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gabeschwartz
Geocaching. Finding things. Tea! Music. Trees and large bodies of water.
Also San Francisco.
And Brown University!
You know what are great? Sweaters.
| 30 days |
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Places I have been to
I have been to Makhtesh Ramon, Marin Headlands, The Corn Palace, Cadillac Ranch, Battery Chamberlin, Zeum Carousel, Exploratorium, Dutch Windmills, San Francisco Conservatory of Flowers, The Parrots of Telegraph Hill, The Pirate Shop at 826 Valencia, Paxton Gate, The Lava House, Wall Drug, Crater Lake, The Highline and Whispering Gallery at St. Paul’s Cathedral
Places I like
I like The Montague Book Mill, The Wonderful Barn, Bagby Hot Springs and Neptune Memorial Reef
Recent Activity
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July 27, 2010
gabeschwartz
has been to Whispering Gallery at St. Paul’s Cathedral
Hear the quietest sound from across the dome
In the walkway that circles the inside of Christopher Wren’s great dome whispered words can be heard clearly directly across 137 feet.
The trick of acoustics is an artifact of the perfection of... »
Instruments of Science, Curious Places of Worship | Edited by Annetta
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July 21, 2010
gabeschwartz
liked Neptune Memorial Reef
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July 16, 2010
gabeschwartz
liked Bagby Hot Springs
Hollowed out cedar log tubs set in an ancient towering forest
A gold rush in the late 1800s brought Robert Bagby, a prospector and hunter, to the Mount Hood area. He apparently never found much gold there, but he did discover and promptly name these hot... »
Watery Wonders | Edited by jamesb and Nathan_Risinger
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July 16, 2010
gabeschwartz
liked The Wonderful Barn
Corkscrew-shaped barn in Ireland
Barns tend to be thought of as big, red, wooden and filled with hay and farming tools. Or at least that seems to be the American conception of the barn. In Ireland the Wonderful barn fulfills none... »
Architectural Oddities | Edited by Nathan_Risinger, Nicholas Jackson and others
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July 8, 2010
gabeschwartz
updated the Tenryu-Ji Shrine's Bamboo trail
A beautiful bamboo trail tucked in this famous Japanese Shrine
Heavenly Dragon Temple, or Tenryu-ji, is best known for its zen garden, a long and winding path lined with thousands of towering bamboo stalks.
Tenryū-ji — more formally known as Tenryū... »
Curious Places of Worship | Edited by bebeto, Dylan and others
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July 8, 2010
gabeschwartz
updated the Dreamer's Gate
One man's artistic vision is a small town government's legal battle
Tony Phantastes had a vision. In the middle of a small Australian town he was going to create an artistic wonderland to document the history of Australian land-use practices and to commemorate his... »
Unusual Monuments, Incredible Ruins, Outsider Architecture | Edited by Dylan and gabeschwartz
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July 2, 2010
gabeschwartz
updated the Summum Pyramid
Pyramid home to obscure religious group which practices modern mummification
In 1975, Claude Corky Nowell said he had an encounter with highly intelligent beings he called "Summa individuals" who revealed to him the true nature of the universe. Corky promptly changed his... »
Curious Places of Worship | Edited by M Rebekah Otto, michelle and 3 others
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July 2, 2010
gabeschwartz
liked The Montague Book Mill
Books you don’t need in a place you can’t find
Located on the back roads of western Massachusetts, amidst historic buildings, and a serene river landscape, the Montague Book Mill has 25,000 books jammed into a 175 year old building perched... »
Commercial Curiosities | Edited by Outrider and Dylan
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June 23, 2010
gabeschwartz
has been to The Highline
Elevated freight railway turned urban park
For the latter years of the 20th century, abandoned, decrepit and overgrown, this elevated railway on Manhattan's West Side was the domain of pigeons, squirrels and curious urban explorers. But... »
Outsider Architecture | Edited by jh2ohouse, Henry and others
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June 20, 2010
gabeschwartz
has been to Crater Lake
The deepest lake in the United States, and once the site of epic destruction that lives on in myth
Crater lake has been known by a number of names. It was first known (to non-Native Americans anyway) as "Deep Blue Lake," as named in 1853 by its "discoverer," John Wesley Hillman, an American... »
Natural Wonders, Geological Oddities | Edited by canuck, Dylan and 2 others
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June 20, 2010
gabeschwartz
has been to Wall Drug
The granddaddy of all tourist traps, built on ice water and jackalopes
Among roadside attractions, Wall Drug is an icon: the granddaddy of tourist traps.
South of the Border, The Thing?, the kitschy cosmopolis that sprouted around Niagara Falls: all of them owe a... »
Commercial Curiosities | Edited by AllisonEng
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June 20, 2010
gabeschwartz
commented on The Lava House
Also, be sure to be careful on several of the staircases - there are steps missing.
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June 20, 2010
gabeschwartz
added The Lava House
Unfinished mansion allegedly cursed by volcano gods
In the middle of a tangle of mansion-laden, suburban streets, the graffiti-covered, half-finished lava house seems a bit out of place.
Few people know how it got there, but it was the local... »
Eccentric Homes | Edited by gabeschwartz and Dylan
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June 4, 2010
gabeschwartz
added The Great Guatemalan Sinkhole
An enormous, 30-story-deep hole in the middle of Guatemala City
Guatemala City has had experience with sinkholes before: In 2007, three people and a dozen homes here suddenly disappeared into the earth. But no one was prepared for anything like this.
On... »
Geological Oddities, Intriguing Environs, Disaster Areas | Edited by gabeschwartz, Dylan and others
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May 14, 2010
gabeschwartz
updated the Gruta Do Lago Azul: The Blue Lake Grotto
Part of one of the largest flooded cavities on the planet, and littered with prehistoric animal bones.
It is possible that no human had set foot in this cave until its discovery in 1924 by one of the local Terena Indians who, as far as it is known, had not been aware of the beautiful cave's... »
Natural Wonders, Watery Wonders, Curious Caves | Edited by Dylan, Annetta and others
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May 5, 2010
gabeschwartz
has been to Paxton Gate
A shop full of natural curiosities, carnivorous plants, and costumed taxidermied mice
Paxton Gate is an eclectic cross between a gardening store, taxidermy shop, entomological treasure trove, art book retailer, and natural history boutique.
Started across town in 1992 by two... »
Purveyors of Curiosities | Edited by deckard-dj, michelle and 3 others
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May 5, 2010
gabeschwartz
has been to The Pirate Shop at 826 Valencia
An essential stop before plundering, BYO Cutlass
The Pirate Shop carries an extensive array of essential pirate paraphernalia: various Jolly Roger flags, glass eyes, lard, spyglasses, skeleton keys, etc. It's also a book store associated with... »
Purveyors of Curiosities | Edited by Dylan and Annetta
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May 5, 2010
gabeschwartz
has been to The Parrots of Telegraph Hill
Staircase winds down the side of Telegraph Hill through gardens, wild parrots flying overhead
One generally associates parrots with the jungles of a tropical location, yet living in the middle of urban San Francisco is a flock of wild parrots.
The parrot flock began in 1990 as one pair of... »
Fascinating Fauna, Eccentric Homes | Edited by Dylan
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May 5, 2010
gabeschwartz
has been to San Francisco Conservatory of Flowers
Carnivorous plants, medieval aphrodisiacs, and the largest original wood structure glass conservatory in the western hemisphere
The recently restored Conservatory of Flowers in Golden Gate Park hosts over 2000 plant varieties, including a collection of tropical carnivorous pitcher plants. The East Wing is dominated by the... »
Extraordinary Flora | Edited by Annetta
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May 5, 2010
gabeschwartz
has been to Dutch Windmills
The largest windmill in the world and the key to turning dunes into Golden Gate Park
Two enormous windmills overlook Ocean Beach at the far West end of Golden Gate park. Once mighty water-pumping machines designed to provide water for the fledgling Golden Gate Park at the... »
Retro-Tech, Architectural Oddities | Edited by Annetta
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May 5, 2010
gabeschwartz
has been to Exploratorium
Hands-On Science built on the rubble of the 1906 Earthquake, and hiding a few choice exhibits
In 1906, a massive earthquake hit San Francisco, and the “ham and egg” fires - named such because they were started by a family cooking breakfast with an earthquake damaged chimney - that followed... »
Strange Science | Edited by Tre and Nicholas Jackson
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May 5, 2010
gabeschwartz
has been to Zeum Carousel
A still functioning vaudeville carousel that has operated for over a century boasts a colorful menagerie and past
A veritable still life zoo, the Zeum Carousel in San Francisco's Children's Museum has been giving rides to delighted children and adults alike for over 100 years. Still operational, it has more... »
Amazing Automata, Outsider Architecture | Edited by re_nakaba
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May 5, 2010
gabeschwartz
has been to Battery Chamberlin
Guns that have been defending San Francisco since 1904
The Lowell Battery Chamberlin was named after Civil War hero Lowell A. Chamberlin, who served with distinction as an artillery officer until his death in 1899. The Lowell Battery was designed and... »
Inspired Inventions | Edited by re_nakaba
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May 5, 2010
gabeschwartz
has been to Cadillac Ranch
A sculpture made of ten cadillacs as a monument to the "Golden Age" of the American automobile.
Cadillac ranch, built in 1974, is the product of eccentric helium millionaire Stanley Marsh 3 (he doesn't like the Roman numeral III) and The Ant Farm, a San Francisco art collective. The ranch... »
Outsider Art, Unusual Monuments, Outsider Architecture | Edited by FungusFan, Dylan and others
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May 5, 2010
gabeschwartz
has been to The Corn Palace
A fitting attraction for the corn capital of the world
In 1892, South Dakota was begging for settlers. In order to showcase their magnificently rich soil, local officials commissioned the building of the Corn Palace in the middle of Mitchell, a town... »
Outsider Art, Outsider Architecture | Edited by Josh, Dylan and others
Also, be sure to be careful on several of the staircases - there are steps missing.