A statue honoring 44 continuous years of greeting passing ships.

"X" marks the spot of an echo chamber in the middle of a plaza.

This kitschy tavern is also home to rare early editions of "Treasure Island."

A pink and gray pair of pachyderms advertise a fireworks shop.

Clap your hands at the base of the pyramid, and the song of a sacred Mayan bird will echo through the air.

The United States’s oldest funicular railway glides up and down a steep Pittsburgh street.

Forget Hollywood, one of the biggest stars in the world can be found in Roanoke, Virginia.

The U.S. Supreme Court's secret Cold War relocation facility in the mountains of North Carolina.

Tucked away inside a historic Savannah hotel is a hundred-year history presented in ladies' lids.

One of Savannah's oldest and most haunted cemeteries, featuring graves desecrated by Sherman's Union Army.

A folk art mecca famous among outsider art fans.

Mystery surrounds a famous marshal of Napoleon's army.

A Nessie-like monster supposedly lurks in this lake.

This bare tree might not have leaves but it is constantly clothed in festive decorations left by mysterious local benefactors.

The language and heritage of a nearly forgotten culture can still be explored in this Southern enclave.

No telescopes, no power, no gift shop: The Observatory of Chichen Itza, one of the world's oldest observatories, takes astronomy back to basics.

This massive store is home to an eccentric collection of vintage, retro, and peculiar goods.

The birthplace of an eccentric alchemist and possible inspiration for the fictional reanimator of monsters.

A small but immensely extravagant palace built by the "Night King."

Cold war icon and onetime "hole" in the iron curtain.

The largest burial mound in the United States holds the remains of prehistoric West Virginians.

I-95's Tijuana-style celebration of kitsch at the Carolina border.

Run by a eugenics advocate, this aging institution conducted secret radiation experiments sponsored by Quaker Oats.

Underground tunnels remain beneath this abandoned mental asylum.