Explore 3899 History Collections - Atlas Obscura
Places near me Random place

3899 Items Tagged

History

Share
A ghoulish 1915 poster from Jay's collection advertising a seance with the magician Howard Thurston.
rare books

For Sale: Ricky Jay's One-of-a-Kind Collection of Magic, Mystery, and Masterpieces

The late, legendary magician and actor always followed his curiosity.
Matthew Taub October 14, 2021
In a small village in southern Norway, a church wall is filled with thousands of tiny demons—and that's not the oddest thing about the mural.
churches

The Curious Case of Norway’s Disturbing Demon Wall

A respected conservator restoring a centuries-old church mural saw the devil in the details—and created a wholly imagined, diabolical scene.
Gemma Tarlach October 13, 2021
The abandoned La Siberia cement factory and company town.
La Calera, Colombia

La Siberia

An abandoned company town and cement factory outside of Bogotá, now haunted by ghosts and scofflaws.
Akron, Ohio

John Brown Monument

A moving tribute to a leader of the American abolitionist movement.
Saint Peter Port, Guernsey

Castle Cornet

An 800-year-old island castle in Guernsey's main harbor.
A sitter is clamped into position using a metal frame before having his portrait taken.
victorian

Clearing Up Some Myths About Victorian 'Postmortem' Photographs

Stories abound of dead people being propped up on stands to seem alive. The reality was different.
Sonya Vatomsky October 11, 2021
museums

Is This the End of Switzerland’s Chimney Sweep 'Mafia'?

The long history and new face of a sooty industry.
Oriana Pauli October 8, 2021
View to the manor house
Ungurmuiža, Latvia

Ungurmuiža Manor

One of the best-preserved wooden manor houses in Latvia, decorated with painted interior walls.
Willamette Stone Heritage Park
Portland, Oregon

Willamette Stone Heritage Park

Hidden in Portland’s West Hills, a 170-year-old marker literally stakes out the Pacific Northwest.
Dormitories. The dormitories housed up to forty men. In the cells, the counting of inmates was carried out three times a day and was followed by checking the railings with a wooden club to verify their status. The prisoners were also searched when they went to and from the work that took place in the 'agricultural estate'.
Procida, Italy

Palazzo d'Avalos

This stately palace, first built in the 16th century, was converted into a prison in 1830.
animals

Podcast: The Last White Deer of Mount Madonna

Join us for a daily celebration of the world’s most wondrous, unexpected, even strange places.
The Podcast Team October 6, 2021
Tattoo designs of Lena Liberty by Ed Liberty, Boston, ca. 1935.
collections

How Historians of Modern Tattooing Explore a Long-Hidden Past

The growing field probes everything from family collections to problematic museum exhibits.
Eve Kahn October 5, 2021
Edison's desk, which has remained untouched since the day he died.
West Orange, New Jersey

Thomas Edison National Historical Park

Take a step into the workshop where Edison and his employees revolutionized the world.
murder

Podcast: Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death

Join us for a daily celebration of the world’s most wondrous, unexpected, even strange places.
The Podcast Team October 4, 2021
Dyckman Oval in 1937 as seen from the intersection of Nagle Avenue and Academy Street.
sports

Revisiting Dyckman Oval, A Lost Landmark From the Heyday of Black Baseball

At the northern tip of Manhattan, the ballpark was a magnet for families, entrepreneurs, and celebrities.
Jonathan Goldman October 1, 2021
Brewing beer at Jamestown.
beer

The Brides 'Imported' to Colonial America for Their Brewing Skills

English colonists needed alcohol to survive. And for that, they needed women.
Stephanie Castellano September 30, 2021
Many escape tunnels were dug under the Berlin Wall in the Prenzlauer Berg neighborhood, including the famous Tunnel 57.
tunnels

Remembering a Daring Escape Beneath the Berlin Wall

Nearly 60 years after he fled East Berlin, Andreas Springer shares a story of risk, freedom, and the deepest tunnel beneath the Cold War's most infamous border.
Jordan Todorov September 29, 2021
The westbound entrance.
Oroville, California

Oroville Train Tunnel

A train tunnel that was made obsolete by the dam it helped create.