So everyone’s number one choice for an iconic American landmark is the French designed and built Statue of Liberty? I can dig it.
Interestingly, many people outside the USA confuse the Capitol and The White House, or are not even aware that they are not the same building. It’s just that fancy white building in Washington with the president and stuff, right?
Oh wow, I didn’t realize they were different until now.
I’d add the Pentagon to the end of the list, along with Times Square.
The Statue of Liberty
Hollywood sign
Golden Gate bridge
All used heaps in travel advertisements and instantly recognisable as landmarks of the USA.
Lesser use but still recognisable
Capitol building
White House
Washington Monument
Pentagon
This sounds like a great test!
But, I don’t remember the Statue of Liberty (my vote for #1) getting vaporized in Independence Day.
Shortly after I moved here, the sights that gave me that " holy cow, I’m really here" feeling were:
1 statue of Liberty
2 White House
3 Lincoln Memorial
4 Miami Beach ( blame “Miami Vice”)
Thanks for the great answers. I now consider it basically unanimous on the Statue of Liberty.
Living in Hawaii, I wonder if Diamond Head would register. Pals in Japan and China tell that’s a symbol for “Hawaii”, not a “USA” symbol.
They feel visiting Hawaii is not the same as visiting the USA. Which I can agree with.
I’ll probably feel stupid for saying this, but I’ve been to Hawaii (just Lanai, though), and I’m American, and I have no idea what Diamond Head is.
Thank you, and correct, absolutely no insult intended.
I also take on board the fact that that “Yank” is not something that a large number of people in the USA would consider themselves to be, but in the spirit of not allowing people to choose their own nick name or what other people refer to them as, I choose to ignore that. 
nm - didn’t read the thread title
Yeah, I don’t recognize it. I’m not saying I definitely haven’t seen it before in posters or whatnot (I very well may have), but it doesn’t stand out to me personally as a recognizable structure. Like I said, I may be saying something that paints me as being pretty stupid, but I really don’t know it.
I know of it mainly because I’ve been to Oahu and Honolulu. Outside of Hawaii, it hardly comes up.
It is iconic, yes, but the “icon’s scope” (for wont of a better term) is the state of Hawaii - or maybe even just Oahu. When I’ve been to Maui or the big island, it’s not a common icon.
Well, you know what? I was just thinking. What’s my Hawaii landmark? And I thought…that volcano. Even though I don’t recognize it, I must be thinking of Diamond Head, as that’s what is showing up on Google searches for “landmark Hawaii volcano.” So, perhaps I know it, and just don’t know it.
The Statue of Liberty has a different function in movies. Showing it in a state of disrepair is indicative that this is post-apocalyptic.
Diamond Head is almost always pictured from the “side view”, commonly showing Waikiki in the foreground, as in some of the above-linked photos. You wouldn’t know just from looking at those pics that it’s a volcano crater.
Somewhat less often, one sees an aerial view photo of Diamond Head, clearly showing that it’s a crater.
I would have to google these to see what they look like.
googles
Ok, I recognise the Space Needle, but couldn’t tell you where it was or what it was called, couldn’t even tell you the country, think I’d get it confused with Toronto.
I don’t recognise the Arch at all, looks like something you might find in the Middle East.
The Statue of Liberty
Lincoln’s Memorial
The Playboy Mansion, and also in addition it’s illustrious founder, America’s Greatest Living National Treasure, Mr. Hugh Hefner. Quite seriously.
The Hollywood Sign
Las Vegas
Graceland
The Grand Canyon
The Golden Gaye of San Francisco
Mount Rushmore
Around 06 million visit the Lincoln Memorial yearly, whereas it’s closest rival of that type is Lenin’s Mausoleum; ‘More than 10 million people visited Lenin’s tomb between 1924 and 1972’ Wiki.
People wouldn’t count anything on Hawaii since it seems only temporarily in America’s custody. Either it will become free again, or America will trade it to the Chinese to wipe out part of the debt.
… you’re very strange.
More than a million people visit Les Invalides every year, mostly to see Napoleon’s tomb.
Interesting point how some non-Americans view Hawaii as a place other than “The USA”.
There’s an analogy, I think, from my American perspective. I know, intellectually, that French Guiana is 100% France under French law. It’s not an external territory, it is France. From a practical, cultural perspective, French Guiana isn’t France to me - it’s a tropical, jungle/rain forest country that might happen to have French as an official language. If someone went to French Guiana and came back and said they had “been to France”, I would assume they had been to Europe.