Login
login / signup
Williamsburg, Virginia, United States
Williamsburg Public Hospital
America’s first hospital dedicated to mental health opened during the colonial era and has endured revolution, war, and changing ideas about care.
From the CommunityBrown
Wood, brick, and a variety of construction materials often employ brown as a base color. This collection showcases some of the best browns around.
Buxoro Viloyati, Uzbekistan
Chor Minor
Chor Minor means 'four minarets,' but the towers were never minarets. Three stored supplies; one had stairs.
From the Community
Chiang Mai, Thailand
Chiang Mai Station
Chiang Mai Station: The northern terminus of a 25-year railway odyssey that required boring through a mountain by hand.
From the Community
Leipzig, Germany
Leipzig
Leipzig built 12,500 ornamental Gründerzeit buildings in just 43 years, housing a population boom from 100,000 to 700,000 residents.
From the Community
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States
Santa Fe Depot
This 1934 depot sat abandoned for 20 years until a developer spent seven years negotiating to buy it for $374,667.
From the Community
Chatuchak, Thailand
Krung Thep Aphiwat Central Terminal
A vintage railway office sits inside a station that took seven years to build, where trains once saved a kingdom from colonization.
From the Community
Jodhpur, India
Mehrangarh Fort
To break a hermit's drought curse, a man was buried alive in Mehrangarh's foundation—his descendants still receive state care today.
From the Community
Warsaw, Poland
Warsaw School of Economics
Most 1930s libraries moved books by hand. This one used elevators.
From the Community
Szczecin, Poland
Szkoła Podstawowa Nr 1
In just three months, this historic primary school changed nationalities.
From the Community
Buffalo, New York, United States
Buffalo City Hall
A birthday present, a 500 year prophecy, and a chamber full of virtues nobody could agree on. That's Buffalo City Hall.
AWA visted here
Presented with
Paris, France
Church of Saint Mary Magdalene
After 78 years of identity crises, from military temple to train station, it became a church that hid female singers.
From the Community
Sign up for our Newsletter
The AWA Bulletin: A quick & curated bi-weekly break
Ericeira, Portugal
Ericeira
One of two European surfing reserve draws wave-chasers, but vintage Land Rover devotees come for Portugal's dirt roads.
From the Community
Broadway WR12 7LB, United Kingdom
Broadway Tower
From love token to 'Lighthouse of Wisdom': This folly became a printing press for a self-described 'vello-maniac' with 60,000 manuscripts.
From the Community
Lviv, Ukraine
Lviv House of Scientists
Built for horse breeders in 1898, this was Lviv's first electric building, and the casino name fooled everyone.
From the Community
Souris, Prince Edward Island, Canada
The Naufrage Snack Shack
In a town literally named 'Shipwreck,' where the first settlers arrived via accidental grounding in 1719, you can now grab fries.
From the Community
Istanbul, Turkey
Hagia Sofia
Hagia Sophia's original dome collapsed in 558—just 21 years after opening—because workers used too much mortar and didn't let it dry.
From the Community
Sils im Domleschg, Switzerland
St. Cassian Church
A burial church dedicated to a saint killed by his students—with a pulpit installed right after a 21-year religious war.
From the Community
London, United Kingdom
Liberty
This department store was built from two decommissioned warships: its frontage matches HMS Hindustan's exact length.
From the Community
Riga, Latvia
Laima Chocolate Museum
Latvia's chocolate empire started in 1870 and became so iconic, it hijacked the city's punctuality clock in 1936.
From the Community
Rye, United Kingdom
The Old Shed
A new off-license on Cinque Ports Street, where medieval Rye once ran its own courts and dodged the Crown's taxes entirely.
From the Community
Buffalo, New York, United States
Richardson Hotel
Originally an insane asylum, with grounds designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, this historic building is now a hotel and urban center.
AWA visted here
Presented with
Pilone, Italy
Torre San Leonardo
This 16th-century watchtower once warned of pirate raids with smoke and fire signals. Now it guards a nature reserve full of birds.
From the Community
Tabriz, Iran
Constitution House
A merchant's home became revolution headquarters: printing presses ran in the parlor, plotting Iran's first constitution.
From the Community
Tabriz, Iran
Pottery Museum
Tabriz's Pottery Museum survived earthquakes that destroyed entire cities—now it's Iran's only live pottery workshop.
From the Community
Harrogate, United Kingdom
Harrogate Tap
The only part of an 1862 station that survived demolition now causes passengers to miss their trains on purpose.
From the Community
Aosta, Italy
Mercato Halles Aosta Valley
Aosta's Tuesday market has peddled Fontina and zero-kilometer honey beneath Alpine peaks for generations.
From the Community
Dallas, Texas, United States
Southern Methodist University
SMU's Dallas Hall was so large when it opened in 1915 that it housed the entire university—plus a hamburger grill and a mummy.
From the Community
Ogland, Kazakhstan
Beket Ata Underground Mosque
This 18th-century underground mosque carved into desert rock may have doubled as an astronomical observatory.
From the Community
Tabriz, Iran
Qajar Museum
This diplomat's mansion nearly became a school parking lot before a 13-year rescue transformed it into Tabriz's Qajar Museum.
From the Community
Venezia, Italy
Palazzo Tetta
At the fork of three canals, this 17th-century palace is surrounded by water on three sides. A rarity even in Venice!
From the Community
Chicago, Illinois, United States
St. Ignatius College Prep
One of five Chicago buildings to survive the Great Fire of 1871, this school conducted the first X-ray demonstration in the city.
AWA visted here
Monterey, California, United States
Monterey Canning Co
At its peak, Cannery Row processed 250,000 tons of sardines a year. Then the fish vanished - and only one marine biologist knew why.
From the Community
Sierra Madre, California, United States
Sierra Madre Playhouse
This 1910 furniture shop became a 1,200-seat movie palace, survived a projector fire, screened Bergman films, and doubled as 1939 Berkeley in Oppenheimer.
From the Community
Chamrousse, France
Lacs Robert
This alpine hut equips beginners to dive beneath two meters of ice. Teddy bear fleece pyjamas included in the rental.
From the Community