_Casey and others

Town of Old Saybrook, Connecticut, US

Old Bishop House

House used in the 1971 horror film "Let's Scare Jessica to Death"

The 1971 horror film "Let’s Scare Jessica to Death" is the story of a woman recently released from a mental ward, who buys a house out in the country with her husband and friend to start a farm.... »

Architectural Oddities, Eccentric Homes | Edited by JWOcker and Rachel