The United States is home to 23 UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Most of them are national parks that impress with their scale and natural beauty. But among them are also remarkable historical buildings that have preserved the spirit of the past — and that’s what this story is about. When talking about the oldest buildings…
If you ever find yourself in Georgetown — the capital of Guyana, a country tucked away in South America — chances are, you’ll come across a statue of a man holding what appears to be a fish. Since it’s unlikely you’ll be heading to Georgetown anytime soon, let me introduce you to this curious monument….
In 1892, the fledgling town of Mitchell, South Dakota wanted to showcase its fertile soil. In an effort to attract visitors and permeant residents, the powers that be in Mitchell constructed a small wooden Corn Palace to highlight the region’s corn production. In the Great Plains, grain palaces were all the rage in the late…
It’s historic, unique, and unusual—and it’s a gas station. They don’t make them like this anymore. Located in a residential area of Winston-Salem, this gas station is shaped like an old clam shell. Built in the 1930s, the station’s unique design, made from stucco over wood and wireframe, was part of a creative marketing strategy….
In the early 1900s, Edwin Boston Mabry and his wife Lizzie decided that they wanted to build a gristmill in rural Virginia. Upon the gristmill’s completion in 1910, Edwin and Lizzie added a forge, a sawmill, and a wheelwright shop to their property. During its heyday, Mabry Mill was one of the most popular gristmills…
The early North American “Mound Builders” resided predominantly in the current Ohio Valley and Mississippi regions. The Adena people, the most ancient among them, thrived from 1000 BCE to 200 BCE, leaving behind numerous mounds stretching across North America, from Wisconsin to Mississippi. One of the rare surviving relics from these mound builders is the…
The Sloss Furnaces, a National Historic Landmark in Birmingham, Alabama, operated as a pig-iron-producing blast furnace site from 1882 until 1971. After its closure, it became one of the first industrial sites in the United States to be preserved for public use. In 1981, a decade after the facility was shut down, the United States…
