311 Items Tagged

Cities

What the Heck is a Fatberg?

Jessica Leigh Hester takes us into the sewers to learn about her favorite slimy topic: fatbergs.

The Podcast Team October 8, 2025

In the aftermath of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, the government built 5,610 "earthquake shacks" to help resident weather the winter months.

The Earthshaking History of San Francisco’s Quake Shacks

You can still spot these tiny reminders of the 1906 earthquake in the city today.

Laura Kiniry February 23, 2023

Miramar, Mexico

Quiahuiztlán

The site where the Spanish first landed in Mexico was once a thriving Mesoamerican city.

Podcast: Chicago Bridge Houses

Where the Windy City’s drawbridge operators nestled in, at the bases of their places of work.

The Podcast Team May 20, 2025

The Qandahar Citadel, shown here in the 1880s, was destroyed in 1738. The ruins still stand south of the modern city of Kandahar.

What Can We See in the Oldest-Known Photographs of Kandahar?

These 72 images are a rare glimpse of an ancient city lost to time and conflict.

Amy Crawford January 3, 2023

The hill as seen from the Vistula side.

Gnojna Góra (Dung Hill Lookout Point)

Catch a scenic view of Warsaw's Old Town from the top of a centuries-old dumping ground.

Podcast: Times Square Hum

Join us for a daily celebration of the world’s most wondrous, unexpected, even strange places.

The Podcast Team October 20, 2022

San Francisco, California

Hotaling Place

The oldest alley in San Francisco is paved with a reminder of the city's original shoreline.

London, England

Of Alley and the Duke’s Streets

An agreement meant to honor the Duke of Buckingham led to this unusually-named passageway near Charing Cross.

Podcast: Grittiness and Romanticism in New York and Paris

Join us for a daily celebration of the world’s most wondrous, unexpected, even strange places.

The Podcast Team September 13, 2022

How The Thames, Once a 'Zombie River,' Was Brought Back to Life

Sharks, beavers, and humans are all returning to London's iconic waterway thanks to decades of restoration work.

Mia Jackson August 8, 2022

The last remaining public payphone kiosk was removed from the streets of Manhattan in May 2022.

objects of intrigue

The Last Public Payphone Kiosk on the Streets of New York

How the once-ubiquitous convenience became a rare museum piece.

Shoshi Parks July 26, 2022

The mid-century architecture of Perlora Ciudad de Vacaciones is unusual in Northern Spain. “It really is a treasure,” says architect Adrián Cachán Vallina.

This Abandoned Spanish Resort Is Still a Popular Vacation Destination

Perlora Ciudad de Vacaciones was built by Spain's Fascist dictatorship to placate workers.

Alyssa McMurtry July 14, 2022

Perlora, Vacation City

Perlora Ciudad de Vacaciones, Spain

Perlora Ciudad de Vacaciones (Vacation City)

The closed and crumbling Francoist luxury resort for workers is still full of life—for now.

Pittsburgh has more public staircases than any other American city, a throwback to the Rust Belt town's industrial heyday.

Meet the Woman Who Climbed Every One of Pittsburgh's 739 Public Staircases

To explore her adopted hometown, Laura Zurowski took things step by step on the hilly city's historic routes.

Rossilynne Skena Culgan June 21, 2022

The street names in Columbia, Maryland, were drawn from art and literature. "Satan Wood Drive," however, was the result of a typo. It was supposed to be named "satin wood" for a line from an Amy Lowell poem.

What’s Up With Columbia, Maryland’s Quirky Street Names?

From Nodding Night Court to Dove Sail Lane, the town’s address choices are both practical and poetic.

Amy Crawford June 16, 2022

The Cincinnati Subway.

Podcast: The Cincinnati Subway

Join us for a daily celebration of the world’s most wondrous, unexpected, even strange places.

The Podcast Team June 14, 2022

New York, New York

Skyscraper Museum

An institution dedicated to the towering buildings that make up skylines in New York City and around the world.