The sci-fi villain is a little-known inhabitant of the U.S. capital's largest cathedral.

One critic described it as "middle Mussolini, early Ramses, and late Neiman-Marcus." Another called it an architectural "natural disaster."

Home to items never before seen by the public.

The grand marble structure next to the White House is Andrew Carnegie's temple to Pan-American diplomacy.

Legend has it that President Grant’s frequent drinking in the lobby gave rise to the term “lobbyist.”

The bank that helped fund the Mexican-American War and the purchase of Alaska met its downfall after helping Augusto Pinochet launder money.

The once highest point in China blends symbolic design with a kick of adrenaline.

An unlikely hit, this museum is dedicated to the inventor of instant ramen and cup noodles.

This massive wooden building contains a giant Buddha, healing pillars, and tame deer wandering the grounds.

One of the first hotel rooms in a pod.

1,001 carved statues of the Buddhist God of Mercy, each with a unique face.

The 10,000 Torii shrine.

The sound of swaying stalks in this stunning grove has been named a governmentally recognized sound.

The quintessential Japanese rock garden has existed for more than 500 years.

This neighborhood thoroughfare is haunted by dozens of homemade monsters.

After a profound show of devotion for his master, a dog becomes the symbol of loyalty for an entire nation.

Cabaret where the show girls are all androids, and the patrons couldn't be more pleased.

Not quite the menace it once was, this monster still has some chops.

There aren't too many operational funiculars around, but Pittsburgh has two!

Memorials and tributes scattered across the university grounds remember a famous national tragedy of the Nixon era.

The home made famous by the 1983 holiday classic is now a perfectly preserved shrine to the movie.

A wonderful and easily overlooked museum tucked in Ohio's Burke Lakefront Airport.

A wall of chewing gum moonlights as collective art.

The first North American landing spot for James Cook on his third voyage of discovery in the Pacific.