Author: Ms. R.

The official name for the design is Canistrum (Latin for wicker basket) and was described by its designer Michael Lennie as “an unfinished basket reflecting an unfinished history.”  The council invested in the design to attract visitors, with the idea inspired by the Hundertwasser toilet in New Zealand. Michael Lennie’s design was chosen in the Kenilworth Designer Dunny with almost 200 entries. The designs all had to take into account the seasonal flooding from the Mary River. It is intended to honor……

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In the 1977 movie Slap Shot, a comedy about a fictitious rag-tag team known as the Charleston Chiefs, player/coach Reg Dunlop (played by Paul Newman) leads his team to an unlikely championship. Johnstown itself plays a starring role in the film as the declining factory town, Charleston. Several Johnstown venues appear in the film, including Johnstown Train Station, The Hendler Hotel (now the Social Security Administration), Cambria County War Memorial Arena, and Main Street, which runs along Central Park. One……

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Henry Clarke was an Irish stained-glass artist and book illustrator whose works are beloved in his home country but are not universally known. Born in Dublin, he was a leading figure in the Irish Arts and Crafts Movement. His father, Joshua Clarke, was a church decorator whose company later branched out into the creation of custom stained glass. Harry apprenticed with his father, and by the age of 21 he was creating award-winning designs and pieces alongside a successful……

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There are few places in Nevada where a highway runs alongside a flowing river, and this is one. This scenic canyon is a “water gap,” where an active watercourse crosses a mountain range. The aesthetic attractiveness is heightened by the incongruous contrast of desert and river. The West Walker River, which rises in the Sierra Nevada to the west, is also undammed except for some low irrigation diversion structures at the east end of Wilson Canyon. This is nearly……

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On June 26, 1977, Elvis Presley’s final public performance was held in front of nearly 18,000 screaming fans inside the Market Square Arena, which used to dominate this block of Circle City. Six weeks later, Elvis died, at his home in Graceland. Though the arena and Elvis are both long gone, the Elvis Presley memorial plaque, twice dedicated, remains.  The $10,000 plaque and base, placed by the Taking Care of Presley Memorial Benefit Committee, enshrines a ticket stub from……

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Located off the northeastern coast of Venezuela, Cubagua Island holds a fascinating history and is home to the remnants of the once-thriving city of Nueva Cadiz. This small island, measuring only 9.2 square miles, played a significant role in the early exploration and colonization of the Americas.  Nueva Cadiz, founded in 1500 by Spanish explorer Alonso de Ojeda, was one of the first European settlements in the New World. It quickly became a bustling hub of activity, attracting merchants,……

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The Chicago, St. Paul, Milwaukee, and Pacific Railroad, more usually known simply as the Milwaukee Road, was a railroad that headed west from Chicago across the northern United States. By the early 20th century, it extended all the way to Seattle. The railroad had financial difficulties through much of its existence and went into bankruptcy in 1977. The line to the West Coast, the so-called Pacific Extension, was abandoned in 1980. This part of the route, through the Rocky……

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The Sistine Chapel is a long way from the Flathead Reservation in Montana. However,  the St. Ignatius Mission Church also places a lot of value on its prized ceiling and the frescoes that adorn it. So who was the Michelangelo of the mountains? Brother Joseph Carignano, an amateur artist and the mission’s cook and handyman, painted all the works over a 14-month span. The mission’s history predates the church, and even this location. Famed Jesuit missionary Pierre-Jean De Smet……

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Listen and subscribe on Stitcher, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all major podcast apps. In this episode of The Atlas Obscura Podcast, we visit an installation in the New Mexico desert that’s a bucket list destination for art nerds. It’s also a testament to the extraordinary control the artist who created it was able to exert, even after death. Our podcast is an audio guide to the world’s wondrous, awe-inspiring, strange places. In under 15 minutes, we’ll take you to……

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