The Four Way, so named for its corner location in South Memphis, has been a cornerstone of the community since Irene and Clint Cleaves opened it in 1946. By the 1960s, The Four Way had become a gathering place for leaders of the Civil Rights Movement, Stax musicians on studio bre … | Continue reading
Small and squat in a cinderblock square just off Lamar Ave in midtown Memphis, Payne’s Bar-B-Q proves that a simple meal, made with care and attention (and a lot of hickory coals), can buffer itself against the tides of change and remain a neighborhood stalwart, beloved by locals … | Continue reading
Arguably one of the most unusual public parks in Tokyo, Tetsugakudō Park in Nakano Ward was established by philosopher and occult expert Inoue Enryō, who was also the founder of the Toyo University. In 1904, Inoue had a small temple built, dedicated it to Socrates, Immanuel Kant, … | Continue reading
Built in 1903, The Depot Museum, also known as the Enterprise Station and the Seaboard Coastline Depot, houses thousands of artifacts donated from families and businesses around the Pea River area of Alabama. The eclectic collection includes the original Boll Weevil statue that s … | Continue reading
The Rock of Kalikatsou is more than a beautiful coastal destination. Located on Petras Beach on the island of Patmos, many say the site carries a strong spiritual energy. The rock is revered as a Christian pilgrimage site, and is at the center of several local legends. One of the … | Continue reading
The old gentry of Sussex sure were keen on a folly. Nothing says "I'm wealthier than you!" better than an ultimately purposeless structure perched up in the hills for everyone to marvel at. Well done to the 11th Duke of Norfolk then, for creating something that looks so regal fro … | Continue reading
Among the greenery of Truby King Park sit the remains of a failed asylum. Considered the largest building in New Zealand when it was built in the late 19th century, Seacliff "Lunatic" Asylum was designed to house 500 patients and 50 staff. The asylum was known for its large size … | Continue reading
Built in 1960 to be the administrative centre of the new state, this strange, Brutalist behemoth has never been occupied due to structural issues. The interior remains unfinished and unusable. In 1945, following the Nazi defeat, the Soviet Union claimed the Königsberg area from G … | Continue reading
In the dark days after the fall of the Alamo, on March 6, 1836, James Fannin, commander of the Texian garrison at Goliad, was frozen with indecision. He had fortified the mission grounds of La Bahia, but recent defeats at Refugio and San Antonio made the fort vulnerable to the ad … | Continue reading
Fishcake is a modest but almost essential ingredient in Japanese culture, known all the way since the Middle Ages. It can be found in many varieties such as chikuwa, datemaki, naruto, crab sticks, and of course, kamaboko. Founded in 1865, Suzuhiro is considered an authority in th … | Continue reading
This piece was originally published in Vox and appears here as part of our Climate Desk collaboration. One morning this week, Hanna Koch was snorkeling in the Florida Keys when she came across a brown beer bottle on the sea floor. Koch, a marine biologist for Florida’s Monroe Cou … | Continue reading
The Independence National Historical Park in Philadelphia is home to many important artifacts from American history. Many visitors come to see Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell, overlooking lesser known sights including the Benjamin Franklin Museum and Franklin Court. Frankl … | Continue reading
In the barren mountains of southern Tunisia, at the gates of the Sahara desert, it rarely rains. When the rains do come, they can quickly turn to torrential downpours. In 1969, a flood lasted 22 days, forcing the inhabitants of the Berber village of Tamerza to abandon their homes … | Continue reading
In the central Serbian city of Kragujevac, a pop culture and bicycle museum, the 20 Cola Museum or Muzej Bicikala i Pop Kulture “20 Cola,” takes visitors back to a time when bicycles were a beloved mode of transportation, especially for young Serbians in the 20th century. In addi … | Continue reading
Jesse James didn’t find his resting place easily. After being shot dead by Bob Ford, James’ body was buried three times and exhumed twice. Today, his final resting place is in a cemetery down the road from his birthplace in Missouri. He is buried next to his wife, first cousin Ze … | Continue reading
Dear Atlas is Atlas Obscura’s travel advice column, answering the questions you won’t find in traditional guidebooks. Have a question for our experts? Submit it here. * * * Dear Atlas, If I’m gonna take a long-haul trip, I want to make the most out of the actual journey. Are ther … | Continue reading
A long weekend lunch in the countryside is a hallowed tradition for residents of Oaxaca City, and Luz de Luna makes an ideal escape. Located in the village of San Andrés Huayapam about 20 minutes east of the city, this charming indoor-outdoor restaurant with views of Oaxacan foot … | Continue reading
This article is adapted from the March 29, 2025, edition of Gastro Obscura’s Favorite Things newsletter. You can sign up here. Since the advent of the car, food companies have used them to advertise. Some simply painted their logos onto delivery trucks, while others created spect … | Continue reading
On an August night in 1991, Nancy Jean Burkholder was kicked out of the Michigan Womyn’s Music Festival. It wasn’t because she was disrupting the event—it was because she was transgender. The lesbian feminist women's music festival, which had been an annual event in Oceana County … | Continue reading
Most buildings in Manchester’s city center date after 1800, when the city was at the forefront of the Industrial Revolution. However, at the city’s northern edge, near the River Irwell, stand notably older structures. Among these are two timber-framed buildings, collectively know … | Continue reading
If you ever wander into the Jeseniky mountain range in the Czech Republic, you might be greeted with a mountain that is missing its top. Built with concrete shipped all the way from Albania to withstand the extreme temperatures and located on one of the tallest mountains in the h … | Continue reading
Eiji Tsuburaya, the father of tokusatsu (Japanese special effects), is known around the world as the creator of Godzilla, but another franchise of his design remains just as popular in Japan. Ultraman, which began in 1966 with an Outer Limits-like anthology titled Ultra Q, is a s … | Continue reading
Manchester has had a notable Jewish population for centuries. The first records of Jewish people in the city are from in 1741, and the city’s first synagogue was built in 1796. A combination of economic opportunities during the Industrial Revolution and persecution elsewhere in E … | Continue reading
For over a century, the Canton Theatre has been a prominent fixture in downtown Canton, Georgia, providing audiences with a range of entertainment options. Back in 1911, the theater initially debuted with silent films and magic lantern slide presentations. As time progressed, it … | Continue reading
On the north side of downtown Sudbury, looking across MacKenzie Street towards the public library as if from one fount of knowledge to another, gazing at passersby as if judging how well they can recall potent potables and common bonds, is a mural of Sudbury-born game show host A … | Continue reading
Early one February morning in 2002, Rick Fisher was driving down Route 23 toward Marietta, Pennsylvania, when he saw what he thought was a child standing in the middle of the road. He slowed, planning to help—until he got close enough to see this was no child, or at least not a h … | Continue reading
In the early part of World War II, many local communities in the United Kingdom collected funds to purchase planes for the war effort. The planes were called Presentation Aircraft. In February 1942, the English town of Lytham St Annes, just south of Blackpool, funded one of these … | Continue reading
A dusty arena in the French village of Marsillargues seems like an improbable setting for Carmen. The crowd is dressed in patterned shirts and denim—Provençal rancher wear—instead of opera attire. Yet, when Bizet’s rousing song booms over the loudspeaker, the cheers aren’t for a … | Continue reading
The story goes that W.C. Handy, later known as the Father of the Blues, was under contract in Clarksdale and traveling through the Mississippi Delta when he encountered a mysterious man at Tutwiler train station. In his autobiography, Handy writes, “His clothes were rags; his fee … | Continue reading
The Namamugi incident of September 14, 1862, is a political crisis mentioned by every history textbook in Japan. It occurred during the final years of the Tokugawa shogunate and changed the course of Japanese history thereafter, heralding the arrival of the modernization. Shimazu … | Continue reading
The musicians by the entrance have names like Maestro, Smokehouse, King Solomon, and Kevin. Just outside, Henry Turner Jr. presides over the scene, greeting guests while preparing fish and okra for the night’s crowd. There’s a fish fry every Friday night—hot sauce on every table, … | Continue reading
The pottery studio sits hidden in leafy foliage on a small side street in a small town just north of Cleveland. It’s unassuming and reserved, an oasis masked in plain sight. Inside, vases, serving plates, light fixtures, hanging baskets, and other items adorn every spare inch of … | Continue reading
Vera Warren-Williams, known affectionately as Mama Vera, holds court from behind the counter at Community Book Center on Bayou Road in New Orleans. Through the early afternoon, a steady stream of customers flows in, browsing books by Toni Morrison and Zora Neale Hurston, along wi … | Continue reading
Shannon King’s first experience with the Los Angeles Breakfast Club was a presentation by Disney Imagineer Bob Gurr. Unlike most educational presentations, however, this one took place at the crack of dawn. Nevertheless, “I knew by the end of that first breakfast that I wanted to … | Continue reading
When Roger Stolle moved to Clarksdale in 2002, he came with a mission: “To circle the wagons, to mount a defense, to help the last generation of cotton-farming, mule-driving, juke-joint playing bluesmen deeply inhale the final breath of this amazing tradition we call Delta blues. … | Continue reading
Located in a residential area east of Oaxaca's historic center, Mercado de la Merced is your perfect market for shopping, gawking and snacking. It’s both less daunting than the sprawling Central de Abastos and less touristy than the Mercado 20 de Noviembre. Oaxaqueños especially … | Continue reading
Once upon a time in the rustic village of Ōji, in the suburbs of Edo—present-day Tokyo—stood a tall tree known as Shōzoku Enoki, or the "Garment Hackberry." It was so named due to a well-known local legend: it was said that foxes from all across the Kantō region would gather here … | Continue reading
Everyone in Antarctica knows Ivan. Even those that haven’t had the pleasure of riding inside of him—in comfortable seats, surrounded by wood paneling and the pleasant sounds of jazz warbling from his internal speakers as he rumbles slowly along the ice—have heard of him and proba … | Continue reading
Xianjiyan, or the Rock of Deity’s Footprint, is a a wooded mountain that offers impressive views, lush trails, rich biodiversity, and numerous legends. Officially known as Mt. Jingmei (or Mt. Xizikou), the hill is named after a peculiar rock resting on a wooden platform near its … | Continue reading
The Royal Guernsey Light Infantry (RGLI) were the only French-speaking British battalion in World War I. It was also believed to be the last of the so-called "pals battalions" to be raised. The RGLI battalion came from the island of Guernsey, a self-governing dependency of the Br … | Continue reading
In 1922, the discovery of King Tutankhamun's tomb captured imaginations all over the world and fueled a revival of architecture inspired by ancient Egypt. Even the potato farmers in Idaho got swept up in the excitement, as evidenced by the Egyptian Theatre in Boise, Idaho. Opened … | Continue reading
The reign of Alexander the Great (336-323 BC) marked a golden age for the city of Magnesia. Located in the middle of the triangle of Ephesus, Prynne, and Tralleis in Ionia, this site was a significant commercial and strategic location on the roads that connected these three major … | Continue reading
The pair of earthenware comal griddles fueled by smoldering oak coals at Tacos del Carmen are beautiful things, weathered by use and white from curing with lime powder. They impart a unique earthy smokiness to this street stand’s quesadillas, empanadas, and tacos. That primeval f … | Continue reading
Since early history spring water was considered to have healing properties, with many locations in Scotland becoming famous for their healing or holy wells. Brow Well is a chalybeate spring that flows with naturally iron-salt-rich water. This water was believed to cure a whole ho … | Continue reading
Located a few miles off of the main highway, near Oakville, Alabama, is a small but comprehensive museum dedicated to the greatest track and field athlete of all time, Jesse Owens. Owens, born in Oakville in 1913, became world-famous after winning four gold medals at the 1936 Ber … | Continue reading
Japan once had a historical period known as the Kofun period, circa 300–538 AD, which is marked by the popularity of burial mounds throughout the country. Many of them have been lost in time, abandoned and buried deep in history. At some later point, in western Japan—around today … | Continue reading
Bellevue Theater was built in 1933 in the burgeoning district of Paco, Manila. Spanish architect Abelardo Lafuente y Garcia-Rojo Jr. designed it for Dr. Jose Eduque, a University of the Philippines professor and the chief surgeon at the nearby Philippine General Hospital. Dr. Edu … | Continue reading
Located in the Belle Grove Historic District, this beautifully restored, Italianate-style mansion—one of the oldest homes in Fort Smith—serves as a house museum and event venue. Part of the house’s structure was built in 1852 by a wealthy landowner named Sutton. When the Civil Wa … | Continue reading