Architecture

D.C.'s first central library was born out of a chance encounter with the philanthropist whose name it bears.

This modernist tower was saved by a fraternity with a 500-year-old penchant for shooting at wooden parrots.

A wondrous old library overlooking the nation's capital.

A folly built to satisfy a gentleman's bet that he could drive his horses through the eye of a needle.

The former 1920s mansion of a prominent Catalan developer was used as the Soviet Embassy during the Spanish Civil War, and there is still a bunker below the garden.

The medieval castle built as headquarters for the Pope's secretive Knights Templar.

The top of society once luxuriated in this world-class hotel, which continues to impress, even in ruin.

Japan's largest collection of Western-style mansions in the port city of Kobe includes a recreation of Sherlock Holmes' 221B Baker Street quarters.

An unlikely Transcendental Meditation haven in the American Heartland built around the ancient Vedic principles of balance and harmony.

One of just a few cities in the world to base their center of government on an island. Others: Paris and Osaka.

This unique bridge physically lifts a piece of the road into the air to let boats pass by.

This beautifully designed star-shaped fort was the premier defense system of the late 1500s.

This seemingly out-of-place gas station by the Watergate hotel was once described as the most expensive gas station in the world.

This space age health spa looks like a supervillain's lair.

The world's tallest bridge is also possibly the most elegant.

Once at the center of U.S. finance, the historic Trading Room was meticulously recreated piece by piece and rebuilt in the Art Institute.