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Community Bookshelf - Location: Kansas City, MO

It consists of 25-foot-high representations of 22 book titles that reflect on the interests of Kansas City readers.

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The Strong National Museum of Play -

Location: Rochester, NY

It is one of the largest history museums in the United States.

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New Vrindaban Palace of Gold -

Location: Moundsville, WV

The palace was intended to be a residence for the founder of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, but he died two years before it opened. 

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Longaberger Company headquarters - Location: Frazeysburg, Ohio

Weighing almost 150 tons, the building opened in 1998. The company founder, Dave Longaberger, wanted all Longaberger buildings to look like a picnic basket, but the headquarters’ was the only one completed by the time of his death.

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Chapel of the Holy Cross - Location: Sedona, AZ

Architect Marguerite Brunswig Staude’s inspiration for the this Roman Catholic chapel was the Empire State Building.

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Cabazon Dinosaurs - Location: Cabazon, CA

Originally built in 1964 as a restaurant attraction, the dinosaur building now serves as a creationist museum.

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Bishop Castle - Location: Rye, CO

Its constructor, Jim Bishop, began working on what was supposed to be a family project when he was 15, and continued to work on it for 40 years.

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Bavinger House -

Location: Norman, OK

The house was constructed in the 1950s by local artists Nancy and Eugene Bavinger, with the help from Eugene’s students and other members of the community.

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Haines Shoe House - Location: Hellam Township, PA

The shoe-shaped house was constructed in 1948 by salesman Mahlon Haines to advertise his shoe business.

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United States Air Force Academy Cadet Chapel - Location: Colorado Springs, CO

At the time of its commissioning, this modernist building stirred some controversy over whether it was an appropriate design for a national monument.

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National Museum of the American Indian - Location: Washington, D.C.

The museum, which is the first one in the country dedicated exclusively to Native Americans, was designed to evoke images of natural rock formations.

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The Garden of Eden -

Location: Lucas, KS

This eccentric house was built by Civil War veteran Samuel Dinsmoor starting in 1907. His coffin lies in the garden’s mausoleum, which makes him the last sculpture added to his project.

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Thorncrown Chapel -

Location: Eureka Springs, AK

Architect E. Fay Jones was an apprentice of Frank Lloyd Wright’s, whose influence is evident here.

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Bondurant's Pharmacy -

Location: Lexington, KY

This pestle-and-mortar building operated as a pharmacy from 1974 to 2011, but now ironically houses a liquor store.

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Ray and Maria Stata Center - Location: Cambridge, MA

Built by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Frank Gehry, this MIT academic complex received harsh criticism from former Boston University president John Silber, who believed it wasn’t built with its inhabitants in mind.

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Smith Mansion -

Location: Cody, WY

This handmade log cabin by architect and engineer Francis Lee Smith was intended as a home for his family, but it ended up being his personal project. Smith fell to his death while working on one of the house’s upper balconies.

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Earl Young Mushroom Houses -

Location: Charlevoix, MI

Earl Young was not a trained architect, but he was obsessed with boulders. This led him to build 31 little homes that look as if they are inhabited by Hobbits.

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Thunder Mountain Monument -

Location: Imlay, NV

World War II veteran Frank Dean Van Zant built this compound with the intention of providing a safe haven for spiritual seekers as well as protection from the apocalypse.

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Lucy the Elephant - Location: Margate City, NJ

The six-story structure of wood and tin dates back to 1881. Lucy is the oldest surviving roadside attraction in the country.

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The Egg - Location: Albany, NY

The performing arts venue was built between 1966 and 1978 as part of the Empire State Plaza project.

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Fleur De Lys Studios -

Location: Providence, RI

This is an important representation of the Arts and Crafts movement in the US. The place acted as the setting for the novel ‘The Call of Cthulhu’ by horror writer H. P. Lovecraft.

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Dog Chapel -

Location: St. Johnsbury, VT

After his near-death experience, folk artist Stephen Huneck built this lovely chapel in an ode to the spiritual bond between dogs and humans.

See also: The odd appeal of novelty architecture

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