While spending a couple of weeks in some of the most beautiful parks in the U.S. Rocky Mountains, I took a city break with a couple of days in Missoula, Montana. The smoke from forest fires hung in the air, giving the city an ashy-gray tint that obliterated the views of the mountains. Up close, however, Missoula’s most attractive buildings stand out, and when the smoke clears, you really get to see why this city and its architecture — whether in the historic districts, downtown, or on the campus of the University of Montana — are so attractive. Read more about the top five buildings in Missoula, Montana >
Tag Archives: United States
Visiting the Best Churches in Detroit, Michigan
Consistently ranked among the top 10 U.S. cities known for their architecture, Detroit, Michigan, boasts a wide variety of fantastic structures: private mansions, corporate skyscrapers, legendary hotels and theaters, and spectacular churches. This latter group has been painfully decimated by retreating populations, but, although their congregations may have withered, their edifices remain stalwart evidence of the city’s admirable built environment. Read more about the top five churches in Detroit >
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Oh, Cincinnati! The Queen City’s Most Beautiful Buildings
Approaching Cincinnati, Ohio, by crossing over the Ohio River on the John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge — Roebling’s precursor to the Brooklyn Bridge, one of the world’s top five bridges — is a terrific way to view the city’s skyline. It’s easy to spot some of the city’s iconic structures, like the art deco Carew Tower and Paul Brown Stadium, mixed in with modern skyscrapers. But to see the city’s best structures, you need to be closer to the ground, so I parked my rental car and took a long walk around the Queen City. Read more about the top five buildings in Cincinnati, Ohio >
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A Walk in the Arkansas Woods
I emerged from a remarkably inexpensive 90-minute spa treatment at Buckstaff Bathhouse, one of the still-functioning historic spas along Central Avenue in downtown Hot Springs, Arkansas. Having been bathed, steamed, massaged, wrapped, and pampered, my rubbery limbs and relaxed mind clamored to be coddled in one of the spa’s inviting Adirondack chairs on its front terrace, but a glorious autumn day beckoned me to commune more with nature. So I headed to nearby Garvan Woodland Gardens for a slow amble through the forest, but it turned out to be so much more than a mere walk in the woods. Read about the delightful surprises at Garvan Woodland Gardens >
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Arcades Provide Sheltered — and Beautiful — Walkways Around the World
Such a simple and practical idea: the creation of the arcade — a succession of contiguous arches, each supported by columns. You’ll see them all over the world, from Salisbury Cathedral in England to the Great Mosque of Damascus in Syria to the Old Town streets of Pisa, Italy. These sheltered walkways, often lined with shops, provide an intermission for pedestrians trying to escape torrential rains, bitter snows, blistering sunshine, and soggy/muddy/icy streets. And they do so with style and elegance. Read about the world’s top five arcades >
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Baltimore’s Best Buildings
One of the most historic cities on the East Coast of the United States, Baltimore, Maryland, has seen its fair share of ups and downs, from the attack on Fort McHenry that inspired Francis Scott Key to pen “The Star-Spangled Banner,” the creation of the world’s first dental college, and the formation of the United States’ first investment bank, first chartered railroad, first post office system, first Sunday newspaper, and first chartered water company, to the destructive Great Baltimore Fire of 1904, some fairly serious crime rates, and a population that has plummeted from nearly one million to only two-thirds of that today. Wandering around the city, I couldn’t help but appreciate its historical significance (as well as the revitalization around the Inner Harbor) and its fine architectural contributions. Read about the top five buildings in Baltimore >
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The Signature Churches of Buffalo, New York
Rising on the shore of Lake Erie at the far end of western New York State, the city of Buffalo was once an urban powerhouse thanks to its strategic location. But hard times have hit New York’s second-largest city. Buffalo has suffered from the closure of its heavy industries, losing half of its peak population of 580,000 since 1950. Despite this ongoing struggle, it remains one of the most noteworthy cities in the United States for architecture, and its churches are some of the most beautiful in the country. Read more about the top five churches in Buffalo, New York >
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Cuban Food in a Very American City
After spending the day walking around the streets of the quintessential American city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, exploring key American sites like Independence Hall, Benjamin Franklin’s grave, and the Liberty Bell, I headed to dinner at a restaurant located in a very American-looking three-story Federal-style townhouse, painted a soft pastel yellow. Was my dinner traditional American? Nope. It was Cuban. And it was delicious. Read more about Alma de Cuba >
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The Eeriest Places on Earth
If you’re planning to visit a fabricated haunted house for Halloween, or to attend a party in a costume that’s anything but frightening, I have an alternative: Go to an authentic ghost town. These abandoned places teem with vacated, decaying buildings and with the spirits of a long-vanished population. You’re unlikely to run into a vampire or a sexy French maid; a rolling tumbleweed is more probable, or the hint of an odd susurration carried on the wind that blows through the silence of these eerie, deserted places. You can find them all over the globe, from Chile to Italy to Japan, and they will give you a thrill, and a chill, like no other locations in the world. Read about the top five ghost towns >
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Visiting a Grand Estate From Another Era in Miami
Miami is a very sexy city. Its sleek architecture, trendy and outstanding restaurants (such as Havana 1957, Toscana Divino, and PM Buenos Aires), and very pretty people make it nearly impossible to imagine it as the swampy backwater it once was. Somewhere along the way, around 1900, Miami took off, but you can still visit one of the precursors of the city’s current glitz and glam at Vizcaya Museum & Gardens, a grand 1916 estate on Florida’s Biscayne Bay that still continues to attract the glitterati. Read more >
Stephen Travels 