# Your local, unknown tourist attraction. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 21, 2018, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-local-unknown-tourist-attraction/826493 "2018-12-21T14:58:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2018, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-local-unknown-tourist-attraction/826493/21 "2018-12-22T17:44:30Z")
A couple of times a year, they give pretty cool tours of the lower level of the Detroit-Superior Bridge, one of the major bridges across the river. Originally, the upper level of the bridge was for cars and pedestrians, and the lower level was for streetcars, but the streetcars went away not long after the bridge was finished, and now the lower level isn’t used for anything. Few non-locals have heard of it, but a lot have seen it: The remains of the underground streetcar station on the west end (Cleveland’s only subway station) were Loki’s secret lair in _The Avengers_. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2018, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-local-unknown-tourist-attraction/826493/22 "2018-12-22T23:56:34Z")
My favorite spots in San Francisco are the sudden, unexpected views. Even after coming across them many times they can still take my breath away. These are some of the places I make sure to take visitors. Two examples: driving north on 19th Avenue, which is a major N/S thoroughfare, you’re driving along and you see greenery ahead, which is Golden Gate Park, and then a bit later you see the nearest spire of the Golden Gate Bridge sort of floating above the green, and in the right light it is wonderful. Or, driving up Market St. where it goes uphill and turns into Portola Dr., and then you turn left on Diamond Hts Blvd, and as you go around the curve the whole city is spread out in front of you. Better, to me, than going up to Twin Peaks, partly because it catches you by surprise but also because it’s not nearly so windy down there, and the city is closer and more real-looking. Other than that, there’s a whole cottage industry of finding and writing about little nooks and crannies around the city. I do volunteer tree care for young street trees, and one thing I love about that is that it takes me all over the city to places I never would have gone otherwise. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2018, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-local-unknown-tourist-attraction/826493/23 "2018-12-23T01:41:30Z")
I don’t think [Uvas Canyon County Park](https://www.sccgov.org/sites/parks/parkfinder/Pages/UvasCanyon.aspx) is known by many outside of the south bay area. Situated in a deep narrow canyon, there are 5 decent-sized waterfalls and lot of nice little cascades to see along the creekside trail that runs a couple of miles up the canyon. Of course the creek and falls don’t run much outside of the wet season, but it’s a good spot to hike almost any time of year. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2018, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-local-unknown-tourist-attraction/826493/24 "2018-12-23T02:11:47Z")
In the Chicago suburbs, there is the [Leaning Tower of Niles](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leaning_Tower_of_Niles). ---
**Author:** ![lingyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d2c977/32.png) [@lingyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lingyi)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2018, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-local-unknown-tourist-attraction/826493/25 "2018-12-23T02:27:47Z")
I’ve posted about his on another thread, but I highly encourage anyone visiting Oahu, Hawaii go to Hawaii’s Plantation Village, located in Waipahu, Hawaii. [http://www.hawaiiplantationvillage.org/](http://www.hawaiiplantationvillage.org/) It’s a recreation with some original homes of the various immigrant groups who made Hawaii the unique multi-cultural place it is. Be sure to get a guided tour as you’ll get just a fraction of plantation history with just the signs and displays. There’s even benches and tables where you can have your own lunch. I guarantee your stories and perspective of Hawaii after your visit will be much different than just talking about Waikiki and the Polynesian Cultural Center. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2018, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-local-unknown-tourist-attraction/826493/26 "2018-12-23T03:26:06Z")
It depends how you define local, but within an hour or so of me there are two nice ones. _The Marcella Sembrich Opera Museum_ in Bolton Landing, NY. Sembrich was a big name opera star in the late 1800s and the museum – her former teaching studio – holds all her memorabilia. They also have concerts in the summer. _The Hyde Collection_ in Glens Falls, NY. The Hydes were millionaire paper factory owners with a love of art and a good eye for what has lasting value. The museum is based in the former Hyde family home (though a museum wing has been added) and the atmosphere is that of a house – furniture, bookcases, a solarium, bedrooms – with art on the wall. It sneaks up on you: I started admiring a painting than hung in a corner of the library, then read the description to realize it was a Rembrandt. There’s also work by Picasso, van Gogh, many of the French Impressionists, and many more, including many more modern artists. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2018, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-local-unknown-tourist-attraction/826493/27 "2018-12-23T03:34:54Z")
Sutter’s Fort > **[Sutter's Fort](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sutter%27s_Fort)** > > Sutter's Fort was a 19th-century agricultural and trade colony in the Mexican Alta California province. The site of the fort was established in 1839 and originally called New Helvetia (New Switzerland) by its builder John Sutter, though construction of the fort proper would not begin until 1841. The fort was the first non-indigenous community in the California Central Valley. The fort is famous for its association with the Donner Party, the California Gold Rush, and the formation of the After go... ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2018, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-local-unknown-tourist-attraction/826493/28 "2018-12-23T18:52:09Z")
We [have a piece of Plymouth Rock](http://www.eyeonmichigan.com/guides/plymouth/historicplaces.php) here in Plymouth, Michigan. And of course, we’re the historical home of the famous Daisy Red Ryder BB gun from _A Christmas Story_. ---
**Author:** ![Topologist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/topologist/32/3208_2.png) [@Topologist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Topologist)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2018, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-local-unknown-tourist-attraction/826493/29 "2018-12-23T22:55:56Z")
> [@MEBuckner](#): > > Around these parts we’ve got [the Big Chicken](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Chicken). > [@jackdavinci](#): > > Also out East [on Long Island] is a gift shop shaped like a giant duck not far from a mounted jet. I was also going to mention the [Big Duck](http://bigduck.org/). Since that’s been done already, I’ll throw in the [Sandminers Monument](http://www.sandminers.com/). Most of the sand that went into the concrete used to build New York City was mined on Long Island’s Cow Neck peninsula (now Port Washington). A big deal locally, probably not so much to anyone else. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2018, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-local-unknown-tourist-attraction/826493/30 "2018-12-23T23:15:10Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > _The Hyde Collection_ in Glens Falls, NY. The Hydes were millionaire paper factory owners with a love of art and a good eye for what has lasting value. The museum is based in the former Hyde family home (though a museum wing has been added) and the atmosphere is that of a house – furniture, bookcases, a solarium, bedrooms – with art on the wall. I’ve been there! It’s definitely a unique place. The home - and its well-manicured and -gardened grounds - is definitely nearly half of the draw. > [@](#): > > It sneaks up on you: I started admiring a painting than hung in a corner of the library, then read the description to realize it was a Rembrandt. There’s also work by Picasso, van Gogh, many of the French Impressionists, and many more, including many more modern artists. Heh. I had the opposite experience at the Cleveland Museum of Art. Out of the corner of my eye from quite far away I saw lots of stuff that was clearly a Pollock or Tiffany for instance. One that did sneak up on me was a Bougereau, which I simply thought looked _similar_ to him but did not think it likely to actually be by him since a lot of the Academic painters look similar. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2018, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-local-unknown-tourist-attraction/826493/31 "2018-12-24T01:51:21Z")
Washington DC has a statue to the man who invented the screw propeller ([John Ericsson Memorial - Wikipedia](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Ericsson_National_Memorial)) and the Big Chair ([Chair (sculpture) - Wikipedia](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chair_(sculpture))). ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2018, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-local-unknown-tourist-attraction/826493/32 "2018-12-24T05:35:13Z")
Belleville, Ontario, has the inexplicable Glanmore House: > **[About Glanmore](https://www.glanmore.ca/en/about-glanmore/about-glanmore.aspx?_mid_=41513)** > > Learn more about Glanmore National Historic Site, site restoration, Second Empire architecture, the original residents, servants, museum staff and leave customer feedback. Yes, it’s a museum run by the city. Yes, it’s a rich man’s house from the 1880s. But the inexplicable part is that it’s a _National Historic Site_. Is ‘exceptional Second Empire architecture’ really _that_ important? In more prosaic obscurity, about thirty minutes away via the 401 is the Big Apple: > **[Big Apple Canada | The Home of apple pies, bread & Tarts](https://thebigapple.ca/)** > > Welcome to the home of delicious apple pies, including Dutch apple pies, bread with apple cinnamon bread, and other apple-inspired goodies! the best pie shop in Toronto come visit us at Colborne Ontario, Canada. It’s your standard promotional tourist attraction with gift shop, kiddie attractions, etc, built around the local apple crop. It has a three-storey-tall model of an apple, placed to be easily visible from the freeway. We drove past it today, and discovered that it has a disturbing cartoon face painted on the apple… ---
**Author:** ![Ashtura](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ashtura/32/2963_2.png) [@Ashtura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashtura)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2018, 7:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-local-unknown-tourist-attraction/826493/33 "2018-12-24T07:09:36Z")
A stone’s throw from my house is Cooch’s Bridge, site of the revolutionary war [Battle of Cooch’s Bridge](https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Cooch%2527s_Bridge&ved=2ahUKEwirpYbz8bffAhWkVN8KHSCSAXEQFjACegQIBBAB&usg=AOvVaw2q3xheYCIBH71gRHybqfKq&cshid=1545634709673), where apparently 20 people were killed. Nevertheless, I’ve always found the name amusing. There is an old house by the bridge that serves as sort of a museum, which I still haven’t bothered to visit. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2018, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-local-unknown-tourist-attraction/826493/34 "2018-12-24T11:41:05Z")
Where I live in London, we have the remains of the slipway from which the then biggest ship in the world was launched in the 1850s: > **[The SS Great Eastern's Launch Ramp, Millwall](https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryMagazine/DestinationsUK/SS-Great-Easterns-Launch-Ramp/)** > > At the south western tip of Millwall on the Isle of Dogs in East London lies the remains of Brunel's… And not far away, in the middle of our city farm is a restored WW2 anti-aircraft gun post: > **[A restored WW2 anti-aircraft gun by Canary Wharf](https://www.ianvisits.co.uk/articles/a-restored-ww2-anti-aircraft-gun-by-canary-wharf-8327/)** > > Amongst the fluffy bunnies and clucking chickens that can be found at the Mudchute city farm sits a now silent visitor - a World War Two era anti-aircraft gun. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-local-unknown-tourist-attraction/826493.md?page=1)