Historic Landmarks and Buildings

  • The Fisher Building

    The Fisher Building

    The Fisher Building, designed by Albert Kahn, was completed in 1928. It’s often called “Detroit’s largest work of art” because of its art deco style, lavish interiors, and marble finishes. Fun Facts The Fisher Building sits in the New Center area of Detroit and rises 30 stories. Joseph National Finch,…


  • Griffith Observatory

    Griffith Observatory

    The Griffith Observatory sits in the hills above Los Angeles with a view of the ocean, Hollywood, and downtown L.A. When it opened in 1896, it was only the third planetarium in the country. Fun Facts The observatory is in Griffith Park, a 3,015 acre public park. It was commissioned…


  • Salt Lake City Temple

    Salt Lake City Temple

    During the early days of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, converts experienced intense religious persecution from many people. They fled west after the governor of Missouri issued an extermination order, their leader Joseph Smith was killed, and their temple in Nauvoo, Illinois was burnt by mobs.…


  • Mesa Verde National Park

    Mesa Verde National Park

    In the Four Corners region of southern Colorado lies Mesa Verde National Park, home to the cliff dwellings of an ancient people. Imagine a huge complex of rooms carved out of sandstone and glued together with adobe mortar. Fun Facts Mesa Verde National Park was established in 1906 by President…


  • Gettysburg Battlefield

    Gettysburg Battlefield

    From July 1 through July 3, 1863, Union and Confederate soldiers fought a fierce battle in the borough of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, near the Maryland state line. When the battle ended, 8,900 soldiers lay dead on the field. 22,000 wounded soldiers were treated in homes, schools, and a hospital nearby. Today…


  • Historic Jamestowne

    Historic Jamestowne

    Established in 1607 by the Virginia Company under a charter given by King James I, Jamestown was the first English settlement in North America. Unfortunately, it was doomed to fail, but it can be remembered as America’s birthplace. Learn More England was a relatively poor country in the late 1500s…


  • Crazy Horse Memorial

    Crazy Horse Memorial

    The Crazy Horse Memorial, in the Black Hills region of South Dakota, memorializes Oglala Lakota warrior Crazy Chief. The project is funded by private donation, not the government, and has taken almost 100 years. Fun Facts In 1931, Luther Standing Bear wrote a letter to Gutzon Borglum, the sculptor of…


  • Martin Luther King Jr. National Site

    Martin Luther King Jr. National Site

    Fun Facts The African American fraternity Alpha Phi Alpha first began discussing the idea for a memorial in the 1980s. Martin Luther King Jr. joined the fraternity in 1952 when he was studying theology at Boston University. In 1996, the House and Senate approved the idea and in 1998, President…


  • Alcatraz – San Francisco

    Alcatraz has been closed since 1963, but it’s still well-known as America’s strongest (and scariest) prison. Fun Facts Alcatraz Fort was built on Alcatraz Island, 1.25 miles off the coast of San Francisco in the 1850s. It was used as a military fort until 1910 when it was refurbished and…


  • Bunker Hill Monument

    Bunker Hill Monument

    On June 16, 1775, the colonial militia in Boston received word that British soldiers, who were stationed in Boston, planned to place troops in the surrounding countryside of the Charlestown peninsula, which would give them even greater control over Boston Harbor. The militia stole to the peninsula at night, built…