117 Best Sights in USA

The Roman Catholic cathedral often has standing-room only on Saturday afternoon, as visitors pray for luck—and sometimes drop casino chips into the collection cups during the tourist-friendly mass. According to tradition, a priest known as the "chip monk" periodically collects the chips and takes them to the respective casinos to cash them in. There are daily masses, with four on Sundays.

Constructed in 1859 by New England missionaries, this church is known for its services in Hawaiian and for the choir, which sings hymns in Hawaiian. In 1902, Hawaiian musical legends Harry K. Naope Sr. and Albert Nahalea Sr. began the choral traditions still practiced by their descendants. The church, with its iconic yellow spire, has an interesting history that dates to 1824 when it was a thatched structure.

In this area where the prevailing architecture is modern strip-mall, the Holy Assumption in Kenai's cute Old Town stands out with its bright teal onion-shaped domes. Completed in 1896, it's the oldest standing Russian Orthodox church in Alaska. The church has a small gift shop and offers daily tours.

The ornate Russian Orthodox church is a visual feast, both inside and out. The cross-shaped building is topped by two onion-shaped blue domes, and the interior contains brass candelabra, distinctive chandeliers, and numerous icons representing Orthodox saints. Three different churches have stood on this site since 1794. The present structure, which still operates as a church, dates to 1945.

Highlights of this stunning church, which was established in 1832 and rebuilt in 1857, include a gleaming, restored koa interior and unusual wooden calabashes hanging from the ceiling. Be careful not to walk in while a service is in progress, as the front entry is behind the pulpit.

A handful of structures remain from the communities that existed before this park was established including three churches: Mammoth Cave Baptist Church, Good Spring Church, and Joppa Church. Joppa Church was established in 1862, but the present building was built around 1900. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1991. An outdoor exhibit gives some of its history.

Called Hawaii's Westminster Abbey, this historic house of worship was completed in 1842 and witnessed the coronations, weddings, and funerals of generations of Hawaiian royalty. Each of the building's 14,000 coral blocks was quarried from reefs offshore at depths of more than 20 feet and transported to this site. Interior woodwork was created from the forests of the Koolau Mountains, and the upper gallery displays paintings of the royal families. The graves of missionaries and of King Lunalilo are adjacent. Services in English, with songs and prayers in Hawaiian, are held each Sunday (Kawaiahao's affiliation is United Church of Christ). You can follow a free audio tour of the church and grounds or just look around by yourself.

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the rustic chapel has been hosting wedding ceremonies since 1942; it's a landmark on the South Strip, the doors often thrown open to provide views of the candlelit interior. The six basic wedding packages range from the simple The Elopement for the couple only (no guests), to the Desert Stardust, with unlimited guests, a 24-rose bouquet, limo for six to the chapel, a professional photography session, and more. You can choose a traditional minister to officiate, or you can get Elvis, a Mini Elvis, or Johnny Cash. The chapel also offers weddings at the nearby Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign if you're—you know—a traditionalist, or at the Las Vegas Harley-Davidson dealership, for hog lovers. Options include gowns, tuxes, cakes, a livestream, videos, and more.

A delicate Gothic church modeled after Sainte-Chapelle in Paris, Loretto was built in 1878 by the same French architects and Italian stonemasons who built St. Francis Cathedral, and is known for the "Miraculous Staircase" that leads to the choir loft. Legend has it that the chapel was almost complete when it became obvious that there wasn't room to build a staircase to the choir loft. In answer to the prayers of the cathedral's nuns, a mysterious carpenter arrived on a donkey, built a 20-foot staircase (using only a square, a saw, and a tub of water to season the non-native wood) and then disappeared as quickly as he came. Many of the faithful believed it was St. Joseph himself. The staircase contains two complete 360-degree turns with no central support; no nails were used in its construction. Adjoining the chapel are a small museum and gift shop.

Two miles from the visitor center along Flint Ridge Road stands one of three churches that remain from the time before the park was formed. In its adjacent cemetery lies the resting place of the ill-fated cave explorer Floyd Collins, as well as people from the communities that called the area home before it became a national park. Note: The cemeteries in the park are places of repose for the dead. Please respect their sanctity when you visit.

As the oldest unrestored stone church in the United States, Mission Concepción looks much like it did when it was dedicated in 1755. It is a fine example of Spanish Colonial architecture, and was known for its colorful frescoes, most of which are long gone. The most striking remaining fresco is the "Eye of God" on the ceiling of the library, a face from which rays of light emanate.

The southernmost mission, Acequia was named for St. Francis of Assisi, founder of the monastic order of Franciscans. The mission's full name is Mission San Francisco de la Espada. It includes an Arab-inspired aqueduct that was part of the missions' famous acequia water management system.

On a visit to Mission San Juan, you'll find a white exterior and Romanesque arches on on the outside while the inside has a serene chapel and a small museum. This mission once supplied all its own needs, from cloth to crops. The shaded Yanaguana Trail behind the mission winds along the low river-bottom land and provides a look at many indigenous plants along with wildlife like turtles, owls, and snakes. The San Antonio Food Bank has a partnership with the Farm at Mission San Juan to create a living demonstration farm fed by a historic acequia (community-operated water canal).

The National Shrine of San Gennaro, a replica of the grotto at Lourdes, is the high point of Most Precious Blood Church's richly painted interior but otherwise the church has a very local feel. It becomes a focal point during the annual Feast of San Gennaro. Tours of the church and the nearby St. Patrick’s Old Cathedral can be booked through  www.tommysnewyork.com.

In 1787, Rev. Richard Allen, a former slave, galvanized fellow black congregants who left St. George's Methodist Church in a protest against segregated worship. Allen purchased this site in 1791, and it's believed to be the country's oldest parcel of land continuously owned by African Americans. When the African Methodist Episcopal Church, America’s first black congregation, was formed in 1816, Allen was its first bishop. The current church is an example of the 19th-century Romanesque Revival style, with broad arches, opalescent stained glass, and stunning woodwork. An earlier building on these grounds was a stop on the Underground Railroad. Allen's tomb and a small museum are on the lower level.

Gospel-music fans are drawn to the home of the state's largest Black congregation. The church's first gatherings began in 1889; back then, its prayer meetings were held in homes and in a store. The church, a designated official Seattle landmark, was incorporated in 1903, and after a number of moves, settled in its current simple but sturdy brick building. Eighteen stained-glass windows, each with an original design that honors a key Black figure, glow within the sanctuary. Beneath the bell tower, James Washington's sculpture The Oracle of Truth, a gray boulder carved with the image of a lamb, is dedicated to children struggling to find truth.

Designed by Robert Smith in 1768, Old Pine is the only remaining Colonial Presbyterian church and churchyard in Philadelphia. Badly damaged during the Revolution, it served as a hospital and then a stable. In the mid–19th century, its exterior had a Greek Revival facelift that introduced Corinthian columns. In the 1980s, the interior walls and ceiling were stenciled with thistle and wave motifs, a reminder of Old Pine's true name—Third, Scots, and Mariners Presbyterian Church—which documented the congregation's mergers. The beautifully restored church is painted in soft shades of periwinkle and yellow. In the churchyard are the graves of 100 Hessian soldiers from the Revolution, and that of Eugene Ormandy, former conductor of the Philadelphia Orchestra.

Members of Old South Meeting House, of Tea Party fame, decamped to this new site in 1873, a move not without controversy. In an Italian Gothic style inspired by the art critic John Ruskin and with an interior decorated with Venetian mosaics and stained-glass windows, the "new" structure could hardly be more different from the plain meetinghouse they vacated. The sanctuary is free and open to the public seven days a week.

The architectural centerpiece here is a stark-white 1888 Carpenter Gothic church that overlooks the town and the bay from its hillside perch. Surrounding the church, which was dedicated as a historical monument in 1959, is a wildflower preserve that's spectacular in May and June, when the rare Tiburon paintbrush and Tiburon black jewel flower bloom. Expect a steep walk uphill to reach the preserve. The Landmarks Society arranges guided tours by appointment. The hiking trails behind the Landmark wind up to a peak that has views of the entire Bay Area.

In 1733 a tiny chapel was established by Jesuits for Philadelphia's 11 Catholic families. It was one of the first places in the English-speaking colonies where Catholic mass could be legally celebrated, a right granted under William Penn's 1701 Charter of Privileges, which guaranteed religious freedom. But freedom didn't come easy; on one occasion Quakers had to patrol St. Joseph's to prevent a Protestant mob from disrupting services. The present church, built in 1839, is the third on this site. The late-19th-century stained-glass windows are notable.

The city's second-oldest Catholic church, circa 1763, became its first cathedral when the city's archdiocese was formed in 1810. Though the interior was renovated in the 1960s, the stained-glass windows and brass chandeliers that once hung in the Founders Room of Independence Hall are historic highlights. Commodore John Barry, a Revolutionary War naval hero, and other famous Philadelphians are buried in the small churchyard.

The congregation of this 1724 church was established in 1712. The house of worship itself was turned into a hospital during the Civil War, and gravestones were brought inside to serve as operating tables. While on church grounds, stroll the peaceful cemetery and read the fascinating inscriptions.

Named after King George II, this church still serves the Anglican parish established in 1721. It was built in 1737 with bricks brought from England.

One of Chicago's African American cornerstones, this church was founded in 1847 and served as an Underground Railroad stop. The present building, designed by Henry Starbuck, opened in 1891, and the rough-finished brick exterior is in keeping with the time. The interior has a tin ceiling and simple stained-glass windows. Many notable people have addressed the congregation, including President William B. McKinley, Booker T. Washington, and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Churchgoers staying in the South Strip area stagger into this beautiful Roman Catholic church for mass seven days a week. Among the more popular offerings are the Sunday masses, with three in English, one in Spanish and one in traditional Latin.

A tower, arched doorways, and a large round window form bold masses on the exterior of this church, designed in 1887 by Daniel Burnham and John Root. The Romanesque interior, with vaulted arches, gives a feeling of breadth and spaciousness. The parish was organized to serve Irish workers at the nearby Union Stock Yards.

A massive-walled adobe structure built by Franciscan missionaries between 1776 and 1795, this is the oldest shrine in the United States to Our Lady of Guadalupe, Mexico's patron saint. The church's adobe walls are nearly 3 feet thick, and among the sanctuary's religious art and artifacts is a beloved image of Nuestra Virgen de Guadalupe, painted by Mexican master Jose de Alcibar in 1783. Highlights are the traditional New Mexican carved and painted altar screen called a reredos, an authentic 19th-century sacristy, a pictorial-history archive, a library devoted to Archbishop Jean Baptiste Lamy that is furnished with many of his belongings, and a garden with plants from the Holy Land.

Constructed in 1874, this handsome Gothic Revival church was designed by James Renwick, also the architect of the Smithsonian's Castle and New York City's St. Patrick's Cathedral. The National Historic Landmark features one of the largest collections of Tiffany stained-glass windows anywhere.

Completed in 1923 and built to accommodate the area's growing number of Italian immigrants, this church is the oldest continuously operating Italian American church in Chicago. Its Romanesque Revival style was popular with the famous church architects Worthman and Steinbach, and its interior is filled with statues and striking stained-glass windows. 

If the crowds become overwhelming, and you have access to a vehicle, consider a visit to the Shrine of St. Thérèse, "out the road"—it's a peaceful site that's perfect for quiet contemplation. Built in the 1930s, this beautiful stone church and its 15 stations of the cross are the only structures on a serene tiny island accessible via a 400-foot-long pedestrian causeway. Visitors enjoy the Merciful Love Labyrinth, the black-granite Columbarium, and the floral gardens along the Good Shepherd Rosary Trail. Sunday services are held at 1:30 pm from Memorial Day through Labor Day. For those wishing to explore the area for more than a few hours, the shrine offers a lodge and four rental cabins that run the gamut from rustic to resplendent. A round-trip taxi ride may cost $60 or more.