Where bizarre is the norm, the wonderfully weird and wacky Ripley’s Believe It or Not museum in St Augustine is a treasure trove of oddities, but also a site steeped in rich history. The museum is housed in the historic Castle Warden built in 1887 as a winter retreat for America’s Elite during the winter […]
St. Elizabeths Hospital opened in 1855 in Washington, D.C., as the Government Hospital for the Insane—the first federally operated psychiatric facility in the United States. The West Campus, which included the original Center Building designed under Kirkbride Plan principles, housed thousands of patients through the 19th and 20th centuries. During the Civil War, portions of […]
The Philadelphia State Hospital at Byberry began in 1907 as a small work farm for the mentally ill in Northeast Philadelphia. Originally called Byberry Mental Hospital, it was intended to follow early psychiatric treatment philosophies that aimed to isolate and cure mental illness. The facility expanded significantly over the following decades, with most of its […]
The original portion of the Salem Jail complex—including the granite jail and the brick, Federal-style Jail Keeper’s House—was constructed between 1811 and 1813. The complex was expanded in 1884–1885 with a western addition that closely matched the original structure, aside from the addition of octagonal cupolas. A carriage house, likely built around the same time, […]
In September 1609, English explorer Henry Hudson sailed into what is now New York Harbor aboard the Dutch ship Half Moon. He was searching for a westward passage to Asia on behalf of the Dutch East India Company, but instead found the mouth of a wide river that would later bear his name. Hudson and […]
Frank Sinatra’s deep affection for Patsy’s Italian restaurant is legendary, located on West 56th Street just south of Columbus Circle, Patsy’s has been a staple of New York’s dining scene since 1944. Founded by Pasquale “Patsy” Scognamillo, the restaurant has remained a family-run establishment, now led by his grandson Chef Sal Scognamillo. Sinatra’s connection to […]
A large part of the natural beauty of the South, is the silver garland that hangs from the live oak trees just about everywhere. The image of beautiful Spanish moss hanging from majestic trees, instantly reminds us of sultry summer days. In the oldest city, there lies a stretch of road that looks like it’s […]
This video is offered with gratitude to the women and men who fought for what they believed in, who strove for freedom, who preserved the peace, who built up our nation, and who defended our liberty. There are monuments and memorials from every state, telling history through art and architecture. The music, “Beeswax & Sheepskin”, […]
Take a walk on the macabre side of human history at the Medieval Torture Museum. It reminds us just how much suffering humanity can inflict in the name of cause and justice, when the right tools are placed in the hands of fanatics, madmen and tyrants. If you have ever seen the movie “Braveheart”, you’ll […]
There’s a hidden gem in Fort Lauderdale, a Caribbean style estate where the walls whisper tales of the past and the gardens flourish with an almost magical life of their own. By the time early settler Hugh Taylor Birch purchased the Bonnet House site in 1895, the grounds had already witnessed 4,000 years of Florida […]
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