10450 Best Sights in USA

Independence Hall is flanked by Congress Hall to the west and Old City Hall to the east: three distinctive Federal-style buildings erected to house the city's growing government. But when Philadelphia became the nation's capital in 1790, the just-completed city hall was lent to the federal government. It housed the U.S. Supreme Court from 1791 to 1800; John Jay was the Chief Justice. Later, the boxlike building with a peaked roof and cupola was used as the city hall. Today an exhibit presents information about the early days of the federal judiciary.

Part of the rambling 1890s complex that houses the beloved Mine Shaft Tavern, this fascinating trove of local history recounts Madrid's legacy as a booming mining town and then a ghost town. Memorabilia from the mine operations, old photos, and the historic Engine 769 make this a fun diversion, especially with kids.

Along the oceanfront, the Old Coast Guard Station, a 1903 Lifesaving Station, contains photographic exhibits, examples of lifesaving equipment, and a gallery that depicts German U-boat activity off the coast during World War II. On the website there's current weather, tide charts, and a webcam.

In the 19th century, this graceful, gambrel-roof, early-Georgian structure—built in 1718 on land once owned by religious rebel Anne Hutchinson—also housed the city's leading bookstore. We'll preface this by saying that the only way to see inside this amazingly historic Freedom Trail site is to order up some fast food. Sadly, that's the current role this literary gem plays, but anyone stopping by can also read the plaque on the wall that shares more about its history. From 1845 to 1865, literary lights including Henry David Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and Charles Dickens visited here where many of their works were published by James T. "Jamie" Fields (founder of Ticknor and Fields). This is Freedom Trail stop 7.

In the heart of Wichita's museum district along the Arkansas River, this is a re-created 19th-century town, where historic reenactments include a trader's cabin staffed by buffalo hunters and cowboy stories at the Drovers Camp. There's a residential street where early settlers established homes such as the Marshall W. Murdock house, with its cast-iron fence and flower beds, which really bring this bygone era to life. On the 5-acre DeVore Farm, animals are milked and fed as they would have been on an 1880s farm.

The church was established in 1659, and a small wooden building was erected in 1661. It was burned down in 1663, during the Second Esopus War. Today's church (the third at the site) went up in 1852 and features an 1891 window made by the Tiffany Studios. George Clinton (first governor of New York and vice president under Thomas Jefferson) and a number of Revolutionary War soldiers are buried in the graveyard. Guided tours of the cemetery, sanctuary, and museum are offered by appointment.

Built in 1685, the oldest church in New York State is surrounded by a 3 acre burial ground that's mentioned in The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. Made of stone and hand-hewn lumber, the church is in a style typical of the northern Netherlands.

More than 100 years old and never more than 14 feet wide, this road stretches from the park's east side to the Fall River Pass (11,796 feet above sea level) on the west. The drive provides a few white-knuckle moments, as the road is steep, serpentine, and lacking in guardrails. Start at West Horseshoe Park, which has the park's largest concentrations of sheep and elk, and head up the gravel road, passing Chasm Falls.

Christian and Rosamund Baiz's family homestead is the setting for this small winery with a rustic farm setting, right down to the chickens and dog roaming the property. Operations are sustainable and organic whenever possible, and the wines are made by one of the area's top winemakers. The Cracklin' Rosé is a fun choice with flavors of orange blossom, white cherry, and cranberry. Tastings are in an small, old barn or picnic-style by the beach. Historical and agricultural tours are among the events held here.

In the graveyard of this church, the tombstone of the poet Robert Frost proclaims, "I had a lover's quarrel with the world."

This residential area was developed by Addison Mizner starting in 1925 and is beautifully landscaped with palms and cycads. Its houses are mainly Mediterranean in style, many with balconies supported by exposed wooden columns. Explore by driving northward on Paloma Avenue (Northwest 8th Avenue) from Palmetto Park Road, then weave in and out of the side streets.

You can explore the first four lakes of the Fulton Chain on a narrated sightseeing cruise aboard one of two 125-passenger boats. The 22-mi cruises usually take two hours; kids' cruises are 15 mi and take about 90 minutes. Dinner excursions are also available. From June to mid-September you may tag along on the 35-foot President Harrison as it delivers mail to lakefront camps and cottages. The mail boat service dates from 1902 and was spurred by Benjamin Harrison, whose family summered on Second Lake. The mailboat can take only 10 passengers, so reservations for this three-hour cruise are a good idea.

The oldest standing fort in Georgia was garrisoned in the War of 1812 and was the Confederate headquarters for the river batteries. Surrounded by a tidal moat, the brick fort guards Five Fathom Hole, the 18th-century deep-water port in the Savannah River. Inside you'll see exhibits that highlight the life of a soldier in the 19th century. Blacksmithing demonstrations, traditional music programs, and battle reenactments—including live cannon and musket firings—are among the attractions.

The earliest part of the fort was built as a French castle in 1726, and the complex later played a critical role in the French and Indian War (1754–63). You can watch colorful displays of cannon and musket firings, historical reenactments, 18th-century military demonstrations, and take part in archaeological programs. The fort is inside Fort Niagara State Park, 15 mi north of Niagara Falls.

This Georgian-style house was built for Governor Huey P. Long in 1930, and eight other governors lived here thereafter until 1962. The story goes that Long instructed the architect to design his home to resemble the White House, representing Long's unrealized ambition to live in the real one. Notable features on the guided tour include Long's bedroom and a secret staircase. This historic house museum also serves as the headquarters for Preserve Louisiana and functions as a venue for special events.

This grand 1838 Greek Revival mansion became Sherman's headquarters during the war. His soldiers are said to have tossed government documents out the windows and fueled their fires with Confederate money. Home to eight Georgian governors, and the founding building of Georgia College and State University, the mansion underwent a painstaking $10 million restoration in the early 2000s. Guided tours of the building are given daily on the hour. Specialty tours can be arranged in advance for an additional fee.

Elm Street, with its turn-of-the-20th-century architecture, is the heart of this appealing district. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, it has become Greensboro's most vibrant area, with lively galleries, trendy night spots, and interesting boutiques and antiques shops.

Meandering a little more than 3½ miles one-way on steadily descending terrain (elevation gain is about 750 feet), the trail dips sharply toward its end at Whites City campground. Give yourself four to five hours to complete the round-trip walk. The high desert sun can make this hike a bit taxing any time of year, especially in summer. Moderate.

One of about 80 cemeteries located within the park, this cemetery contains the resting place of famed Mammoth Cave Guide Stephen Bishop. First as an enslaved guide and then as a free man, Bishop spent almost 20 years giving tours Mammoth Cave. He is considered by many to be the cave's most famous guide and explorer. Exhibits at the site help to locate his stone within the enclosure and also discuss other African American guides of Mammoth Cave, as well as the old Mammoth Cave Estate. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the cemetery is also the final resting place to three patients from the 1842 Tuberculosis Experiment conducted in the cave.

A mine train takes you 1,500 feet underground into the Old Hundred Gold Mine for a tour of one of the area's oldest mining facilities. Your miner-guide follows the vein and operates authentic equipment to show you how mining was done in the old days. Old Hundred operated for about a century, from the first strike in 1872 until the last haul in the early 1970s. Temperatures remain at a steady 47°F, so be sure to bring a sweater or a jacket. Guided tours leave every hour on the hour from 10 am to 3 pm (arrive 15 minutes early to secure your spot). Your ticket price also covers panning for gold, silver, copper, and gemstones in the sluice boxes outside the mine.

Easily the spookiest attraction in Jim Thorpe, mostly because it’s reputedly haunted, this gray stone structure housed inmates from its construction in 1871 until it was turned into a tourist attraction in 1995. Visitors to the former prison have reported paranormal experiences, and many have had ghoulish images appear in their photos of the attraction, leading the management to start running ghost tours on Saturdays in October. The tours that take place throughout the rest of the season focus more heavily on the prison’s early history, with special focus on the execution of prisoners accused of membership in the Molly Maguire secret society.

At this 19th-century prison, felons were detained and released or detained and hanged from the gallows in back. A knowledgeable "inmate" will guide you through the men's, women's, and maximum-security cells, relaying tales of executions and the less-than-appealing sanitary conditions of the jail in its heyday. After learning the history of local crime and punishment and seeing displays of weapons and other artifacts, you can browse the surfeit of souvenirs in Gator Bob's Trading Post and the adjacent Old Store Museum.  Note that the museum is at the starting point of the Old Town Trolley Tour.

Hugging the long shoreline adjacent to the runway that served Kona's airport until 1970, this beach is flat, generally clean, and speckled with black rocks and coral bits. Mostly calm waters make for good snorkeling, and a few accessible small coves of white sand offer safe water entry and tide pools for children. Shady areas are good for picnics or admiring the Kona skyline, complete with a whale (in season) and a cruise ship or two. A well-tended community garden, jogging trail, and dog park opposite the runway are worth checking out. Just north, an offshore surf break known as Old A's is popular with local surfers. It's usually not crowded, but this area can get busy on weekends. Amenities: parking (no fee); showers; toilets. Best for: sunset; walking.

Southern Nevada's oldest historic site was built by Mormons in 1855 to give refuge to travelers along the Salt Lake–Los Angeles trail, many of whom were bound for the California goldfields. Left to Native Americans after the gold rush, the adobe fort was later revitalized by a miner and his partners. In 1895 it was turned into a resort, and the city's first swimming pool was constructed by damming Las Vegas Creek. Today the restored fort contains more than half the original bricks. Antiques and artifacts help to re-create a turn-of-the-20th-century Mormon living room.

This museum occupies a stone citadel with an attached lighthouse tower originally built in 1823 and rebuilt on higher ground 17 years later. Climb to the top of the tower for a spectacular view of Long Island Sound and three states. Six rooms of exhibits depict the maritime and agricultural history of the small coastal town.

Built in 1816 as a gristmill for the San Gabriel Mission, the mill is the state's oldest commercial building and one of the last remaining examples in Southern California of Spanish Mission architecture. The thick adobe walls and textured ceiling rafters give the interior a sense of quiet strength. Outside, a chipped section of the mill's exterior reveals the layers of brick, ground seashell paste, and ox blood used to hold the structure together. The surrounding gardens, an accredited arboretum, are reason enough to visit, with a flower-decked arbor and old sycamores and oaks. In summer, the Capitol Ensemble performs in the garden.

The workers who toiled inside the sturdy, steep-roofed stone building that holds the Old Mill Museum once processed 300 barrels of flour a day for the Maxwell Ranch and the Jicarilla Apache reservation. Now the mill houses four floors of vintage photos, clothing, tools, and memorabilia depicting life in Colfax County from the 1860s into the 20th century.

To see one of the outdoor oases that make Mill Valley so appealing, follow Throckmorton Avenue west from Lytton Square to Old Mill Park, a shady patch of redwoods that shelters a playground and reconstructed sawmill. The park also hosts September's annual Mill Valley Fall Arts Festival. From the park, Cascade Way winds its way past creek-side homes to the trailheads of several forest paths.

A Missoula landmark along the river's south shore, this 1910 passenger depot, with Romanesque windows, a Spanish-style roof, two towers, and mission-style parapet walls, is on the National Register of Historic Places. It's now the national headquarters of the Boone and Crockett Club, an organization founded in 1887 by Theodore Roosevelt to establish conservation of wild habitats. Open to the public is a display of a world-record taxidermied elk, bighorn sheep, and other wildlife.