sommermathis's User Profile - Atlas Obscura
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North Vancouver, British Columbia

Capilano Suspension Bridge

This expansive bridge in the Canadian wilderness was originally just built for friends.
Orvieto, Italy

Pozzo di San Patrizio

Water and windows define this defensive Italian well.
Orvieto, Italy

Orvieto Underground

This picturesque Umbrian city has a subterranean side that has long remained hidden.
Bomarzo, Italy

The Monsters of Bomarzo

A 16th-century horror show built in a lovely Italian garden.
Civita, Italy

Civita di Bagnoregio

This quaint Italian town keeps losing ground as the sides of its plateau slowly erode.
Washington, D.C.

Reading Room at the Folger Shakespeare Library

Home to a vast and influential collection of Shakespeareana.
Huara, Chile

Atacama Giant

One of the largest ancient geoglyphs in the world is a tall desert god used for predicting the weather.
Los Angeles, California

Idle Hour

The programmatic glory of LA's giant whiskey barrel building has become an upscale reminder of the city's kitschy roadside past.
Dublin, Ireland

The Long Room Library at Trinity College

The gorgeous library at Trinity College is home to remarkable treasures of Irish identity.
Brooklyn, New York

Brooklyn's Converted Pencil Factory

Constructed in the 1920s, this former pencil factory is now an office building.
Washington, D.C.

The Cairo

This unacceptably tall building was the real reason for Washington, D.C.'s skyscraper ban.
Vancouver, British Columbia

Dude Chilling Park

A renegade art installation in a small Vancouver park is now officially sanctioned by the City Parks Department.
Vancouver, British Columbia

'Girl in a Wetsuit'

What happens when a sculptor has to find a way around a 100-year-old copyright.
Vancouver, British Columbia

Gastown Steam Clock

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

Casa Batlló

One of Antoni Gaudí's most classic buildings is well-known for its "dragon-back" design.
Barcelona, Spain

Park Güell

Gaudí's famously flamboyant architectural style is on full display in this sprawling park and garden.
Barcelona, Spain

Sagrada Família

Construction of Barcelona's iconic (but controversial) church is expected to be completed in 2026—a century after the death of its architect.
Antigua, Guatemala

California Avocado Plaque

Believe it or not, the now-ubiquitous California avocado originated in Guatemala.
Kyiv, Ukraine

Golden Gate of Kyiv

A reconstructed medieval gateway that was the magnificent entrance to the capital city dating back to 1037.
Kyiv, Ukraine

Rodina-Mat : Mother Motherland

340-foot statue built to honour the Heroes of the Soviet Union.
Brooklyn, New York

Green-Wood Cemetery

A Victorian cemetery in the heart of Brooklyn remains a popular mecca of morbid curiosity.
Ireland

The Dry Stone Walls of the Aran Islands

Mortarless walls that stretch for miles are a lovely solution for creating grazing land in the harsh terrain of the Aran Islands.
London, England

Leinster Gardens False Facades

You'd never know the houses at 23-24 Leinster Gardens were fakes—until you see the train tracks on the other side.
Phoenix, Arizona

Tovrea Castle

A mysterious "wedding cake" castle in the middle of the urban desert.