rshaffer's User Profile - Atlas Obscura
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Places visited in Ronks, Pennsylvania
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Washington, D.C.

Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens

A lovely aquatic park built by a one-armed Civil War veteran who made a fortune from lotuses.
Cresco, Pennsylvania

Devil's Hole Ruins

These beautiful ruins deep in the Pennsylvania woods are thought to have been a ski lodge or a speakeasy, but no one really knows.
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania

Tomb of Unknown Soldier (Bethlehem)

A tribute to those that perished during the American Revolution.
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania

1758 Sun Inn

George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, and Benjamin Franklin all slept at this humble inn.
Emmaus, Pennsylvania

Shelter House

A "house to which to flee" for settlers in colonial Pennsylvania.
New York, New York

Trinity Church Cemetery & Mausoleum

You must take the A train... to the last active cemetery in Manhattan.
New York, New York

Hamilton Grange

The only home that Alexander Hamilton ever owned has a history almost as troubled as his own.
New York, New York

Roosevelt Island Smallpox Hospital Ruins

A crumbling hospital from the 1850s on Roosevelt Island.
New York, New York

Bellevue Hospital

The name of this famed hospital was once a byword for the horrors of medical and psychiatric care.
New York, New York

Death Avenue Plaque

Manhattan's deadly West Side railroad, which killed hundreds of New Yorkers, is remembered by this simple plaque.
New York, New York

Tammany Hall

The notorious headquarters of a corrupt political machine.
New York, New York

Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace Museum

The rough and tumble president's childhood home displays the shirt he was once shot in and the speech that saved him.
New York, New York

C. O. Bigelow Apothecary

The oldest operating apothecary in the US has treated everyone from Thomas Edison to Mark Twain.
New York, New York

The Hangman's Elm

The oldest living tree in Manhattan comes shrouded in sinister legend.
New York, New York

New York Marble Cemetery

A hidden "place of interment for gentlemen."
New York, New York

The Manhattan Well Murder

A dark, dank room in subterranean Manhattan was the site of a ghastly murder.
New York, New York

Catacombs of Old St. Patrick's Cathedral

Historical figures from New York City's Catholic community reside in Midtown.
New York, New York

Economy Candy

Established in 1937, the oldest candy shop in New York City boasts a rainbow-colored inventory that would make Willy Wonka envious.
New York, New York

First Shearith Israel Graveyard

Revolutionary War casualties fill the only 17th century structure remaining in Manhattan.
New York, New York

Harry Jenning's Rat Pit of the Five Points

This humble historic facade hides a history of boozing and the gentlemanly sport of rat-fighting.
New York, New York

Edward Mooney House

Built just after the American Revolution, the oldest row house in New York City still stands in Chinatown.
New York, New York

African Burial Ground National Monument

This memorial honors thousands of enslaved Africans and their descendants who died in colonial New York.
New York, New York

Survivor Tree

The last living thing to come out of the rubble after 9/11 is now a symbol of hope and resilience.
New York, New York

Trinity Churchyard

This cemetery has graves dating back to the 17th century, including the city's oldest carved tombstone and an ominous cryptogram.