Recent Activity

• February 9, 2012 Vincent van Broadbent liked Tiger & Turtle Magic Mountain
  

  Duisburg, Germany

  Tiger & Turtle Magic Mountain

  No need to strap in for a "ride" on this walkable roller coaster

  The first impression given by this 69 ft. sculpture is that it's like any other roller coaster, with twists and turns and the ever-thrilling loop-the-loop. A closer look reveals that this is no... »

  Outsider Art, Unusual Monuments, Architectural Oddities | Edited by Rachel

• February 4, 2012 Vincent van Broadbent has been to Helios House
  

  Helios House

  First LEED-certified gas station in the United States

  "Eco-friendly" is probably one of the last adjectives one would use to describe a gas station, but the BP gas company has taken on its first green gas station initiative with the Helios House.... »

  Commercial Curiosities, Architectural Oddities | Edited by anhie

• February 4, 2012 Vincent van Broadbent has been to Point Vicente Lighthouse
  

  Point Vicente Lighthouse

  A "haunted" landmark on the coast of southern California

  The rocky cliff of Point Vicente was named by Captain George Vancouver in 1790 after his friend Friar Vicente of the Mission Buenaventura. It wasn't until May 1, 1926, that the Point Vincente... »

  Will-O-Wisps and Spooklights | Edited by Bswanson, Dylan and others

• July 4, 2011 Vincent van Broadbent has been to Musee Mecanique
  

  Musee Mecanique

  A collection of 20th century automatons, penny arcade games, and musical contraptions

  One of the last remaining links to San Francisco's oceanside Playland at the Beach amusement park, the Musee Mecanique is a unique hands-on arcade of vintage coin-operated contraptions of all... »

  Unique Collections, Amazing Automata | Edited by Dylan, theamarant and 2 others

• July 4, 2011 Vincent van Broadbent has been to Lotta's Fountain
  

  Lotta's Fountain

  San Francisco's oldest surviving monument donated by a Vaudeville performer

  Known as Lotta's Fountain it stands at the corner of Market, Geary and Kearny streets in San Francisco, and is a twenty-four foot cast iron sculpture, painted bronze and adorned with lion's heads,... »

  Peculiar Fountains | Edited by Shalaco, Dylan and others

• July 3, 2011 Vincent van Broadbent has been to San Francisco's Cable Car Museum
  

  San Francisco's Cable Car Museum

  Not merely a museum – but a whirring powerhouse that offers a subterranean peek into the heart and soul of cable car operations.

  Straying radically from the ideal of the quiet museum – one filled with the archaic artifacts of yesteryear, each lighted softly and placed behind Plexiglas – the San Francisco Cable Car Museum is... »

  Museums and Collections | Edited by Shalaco, Dylan and 2 others

• June 7, 2011 Vincent van Broadbent liked Aria Antiques
  

  Aria Antiques

  A whimsical antique shop with a strong air of mystery, filled with items from ages, and what feels like worlds, past.

  Tucked between the Italian bakeries and laundromats of North Beach, San Francisco, Aria Antiques is a unique store, with an old world charm that matches its old world items. Drawing up images of... »

  Purveyors of Curiosities | Edited by re_nakaba

• January 8, 2011 Vincent van Broadbent liked The Paris Market
  

  The Paris Market

  This quirky curiosity shop takes its cues from the world's bazaars

  Started by a speech pathologist and emergency physician, the Paris Market reflects the pair's clear love of travel. On finding the famous Parisian flea market known as "Marche aux Puces," the... »

  Commercial Curiosities, Purveyors of Curiosities | Edited by Dylan and michelle

• January 2, 2011 Vincent van Broadbent has been to Youngwood Court
  

  Youngwood Court

  Iconic Los Angeles residence famous for its 19 statues of Michelangelo's David

  UPDATE: Longwood Court is for sale/was sold. The famous statues of David have been removed. For the past fourteen years, controversy has stirred over a private residence in Hancock Park. The... »

  Eccentric Homes | Edited by anhie and Seth Teicher

• January 2, 2011 Vincent van Broadbent has been to Angels Flight
  

  Angels Flight

  Historic funicular railway, believed to be the shortest railroad in the world

  After nine years of having to huff and puff up the steep steps of Bunker Hill, Los Angeles pedestrians can relax now that the historic funicular railway, Angels Flight, has reopened its landmark... »

  Inspired Inventions, Retro-Tech | Edited by anhie and Dylan

• January 2, 2011 Vincent van Broadbent has been to Velaslavasay Panorama
  

  Velaslavasay Panorama

  Panorama exhibition hall in old silent theater featuring carnivorous plants

  In the late 1700s and early 1900s a new form of interactive media was invented. Considered lowbrow at the time, it was the 3D movie of its day, a fully engaging visual experience for the masses,... »

  Unique Collections, Optical Oddities, Horticultural Marvels, Obscura Day Location | Edited by anhie and Annetta

• January 2, 2011 Vincent van Broadbent liked Wagner Free Institute
  

  Wagner Free Institute

  A rare view of a preserved Victorian science museum

  If you had an interest in science and lived in Philadelphia in the 1840s, you almost definitely knew William Wagner. You'd probably been to a few of his free informal lectures, conducted right out... »

  Wonder Cabinets, Natural History, Hunting and Taxidermy | Edited by michelle, A Facebook user and others

• January 2, 2011 Vincent van Broadbent liked America's Oldest Operating Theater
  

  America's Oldest Operating Theater

  America's oldest existing surgical theater, where you can practically hear the screams

  In the early 1800s, an operating theater was quite literally that—a combination of surgical operating room and stage theater, complete with an unruly audience of young doctors, nervous... »

  Medical Museums | Edited by Dylan, Annetta and others

• January 2, 2011 Vincent van Broadbent has been to Lowell Observatory
  

  Arizona, US

  Lowell Observatory

  Arizona observatory famous for investigations into Martian life and Pluto's discovery

  Percival Lowell, of the well-known Lowell family in Boston, was an early 20th century astronomer who popularized the belief that Mars was home to an advanced, technological civilization. Like... »

  Strange Science, Instruments of Science, Marvelous Maps and Measures | Edited by Trevor

• January 2, 2011 Vincent van Broadbent has been to The Salt Palace
  

  The Salt Palace

  A small "palace" and museum made of, and devoted entirely, to salt

  In Grand Saline, where both the salt industry and the name of the town date back to 1845, salt is everything. Grand Saline sits above an estimated 16,000 foot deep natural salt deposit (a supply... »

  Natural Wonders, Geological Oddities, Wonders of Salt, Unique Collections, Architectural Oddities, Outsider Architecture | Edited by Dylan

• January 2, 2011 Vincent van Broadbent added Parrot Park
  

  Parrot Park

  Park filled with machinery that drove the southern agriculture and oil industries forward

  If you'd rather walk through history than read about it, a visit to Parrot Park in Lindale, Texas, is suggested. The place seems like a quiet hub of activity with several small groups of people... »

  Inspired Inventions, Astounding Timepieces, Retro-Tech | Edited by Vincent van Broadbent and Nicholas Jackson

• January 2, 2011 Vincent van Broadbent liked Torre dell'Orologio
  

  Torre dell'Orologio

  Go inside to really appreciate the 500-year-old technological masterpiece

  Commissioned by Doge Agostino Barbarigo in 1493, the glorious Torre dell'Orologio, also known as St. Mark's Clock Tower, or "the Moor's Clocktower," facing into Piazza San Marco is a marvel of... »

  Inspired Inventions, Astounding Timepieces, Amazing Automata, Architectural Oddities, Eccentric Homes | Edited by Annetta and Nicholas Jackson

• April 13, 2010 Vincent van Broadbent commented on Velaslavasay Panorama

  Quite an interesting spot for a quiet time of contemplation. The theater has great atmosphere to it. Truly feels like a step back in time. Worth a visit if you're going to be around the downtown L.A. area!