dmoffball's User Profile - Atlas Obscura
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Ione, California

Preston Castle

One of the oldest reform schools in the United States, home to wayward boys such as Merle Haggard, now abandoned.
Coloma, California

James Marshall Monument

His discovery kicked off the Gold Rush. One of the hands on this commemorative statue points to the spot where he found the precious metal.
Folsom, California

Mormon Island

This former boomtown "island" is now submerged below Folsom Lake.
Folsom, California

The Folsom Powerhouse

This 19th century hydroelectric powerhouse was the first of its kind.
San Francisco, California

Monarch the Bear

The taxidermied remains of the "last wild grizzly bear in California" and of the symbol of the state of California.
San Francisco, California

Ruins of the Sutro Baths

The seawater playground of gilded-era San Francisco burned to the ground in 1966.
San Francisco, California

Alcatraz Island

In all of the 29 years it was in operation, no prisoners ever escaped successfully... or so they claim.
Pescadero, California

Pigeon Point Lighthouse

A New England-style lighthouse along California's beautiful Highway 1 gets a re-do.
Virginia City, Nevada

Comstock Cemeteries

These once-beautiful historic graveyards are set against the barren Virginia City hills.
South Lake Tahoe, California

Vikingsholm Castle

One woman's Viking Castle on Lake Tahoe.
Talkeetna, Alaska

Dr. Seuss House aka The Goose Creek Tower

This whimsical stacked cabin looks like something out of a children's book.
Vancouver, British Columbia

Brock Commons Tallwood House

The "plyscraper" is the world's tallest building made predominantly out of wood.
Anchorage, Alaska

Burial Spirit Houses

Colorful boxes placed over the dead are left to rot and crumble.
Palmer, Alaska

Musk Ox Farm

An Alaska livestock farm devotes itself to harvesting wool from creatures that once ran with mammoths and sabertooth tigers.
Anchorage, Alaska

Diamond Jim's Liquor Store Sign

A quirky roadside sign was the subject of a years-long legal standoff over highway right-of-way clearances. 
Whittier, Alaska

Whittier, Alaska

This small city where almost everyone lives in the same building can only be reached via North America's longest tunnel.
Whittier, Alaska

Portage Ghost Town

The ruins of a town wiped out by the second-largest earthquake in recorded history.
Whittier, Alaska

Buckner Building

This WWII-era military installation once held an entire city within its walls - now, its walls are falling down.
Anchorage, Alaska

Neighborhood Airplane Hangars

A suburban street in Anchorage doubles as a runway, and each home has its own airplane hangar.
Los Angeles, California

The Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel

Hollywood's oldest hotel is the site of the first Academy Awards, the birthplace of Marilyn Monroe's career, and the home of Montgomery Clift's ghost.
Chicago, Illinois

Woolly Mammoth Antiques and Oddities

This morbid, delightful curiosity shop offers everything from animal bones to human teeth.
Chicago, Illinois

International Museum of Surgical Science

A monument to the art of slicing people open.
Chicago, Illinois

Merz Apothecary

An antiquated German apothecary on Chicago's North Side.
Chicago, Illinois

Eternal Silence

A haunting statue called "Eternal Silence" has quite the reputation among visitors with active imaginations.