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Los Angeles, CA -

The Angeles Flight is a two-car funicular connecting Bunker Hill with the rest of downtown LA. Rail buffs reckon it's the world's shortest incorporated railway. 

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Chicago, IL -

The Chicago Temple, a Gothic church spire crowning the top of a city skyscraper, is located at 77 West Washington St. and marks the tallest church in the world.

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Charlotte, NC -

Set in front of the Whitehall Corporate Center, the polished stainless steel METALmorphosis Head by Czech artist David Černý rotates and reconfigures at will, which is ever so slightly disconcerting.

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Niagara Falls, NY -

After viewing the mighty falls, taking a ride on Niagara Falls Whirlpool Aero Car is the next best thing to do at this world-famous natural landmark.

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New York City, NY -

The beautifully surreal SeaGlass Carousel is themed to honor Battery Park as the original location for the Big Apple's New York Aquarium. Kids will be spellbound!

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Philadelphia, PA -

Al Capone was just one of the notorious gangsters held at the Eastern State Penitentiary. Now a museum, visitors can wander the cell blocks unchecked and are free to leave any time they want.

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Phoenix, AZ -

Located in the Contemporary Art Wing of the Phoenix Art Museum, "Fireflies," Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama's mesmerizing installation, is a permanent wonder in the aptly-named The Yayoi Kusama Infinity Room.

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San Antonio, TX -

Down a beer or two as you admire the exhibits at the Buckhorn Saloon and Museum. Highlights include the skeleton of a 10,000-year-old prehistoric elk.

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San Diego, CA -

A California Historic Landmark, Whaley House is reputedly the most haunted house in America. Browse the museum and then start ghost hunting. 

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Dallas, TX - Gaze up at The Traveling Man, one of a series of giant sculptures striding across the city's Deep Ellum neighborhood.

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San Jose, CA -

Enter the eccentrically designed and allegedly haunted Winchester Mystery House, the eerie former residence of Winchester Rifle heiress Sarah Winchester.

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Austin, TX -

Stand on the Congress Avenue Bridge on any summer night and watch wide-eyed as the world's largest urban bat colony emerges en masse into the evening sky.

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Jacksonville, FL -

The huge, wide-girth branches of the 250-year-old Treaty Oak standing in Jessie Ball DuPont Park resemble the tentacles of a colossal octopus.

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Indianapolis, IN -

The Ruins, standing in Holliday Park, form the centerpiece of an attractive landscaped garden. The sculptures were salvaged from a New York skyscraper, demolished in the 1950s.

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San Francisco, CA - The cast-iron Lotta's Fountain dates back to 1875 and is the city's oldest monument. It became a symbolic meeting place for the survivors of the 1906 earthquake.

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Columbus, OH -

The big bronze Arnold Schwarzenegger Statue is a reminder of the Terminator's days as a bodybuilder, and his connection with Columbus. The city hosts the annual Arnold Sports Festival.

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El Paso, TX -

Spiritually significant to Native Americans, the pictographs (rock paintings) that characterize the Hueco Tanks area of the Chihuahuan Desert, are thousands of years old.

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Memphis, TN -

At exactly 11 am and 5 pm every day, five mallards visit the lobby fountain in the Peabody Hotel, a delightful ritual known as the Peabody Duck March that dates back to the 1930s.

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Nashville, TN -

No, you're not in Greece. Instead, the Concrete Pantheon is a full-scale replica of the famous Athens historic landmark

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Boston, MA -

The Mapparium is an astonishing three-story-tall globe, a giant hollow ball made of glass that visitors can enter for the geography lesson of a lifetime. It's located in the Mary Baker Eddy Library.

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Denver, CO -

Peep behind the classically-styled facade of the American Museum of Western Art and marvel at one of the most comprehensive collections of paintings depicting the American West found in the country.

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Baltimore, MD -

Widely regarded as one of the most beautiful library spaces in the world, the venerable late 19th-century George Peabody Library is open to the public.

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Louisville, KY -

Harland Sanders (1890–1980) gave us KFC, one of the most successful fast-food restaurants on the planet. As one of Kentucky's favorite sons, the "Colonel" upon his death was honored with his own tomb, located in Cave Hill Cemetery.

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Oklahoma City, OK -

Head on down to the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum, a goldmine of Old West and Native American artwork and artifacts.

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Miami, FL -

Families of seriously happy primates scamper and jostle in carefree abandon at this family-friendly attraction, the Monkey Jungle "where the humans are caged and the monkeys run wild."

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Honolulu, HI -

Tobacco heiress Doris Duke (1912–1993) bequeathed to the world her very own Shangri La, a secluded beach-side villa that now houses a fabulous collection of Islamic art.

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Kansas City, KS -

Besides an extensive collection of Asian art, the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art is celebrated for its iconic shuttlecock sculptures—the world's largest—scattered throughout the grounds.

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Atlanta, GA -

The extraordinary Atlanta Cyclorama is a cylindrical panoramic painting executed in minute and graphic detail depicting the bloody Civil War Battle of Atlanta. It's found at the Atlanta History Center.

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Cleveland, OH -

A cacophony of sound reverberates over the many colorful stalls of the historic West Side Market, a city landmark known for its fantastic variety of delicious ethnic produce.

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New Orleans, LA -

Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop served its first beer in the 1770s, and is one of the oldest surviving structures in the city. Order a brew and soak in the atmosphere.

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St Paul, MN -

Slip inside the Ramsey County Courthouse and you'll be met by the impressive Vision of Peace statue. At 36 ft and 60 tons, it is the largest carved onyx figure in the world.

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Pittsburgh, PA -

Replicas of HAL 9000 from '2001: A Space Odyssey' (1968) and Star Wars' favorite C-3PO are among the automatons waiting to greet visitors at The Robot Hall of Fame, housed in the Carnegie Science Center.

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Birmingham, AL -

Operating as a pig iron-producing blast furnace from 1882 to 1971, the Sloss Furnaces was one of the first industrial sites in the US to be preserved and restored for public use.

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Colorado Springs, CO -

A registered National Natural Landmark, the collection of incredible sandstone rock formations situated near the city are suitably named the Garden of the Gods.

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Springfield, IL - A stunning monument, the Lincoln Tomb is the final resting place of one of the country's greatest presidents. A bust, cast in bronze, announces the burial chamber. Be sure to rub the great man's nose for good luck!

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Rochester, NY -

The annual Lilac Festival is much more than a celebration of this pretty bloom. Expect art, music, and food too. Needless to say, the sweet bouquet hanging over the Highland Park venue is intoxicating.

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Las Vegas, NV - Are you a pinball wizard? The Pinball Hall of Fame is a working arcade and museum featuring over 200 different machines from all eras.

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Oakland, CA -

Even if you're not particularly religious, a walk through the stunning Cathedral of Christ the Light interior instills a sense of solace and spiritual renewal.

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Minneapolis, MN -

Once a year, on the first Friday after Memorial Day, the landmark Prospect Park Water Tower, known locally as the "Witches Hat," opens to the public. The views from the top are spellbinding.

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Salt Lake City, UT -

Bathed in natural light, the interior of the fabulous Salt Lake City Public Library building is an architectural triumph.

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Cincinnati, OH -

Dedicated to the art and history of signs and signmaking, the American Sign Museum is all blinking neon and floodlit halogen.

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Charleston, SC -

There are more attractive and romantic examples out there, but Drayton Hall remains the oldest unrestored plantation house in America open to the public. It doesn't get more authentic than this.

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Sacramento, CA -

Steam buffs and anyone interested in 19th-century industrial architecture will have their imaginations well and truly stoked at the sprawling Sacramento Locomotive Works.

See also: Dark tourism: following a gruesome travel itinerary

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