Places Matthew Bean Wants to Go

A unique and controversial artifact of the early Turkish Republic.

This unacceptably tall building was the real reason for Washington, D.C.'s skyscraper ban.

The only female equestrian statue in Washington, D.C. is a 15th-century French heroine.

A rotating cast of guys and dolls in front of a Washington, D.C. building.

This imposing Masonic temple a mile from the White House was the first public library in Washington, D.C.

This rowhouse doubles as one of the most photographed spots in the nation's capital.

The world's oldest soul food restaurant is also one of its best.

The former home of elite checkers battles of the Capital Pool Checkers Club.

Some of the world's only freshwater seals live in one very special lake in Russia.

This massive rock column in Canada is perched on a corner of its base, seeming to defy gravity.

Thousands of jack o'lanterns light up Halloween at this historic West Virginia home.

The atmospheric road was never meant to be so creepy.

At the point of oceanic inaccessibility, you can't get farther from dry land without leaving the planet.

The bodies of some early polar pioneers are still buried beneath the harsh snows of the Antarctic.

A flying saucer has landed for good in the middle of a tiny Canadian town.

The trout that grew a winter coat is mounted in its Colorado hometown.

A joyful oddity that takes the art of clowning very seriously.

The empty town of Scenic, South Dakota, is owned by a church in the Philippines.

A granite primate with a view.

A seaside morgue for the victims of the North Sea.

A tiny art gallery where artists can donate their work for the public to take and enjoy.

Tiny Spanish beach covered in sea glass.

The remains of a monument in the remote Kazakhstani desert dedicated to the only men to die in outer space, the crew of the Soyuz 11 rocket.

This restaurant is proud to be built atop a burial ground.