peterroutson's User Profile - Atlas Obscura
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Coral Gables, Florida

Venetian Pool

The only swimming pool listed on the National Register of Historic Places is emptied and refilled each day with naturally filtered water.
St. Augustine, Florida

Treasury Street

St. Augustine's record-setting narrow street was designed to protect against pirates.
Bethesda, Maryland

Walter Reed National Military Medical Center

FDR's Art Deco hospital tower was hopelessly inefficient.
Silver Spring, Maryland

National Museum of Health and Medicine

An astounding collection of medical specimens, including bits of President Lincoln.
Silver Spring, Maryland

Wheaton Station Escalator

The longest escalator in the Western Hemisphere takes over three minutes to ride down.
St. Augustine, Florida

The Fountain of Youth

A tribute to Ponce de Leon's supposed quest for eternal youth.
St. Augustine, Florida

Castillo de San Marcos

The walls of America's oldest masonry fort famously "swallowed" cannonballs.
Rockville, Maryland

Stonestreet Museum of 19th Century Medicine

This one-room doctor's office has been moved twice, and now lives on as a museum.
Silver Spring, Maryland

The Red Door Country Store

This general store has stood in the same spot for well over a century.
Ashton-Sandy Spring, Maryland

Underground Railroad Experience Trail

Walk a trail through a historic Quaker town that outlawed slavery in 1777 and was a major waypoint on the Underground Railroad.
Thurmont, Maryland

Catoctin Furnace

A pre-Industrial Age iron furnace and the site of a nearly-forgotten piece of Black history.
Frederick, Maryland

National Museum of Civil War Medicine

A Civil War Museum with some notable medical antiques.
Clarksburg, Maryland

Dowden's Ordinary Park

This suburban park recalls the history of a famous tavern. Despite the name, it's no ordinary place!
Clarksburg, Maryland

Kingsley Schoolhouse

A well-worn trail through thick woods in northern Montgomery County leads to an old schoolhouse.
Germantown, Maryland

Earthoid Water Tank

The whole world in one water tank.
Germantown, Maryland

Ruins of Clopper Mill

The hidden ruins of a mill that is linked to an attempt to assassinate the vice president of the United States.
Gaithersburg, Maryland

Gaithersburg Latitude Observatory

Tiny observatory made big contributions to the study of the Earth's motion.
Chicago, Illinois

Aircraft Carriers of Navy Pier

Chicago's Navy Pier on Lake Michigan was a training hub for aircraft carrier pilots during WWII.
Chicago, Illinois

World Artifacts on the Tribune Tower Walls

Fragments of architectural wonders from around the globe are embedded in the newspaper building's walls.
Chicago, Illinois

Crown Fountain

The twin towers in this Chicago fountain use 50 foot tall video screens to spit on people.
Chicago, Illinois

Tsavo Man Eaters

These pretty kitties killed and ate as many as 135 railway workers.
Chicago, Illinois

Man With Fish

This awkward aquarium sculpture is one of the strangest statues in Chicago.
Traverse City, Michigan

World's Largest Cherry Pie Tin

An enormous roadside pan tells the story of a battle for pie glory.
Traverse City, Michigan

The River Guardian

A 12-foot sculpture serves as a constant reminder of the importance of protecting and restoring the Boardman River.  Â