Michael J Bielawa's User Profile - Atlas Obscura

Michael J Bielawa

Michael Bielawa’s explorations take him to northeast America's most mysterious, and abandoned, sites. He’s shared his findings on TV, radio and in print: including reanimating the dead in New England with NPR, long-lost 19th century baseball fields with Major League Baseball, Men In Black and the Lake Champlain Creature with the Connecticut Post and attempts to pilfer P.T. Barnum's corpse with London’s Fortean Times. Bielawa lectures throughout Connecticut and his Wicked Walks, each October for The Barnum Museum (and in 2018 co-sponsored by Atlas Obscura), documents Bridgeport, Connecticut as one of America’s most paranormal downtowns. He is the author of Wicked Bridgeport and Wicked New Haven.

Michael J. Bielawa, Author

2018
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Leaderboard Highlights

Michael J Bielawa's activity rankings

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Places visited in Bridgeport, Connecticut

1^st

Places visited in Waterbury, Connecticut

1^st

Places visited in Meriden, Connecticut

2^nd

Places visited in Danbury, Connecticut

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Places visited in Connecticut

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Places visited in Pittsfield, Massachusetts

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Places visited in New Haven, Connecticut

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Places visited in Wareham, Massachusetts

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Places visited in Binghamton, New York

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Charleston, South Carolina

Rainbow Row

Thirteen pastel palaces in downtown Charleston add a gorgeous splash of color to the city.

bakedinthehole

Added by bakedinthehole

Charleston, South Carolina

Stede Bonnet Hanging Site

Most historians agree that the so-called "Gentleman Pirate" wasn't much of either of those things.

J Ginsberg

Added by J Ginsberg

St. Louis, Missouri

Burial Place of Chief Pontiac

A plaque on the side of a parking garage marks the burial place of a great Ottawa chief.

Added by jtchibnalljr

St. Louis, Missouri

The Girl in the Shadow Box

One man's unrequited love stands in a glass box forever.

Fred Cherrygarden

Added by Fred Cherrygarden

St. Louis, Missouri

Bellefontaine Cemetery

The first rural cemetery west of the Mississippi is home to the elaborate tombs of St. Louis' local beer barons.

St. Louis, Missouri

Chuck Berry's House

The red brick house where the father of rock 'n' roll wrote some of his classic hits.

AaronNetsky

Added by AaronNetsky

St. Louis, Missouri

Grant's Farm

What was once a presidential estate is now an exotic menagerie and home to the Budweiser Clydesdales.

chelseadeptula

Added by chelseadeptula

St. Louis, Missouri

Wainwright State Office Building

One of the world's earliest skyscrapers.

Added by jtchibnalljr

St. Louis, Missouri

Old St. Louis County Courthouse

The Old Courthouse takes visitors on a captivating trip through St. Louis' timeline.

chelseadeptula

Added by chelseadeptula

St. Louis, Missouri

Eros Bendato

A creepy sculpture of a decapitated head invites viewers to see St. Louis through its empty eyes.

Bkern

Oneida, New York

Cross Island Chapel

Possibly the smallest church in the world floats in the middle of a pond.

Fayetteville, New York

Green Lakes State Park

Surprisingly aquamarine waters fill deep lakes formed at the end of the last ice age.

claudiamgeib

Added by claudiamgeib

Syracuse, New York

Upside-Down Traffic Signal

A reversed traffic signal that was once violently misinterpreted as a statement on British-Irish relations.

Chris Clemens

Added by Chris Clemens

Catskill, New York

Catskill Game Farm

The abandoned ruins of America's first private zoo are open for exploration in the Catskills.

Added by Ashawnta

Schroon Lake, New York

Frontier Town

This former theme park in New York's Adirondack Mountains fell into ruin before being resurrected as a state-run campground

Added by mchampeau

Queens, New York

Fort Tilden

This abandoned seaside fortress is now simply an imposing ruin being taken back by nature.

Luke J Spencer

Added by Luke J Spencer

Berkley, Massachusetts

Dighton Rock

A coastal rock outcrop with mysterious inscriptions variously attributed to Native Americans, Portuguese, Phoenicians, Norse, and more.

Added by ivesian

Fall River, Massachusetts

Lizzie Borden Bed and Breakfast and Museum

Enjoy an overnight at an old haunted B&B site of the Borden family murders.

bboas

Sleepy Hollow, New York

Headless Horseman Bridge

The real-life site of Ichabod Crane's infamous gourd attack.

Fred Cherrygarden

Added by Fred Cherrygarden

Schenectady, New York

Nott Memorial

This elaborate High Victorian Gothic structure is one of the world's few 16-sided buildings.

Preservation League of NYS

Added by Preservation League of NYS

Schenectady, New York

Vedder Family Cemetery

The small burial plot is located in a mall parking lot.

Added by loboprowla

Brooklyn, New York

Deno's Wonder Wheel

One of the most enjoyable bits of history at Coney Island and “the most romantic ride in the world.”

Bridgeport, Connecticut

Grave of Charles Stratton

The final resting place of a circus performer who went by the pseudonym "General Tom Thumb."

Johnmeszaros

Added by Johnmeszaros

Hamden, Connecticut

Best Video Film & Cultural Center

This Connecticut video store has a vast and varied archive that contains everything from 'Koyaanisqatsi' to 'The King's Speech.'

Added by paulb4223