Sarah Durn's User Profile - Atlas Obscura
Altoona, Pennsylvania

Reighard's Gold Star Service Station

A full-service gas station known as the oldest in America.
Madrid, Spain

Fisherman's House

Once a resting spot for King Fernando VII.
Kostrzyn nad Odrą, Poland

The Disappeared City Center of Kostrzyn

The center of this Polish border town was so thoroughly wiped out in World War II that only the foundations remain.
Buffalo, New York

Fontana Boathouse

The only boathouse Frank Lloyd Wright ever designed was also the only unbuilt structure in his famous Wasmuth Portfolio, until 2007.
Berlin, Germany

Sternenwächter

A statue of an astronomer gazes at the sky as a tribute to Caroline Herschel.
Doylestown, Pennsylvania

The Grave of Ignacy Paderewski’s Heart

War prevented this Polish composer's body from being returned to his home country for 51 years. Though his ashes eventually made it home, his heart stayed behind.
Karachi, Pakistan

Pir Mangho

A shrine in Karachi is home to around 100 crocodiles that are regarded as sacred.
Montgomery, Alabama

Wounded Peace Dove Statue (VIOLATA PAX DOVE)

A bronze sculpture of a white dove commissioned by Pope Benedict XVI.
Seoul, South Korea

Son Kee Chung’s Greek Helmet

This ancient Corinthian helmet is South Korea’s only national treasure of Western origin.
Glasgow, Scotland

Blackstone Chair

The 18th-century inspiration behind Harry Potter's Sorting Hat.
São Paulo, Brazil

Theatro Municipal de São Paulo

Ella Fitzgerald, opera singer Enrico Caruso, and dancer Isadora Duncan all performed in this lavish, supposedly haunted theater.
Ibiza, Spain

Puig des Molins Necropolis

The largest and best preserved necropolis in the Western Mediterranean.
Bristol, England

Clifton Suspension Bridge Vaults

Cathedral-like Victorian vaults are hidden within this iconic bridge.
Kyoto, Japan

Statue of Izumo-no-Okuni

The groundbreaking Japanese shrine maiden who invented the art of kabuki.
Esgos, Spain

Monasterio de San Pedro de Rocas

An abandoned 6th-century monastery features a medieval map of the known world.
Blacksburg, South Carolina

Abandoned Castle Video Games

A royal relic from the time that gambling was accidentally made legal in South Carolina.
Glasgow, Scotland

Hutchesons' Hall Statues

A brother statue swap has adorned this building's facade for centuries.
Framingham, Massachusetts

Graves of John Cloyce & Abraham Rice

In 1777, two men were killed after being struck by lightning at the same time.
Elche, Spain

Arab Baths

Hidden underground, a remarkable 10th-century bath complex survives virtually unaltered.
Puerto Ayora, Ecuador

Lonesome George at the Fausto Llerena Breeding Center

An exhibition devoted to the life (and posthumous taxidermy form) of the last known representative of the Pinta Island Tortoises.
Jenins, Switzerland

Greisinger Museum

Middle-earth in the middle of Switzerland.
Tokyo, Japan

Ad Museum Tokyo

This museum celebrates the history of Japanese advertising, from feudal business tricks to modern T.V. commercials.
Port Austin, Michigan

The Emergency Ark

Artist Scott Hocking took a dilapidated 1890s barn to create his massive "Barnboat."
San Diego, California

Panama-California Sculpture Court

A hidden courtyard houses early 20th-century plaster masterpieces.