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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 CommunityAll Places
Padua, Italy
University of Padua
It was here that Galileo packed lecture halls challenging Aristotle in the one Italian city where that wouldn't get you killed.
From the Community
Constanta, Romania
The Casino of Constanța
This Black Sea casino was built three times before opening, operated as a gambling hall for just 38 of its 116 years - and still isn't one today.
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Friendship, Maine, United States
Archie Wallace’s Groceries & Provisions
This 1855 general store served the builders of the Friendship Sloop and remains one of the few places in America where you can buy both lobster bait and a six-pack before sunrise.
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Bornem, Belgium
Castle d’Ursel
A theatrical designer known for trompe-l'œil gave this Belgian castle its eyebrow-raising yellow facade in 1761.
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Madrid, Spain
Estanque Grande del Buen Retiro
Once a private playground for Spanish royalty is now Madrid's favorite place to grab an oar. For nearly 400 years, kings, citizens, and generations of rowers have shared the same historic waters.
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Honolulu, Hawaii, United States
The Cab Phone @ Aloha Tower
This lei-wrapped phone near Aloha Tower connects directly to a cab dispatcher—no coins, no dialing, just pick up and go.
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Clinton, Connecticut, United States
Lobster Landing
This century-old shack survived the 1938 hurricane and serves lobster rolls with butter drizzled from a double-boiler, never a hot pan.
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Sæby, Denmark
Voerså Havn
Where Denmark's Voer River pauses before the sea, creating a harbor so quiet the birds outnumber the boats.
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Budapest, Hungary
Drechsler Palace
Railway workers' pension fund built a palace, then it sat empty for two decades.
From the Community
Vienna, Austria
Wiener Riesenrad
129 years later, the wheel that survived fire, war, and bankruptcy still turns to this day.
AWA visted here
Ogland, Kazakhstan
Beket Ata Underground Mosque
This 18th-century underground mosque carved into desert rock may have doubled as an astronomical observatory.
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Dublin, Ireland
Ambassador Cinema
Every ticket sold at this cinema helped deliver babies for nearly two centuries.
From the Community
Ellensburg, Washington, United States
The Lazy A Coffee
A gas station that served Highway 10 travelers for 42 years now dispenses lattes instead of leaded.
From the Community
Hjørring, Denmark
Rubjerg Knude Lighthouse
A museum about sand drift, defeated by sand drift.
From the Community
Raleigh, North Carolina, United States
Larry’s Beans
A Raleigh roaster funds $500 teacher grants and runs a telephone booth library because caffeinating communities goes beyond beans.
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Miami Beach, Florida, United States
Miami Beach Lifeguard Towers
Hurricane Andrew flattened the lifeguard towers, so Miami rebuilt them as anthropomorphic Art Deco sentinels.
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Palm Springs, California, United States
That Pink Door
A chocolate brown door got painted pink for someone's mother-in-law and became as Instagrammable as the Colosseum
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Copenhagen, Denmark
Superbon
Where butchers once ruled, Superbon thrives in a district that traded cleavers for cocktails.
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Christchurch, United Kingdom
The Regent
Bingo saved this 1931 Art Deco cinema from demolition, then 100+ volunteers brought it back as a theatre in 1983.
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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.
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Vienna, Austria
Prater Amusement Park
An emperor's hunting grounds became a public playground - and the puppets got to stay.
AWA visted here
Dallas, Texas, United States
The Kessler Theatre
The last U.S. theater built before WWII survived Gene Autry's ownership, a tornado, a fire, and fifty years of abandonment.
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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!
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Lugano, Switzerland
Villa Ciani
Two brothers fleeing Austrian-occupied Milan built their 1843 villa atop the ruins of their oppressors' medieval castle.
From the Community
Nałęczów, Poland
Willa Tolin
This 1883 villa hosted secret classes for poor children and nearly became home to Poland's most celebrated novelist.
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Honolulu, Hawaii, United States
The Royal Hawaiian Resort
The Royal Hawaiian's rooms face gardens, not ocean; guests in the '20s had just spent four days at sea on luxury steamships.
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
Galveston, Texas, United States
Ashbel Smith Building
Texas's first medical school opened in 1891 with 23 students and almost no equipment, but survived America's deadliest hurricane.
From the Community
London, United Kingdom
Lacy Gallery / Pippa Small
A frame dealer's son and an anthropologist-turned-jeweler hold down neighboring pink and yellow shopfronts on Westbourne Grove.
From the Community
Timișoara, Romania
Studio, Timisoara
After 1948, this cinema showed only documentaries non-stop—and for years, admission was completely free.
From the Community
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
Corfu, Greece
Banknote Museum of the Ionian Bank
Greece's first bank issued banknotes in Spanish dollars for a British protectorate; now its HQ displays a 100 billion drachma note.
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.
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