Places ephemeral epiphany Wants to Go

A century-old hotspot for jazz, frequented by everyone from Charlie Chaplin to Al Capone.

What's left of the ruins of the 1893 Columbian Exhibition, or World's Fair, also known as the White City.

Shop of curiosities with a dinosaur museum tucked in its basement.

A collection of full-size movie monsters opened to the public.

Scale replica of China's ancient terracotta tomb warriors and Forbidden City are the side project of an eccentric millionaire.

A collection of 100 brains preserved in jars on the UT campus.

This unique tower has been home to malaria-fighting bats for 100 years.

This quirky outpost and gallery inside a former church is an unexpected trove of handcrafted art.

A World War II officers' club features Old West murals painted by German POWs.

A statue in the Texas town that proudly calls itself the killer bee capital of the world.

Human remains in varying states of decay are strewn about this Texas State facility for scientific study.

A mysteriously abandoned campsite in San Angelo State Park.

The Grand Canyon of Texas.

A private collection of massive steel monsters guarding a Texas pipe works.

The world's largest squirrel statue clutches a pecan bigger than your head.

This tiny, hurricane-resistant house in Galveston is one of the city's most notable architectural oddities.

An oddities shop packed with twisted treasures inspired by Oscar Wilde and Edgar Allan Poe.

A Texas cave network is home to some of the world's most spectacular-looking and bizarrely named mineral formations.

It specializes in outsider art and artifacts of secret societies.

The summer home of the largest colony of bats in the world.

At the "Garage Mahal" in Houston, car culture is about more than just driving.

A Prada store in the West Texas desert that is never open for business.

A recreated Stonehenge stands in a country field, complete with Easter Island moai heads standing as sentries.

A 24-hour vending machine restocked daily with homemade full-sized pecan pies.