Danville, Illinois, USA

Defining Main Street: The Fire Station. When we fall in love with a main street archtype and love services it performs, it is hard to cast it on the dumpheap of history. Fire houses, for instance, are often converted to other uses, turned into museums, or simply preserved for their exterior delights. [2015]

Durango, Colorado, USA

Defining Main Street: The Hotel. Lucky is the town with an historic hotel on Main Street. The rail lines, the regional economy (in this case mining), and local entrepreneurial ambition were usually the three factors that sustained such operations in the late 1800s. [2013]

Dillon, Montana, USA

Different geography, same adaptation to the frontier. Thousands of miles away from the East Coast (Rocky Mountains), and centuries later in time (1800s), pioneer settlers continued to make single-pen log cabins their starter homes. This one was moved into town from a nearby ranch. Imagine surviving a winter here. Single pen = single room. [2020]

Chickamauga, Georgia, USA

Unlike Europe, which had suffered centuries of deforestation, America had plentiful and easily exploited timber resources. On the frontier, therefore, single-pen log cabins became the "starter homes" of the day. This one has survived because it is on the Chickamauga battlefield and played a prominent role in Civil War military history. [2013]

Swedesboro, New Jersey, USA

Who built the first long cabins in America? The Swedes of New Sweden (which included many Finns) on the lower Delaware River. This may be the second oldest (ca. 1654) to survive. It is smaller than the Nothnagle cabin, but both are single-pen structures, originally with dirt floors. If you are into today's minimalist movement, this might be your ideal home. [2005]

Gibbstown, New Jersey, USA

The Nothnagle single-pen log cabin may be the oldest surviving log structure in the United States. (Attached house built much later.) Date: ca. 1640. Size: Larger than most. Builder: An immigrant from Sweden (though probably a Finn). The Swedish Empire (see the flag?) attempted to colonize the lower Delaware River, calling it New Sweden. [2016]

Kansas City, Missouri, USA

It looks a little too modern to be historical, but better than nothing to proclaim pride in city history. Some cities do a good job at preserving buildings. Others excel at preserving ensembles of buildings and landmarks that add up to historical landscapes. [2021]

Marksville, Louisiana, USA

Inside the outhouse was a bench with a hole that gave way to the pit toilet below, hidden from the eyes but not the nose. This one served residents of the Hypolite Bordelon House, which is now on the National Register of Historic Places. What is needed, though, is an outhouse that commands a historical marker of its own. Do any exist? [2022]

Ten Mile, Pennsylvania, USA

What used to be common is now very rare. Still, some visual evidence from the past reminds us of what life used to be like. The outhouse was a staple of the American frontier right up until the 20th century: Houses, schools, and churches, and businesses all had them. Imagine what it was like in the winter! Or even how hot it could get in the summer! [1991]

Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

The old windmill is the oldest landmark in Brisbane. It was reburbished in time for Australia's hundredth anniversary, but in the mid-1800s it was almost demolished because it was built by convict labor during the penal-colony era, which Australia was trying to live down at the time. As a backup to the wind, inmates powered the mill on a treadmill. [1988 and 2006]

Alexandria, Louisiana, USA

The Neon Era began in the 1920s and lasted into the 1960s. Only a few of the era's classic neon signs have survived, largely because they accentuate both a sense of place and a slice of time. Thanks Bentley Hotel for prioritizing historical accentuation. [2022]

Cardiff, Wales, UK

Cardiff's Mermaid Quay was developed over two decades ago. To the new waterfront was brought the Helwick Sands lightship, where it became a "floating Christian centre." Light towers have long been a favorite symbol of Christianity. Alas, the ship has since been moved to a harbor in England. [2015]

South Bethany, Delaware, USA

On the other side of that dune is the Atlantic Ocean. In order to protect the nearby Delaware Bay from enemy attack during World War II, over a dozen observation towers were built along the coast between Cape May, New Jersey, and Fenwick Island, Delaware. This is Tower #3, soon to be a magnet for coastal tourism. [2021]

Hedgesville, West Virginia, USA

What does your town have to make it proud? Perhaps something unique like an old spring house. The structure, of course, covers a source of cold water that used to serve as Hedgesville's sole water supply.  Let's hope there are some oral histories of people who would haul buckets of water home multiple times a day when they were kids. [2010]

Selby, South Dakota, USA

What does your town have to make it proud? Perhaps something unique like an old opera house. In all likelihood, though, the stage in this building served a variety of performance-hall functions. Maybe it never even hosted a real opera. But, it didn't matter: The name alone lent some class to Selby, a town which never reached even a thousand inhabitants. [2021]

Mystic, Connecticut, USA

The Charles W. Morgan has been on the water since 1841. Not only is it the nation's oldest whaling ship, it is the only one left of the wooden fleet that numbered almost 3000 at its peak. The Morgan is probably the number one reason to visit Mystic Seaport, but you can also study seventeen other historic vessels while you are there. [2018]

Brunswick, Maryland, USA

Lock 29 on the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal required a lock keeper to operate and maintain it. This was his house, perched one level above the lock so he could keep an eye on any reprobates who might be trying to skirt through without authorization. Into the lock the coal boats would slip, only to be lowered 7 feet to the level seen here. [2021]

Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA

In the city that gave the world mass produced, industrial-era beer, we are now seeing the rise of craft beer and, in this case, craft distilleries. What's even better: Central Standard is rehabbing an historic downtown building. But the name? Both central and standard just wreak of mediocrity and the industrial-era past. But, maybe that's the point. [2021]

Baltimore, Maryland, USA

Does façade preservation qualify as historical preservation? It's sometimes the only way for cities to modernize without completely destroying the spirit of place. In this case, Baltimore's signature streetscape (can you find the street sign?) will offer some 21st century office and restaurant space while maintaining the city's historic character. [2021]
 

Spring Hill, Kansas, USA

To revitalize downtown, Spring Hill relocated the old city jail from a city park to a position of prominence on one of the town's main streets. It dates back only to the 1920s and was used mainly to take care of drunkards and troublemakers. Today, it provides a history lesson about local problem solving in the not-too-distant past. [2021]