Places Edited by Matthew Taub

Illegal drag racing two stories beneath Chicago’s streets.

A tiny red pebble marks what may be the quietest outdoor spot in the United States.

A meditative space out of a fantasy story.

Macabre symbols of death and mummies on display set the tone of this Italian purgatory church.

This elaborately decorated, fairytale-like Romanian royal palace is one of the most striking castles in Europe.

Ruins of a former government building destroyed during the Georgian-Abkhaz war in the wake of the fall of the Soviet Union.

During the Industrial Revolution this “Temple of Invention” was full of intricate miniature machines and gadgets.

This whimsical seashell-shaped place of worship was designed to blend into its surroundings.

A 19th century library favored by Edgar Allan Poe and H.P. Lovecraft, known by locals as "the Ath."

A regular looking rock with an unbelievable history.

On the Oregon coast is a natural hole that seems to be draining the sea.

Over one million bird-related artifacts await.

With some 500,000 books across five buildings, this bookstore is a reader's paradise.

When zealous marijuana enthusiasts kept stealing the "Mile 420" highway marker, the State of Colorado got creative.

Philadelphia boasts one of the best — and most often overlooked — traditional Japanese gardens in North America.

A local prank turned town icon.

The remains of an early 1900s dude ranch that operated until the 1970s.

The future of roadside attractions is this sci-fi soda mecca that is home to a 66-foot tall neon pop bottle.

This lonely Lithuanian chapel looks more beautiful and haunting in decline than it ever did in life.

Massive prehistoric mammals used these stones as oversized scratching posts.

This oddly named town refuses to change its phallic moniker.

This massive redwood tree has a hole in the base big enough to drive through.

This fairy-tale castle would make Dracula (who is said to have been imprisoned there) jealous.

This giant steer-skull edifice refuses to die.