Architectural Oddities

A pair of mutilated bronze octopuses slump at the base of the monument honoring California's admission to the U.S.

One of the largest bamboo bridges in Asia, located right next to a bamboo school.

This ambitious attraction was the brain child of a lake resort impresario, and built by the WPA.

The gargoyles and grotesques of the 21st century are here—22 emoji built into a new building in the Netherlands.

This rare triple-jurisdiction drawbridge passes through Virginia, Maryland, and Washington, D.C.

This dizzying tower was built to better broadcast the 1980 Moscow Olympics.

Speak to a companion on the other side of the room loud and clear through this architectural anomaly.

Inside this small brick bungalow is a collection of toys intended for the afterlife.

Daredevil repair workers can worm their way out the access hatch, loop ropes over the apex and rappel down the monument.

Baltimore's classic clock tower was once topped by a rotating, 20-ton medicine bottle.

Rat sculptures try to infiltrate the Graybar Building in an architectural tribute to New York City's nautical history.

A whimsical art tower at a Bavarian brewery includes a grotto for its mythical beer-brewing dwarves.

An unusually designed bridge from the 1920s was built to withstand the tides and winds of Maine.

The architect of this fanciful complex called it an "oasis for humanity and nature in a sea of rational houses."

In the mid-19th century, an eight-sided house was the latest fad.

The highest point in Belgium is a staircase to nowhere.

This Gothic church was wheeled in its entirety to a new location a half a mile away.

Installed at a chaotic intersection, this gave London traffic cops a place to hang their heavy woolen coats.