Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA

The Minneapolis-St. Paul metro hosts the headquarters of 26 Fortune 1000 companies. In Minneapolis, itself, are U.S. Bancorp, Target, Ameriprise Financial, Alina Health, and Sleep Number, among others. U.S. Bank Plaza is easy to pick out, but the tallest building is now home to online Capella University. 3M, GM, and Best Buy are in the suburbs. [2021]

Chicago, Illinois, USA

As the first skyscraper north of the Chicago River, the Wrigley Building became the leading edge of vertical urbanism in the 1920s. Its size and stunning design visually dominated the Magnificent Mile for the next 75 years. Then, it got some competition from the Trump Tower and a high-rise condo nearby. Compare the view now with the skyline in 2006. [2021]

Deep Creek Lake, Maryland, USA

Of the ten smallest states, Maryland packs the most topographic variety into its political shell (sorry, Massachusetts). What unites that variety is the value of water: Atlantic Ocean, Chesapeake Bay, Potomac River, and Deep Creek Lake. Maryland's largest lake should be proud to be included in a list like that! [2021]

Brunswick, Georgia, USA

Fifteen states, including Maine, Maryland, and Georgia, have a town named Brunswick. What landscape elements tell you that this is the one in Georgia, not the one in Maine or Maryland, or even Brunswick County, Virginia? In which one of these four Brunswicks did the famous Brunswick stew originate? [2009]

Brunswick, Maryland, USA

Brunswick, Maine, has the Androsgoggin. Brunswick, Maryland, has the Potomac, lots of trumpet vines, and just one purple bench. Thirteen other states also have a town named Brunswick. So, what's a -wick? In this case, a settlement. And brun, of course, means brown. [2021]

Brunswick, Maine, USA

Androscoggin River: Maine's third longest (1) penetrates the Maine woods, giving access to the sea at Brunswick, and (2) drops off an ancient crystalline core rather dramatically, providing numerous knickpoints for water-powered mills. Now, those woods and knickpoints are being repurposed for recreation, as pulp and textile mills fade into history. [2008]

Columbia, Pennsylvania, USA

Susquehanna River: The Susquehanna is so wide, the number of bridge crossings is limited. This one carries the old Lincoln Highway. Why does the Susquehanna feel slighted? Because it thinks the Chesapeake Bay should rightfully be called the Susquehanna Bay since it was created by the downcutting action of the river and its former tributaries. [2013]

Bismarck, North Dakota, USA

Missouri River: "I'm bound away, 'cross the wide Missouri." As the longest river in North America, the wide Missouri feels slighted when it's called a tributary of the Mississippi. It also feels slighted when people notice the wide Missouri doesn't end at the sea, but 430 feet above sea level, and that it has no delta to be proud of. At least, it's wide (and long)! [2021]

Moorefield, West Virginia, USA

 

"Supporting every thin line": It started with the "thin blue line" to honor the police. It then morphed into other thin lines: The thin red line honors firefighters; the thin silver line honors corrections officers; the thin yellow line honors emergency dispatchers; and the thin green line honors the military and conservation officials. Neat! [2021]

New York, New York, USA

Manhattan's Garment District should really be called the Fashion District. Garment manufacturing has been experiencing a steady decline, but the concentration of the world's most favored labels continues to light up the neighborhood with sparks of new ideas for looking good. By whatever name, though, push carts and porters continue their traditional roles. [2018]

Horrel Hill, South Carolina, USA

An abandoned filling station: When you pass through Horrel Hill, there are no reminders of the past. All you can see is a gas station in ruins. It's hard to believe this was once the county seat of Richland County; that is, until Columbia was built (smack-dab in the middle of the state) to be the state capital. It was then that the eclipse began. [2020]

Gardi, Georgia, USA

An abandoned apiary: Only the sign remains to remind attentive travelers that it was once part of the county's economic base. It may sit idle now, but it's not an eyesore. It's an invitation to think about Gardi's past and what the town was like when this was the post office. A decade ago, Gardi was removed from the state highway map, and then put back! [2007]

Roggen, Colorado, USA

An abandoned motel: There is little left of the lodge and little left of the town. Yet, Roggen is located near an Interstate highway interchange. The initial thinking about Interstates was that they would breathe new life into small towns. The reality has turned out to be just the opposite: They draw people away to larger urban centers (like Denver). [2019]

Kingwood, West Virginia, USA

The bipeds (four of them: count the feet) are feeding the quadruped (count the paws). Lucky kids: They get to see the species that has inspired so many stories and cartoons. Poor bear: He has nothing to do but pad around his cage and wait for food to tumble down that oblique green tube into his lair. [2021]

Columbia, South Carolina, USA

Feeling sleepy? Whether for a nap or a full night's sleep, wouldn't it be nice to just hollow out a pit and make it your bed no matter where you happened to end up? Such grizzly habits might represent the ultimate in becoming a minimalist, a lifestyle being championed by many millennials. [2020]

Gulf Breeze, Florida, USA

Remember "those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer" when you felt like he looks? Remember those days of hot dogs and pretzels and beer? Thanks Nat King Cole for giving us a lens (now almost six decades old) through which to see the world. [2018]

Washington, DC, USA

Respected President + Prestigous Architect = Worst memorial on or off the National Mall. It was dedicated less than a year ago but seems anchored in the design ideas of the last century with some contemporary elements that just don't work. You'll have to visit to experience the full negative effect. Too bad for Ike (whose full name should be under the quote)! [2021]

Cashtown, Pennsylvania, USA

The Round Barn: Like the Schuster Barn and the Emminger Barn, the round barn in Pennsylvania's orchard country was built in the early 20th century. It's the eye-catching centerpiece of a working farm that seems to be capitalizing on current trends in rural economics. The barn is now a produce and crafts market, and right across the road is a winery. [2021 and 1986]

Watertown, South Dakota, USA

The Corson Emminger Barn: What would you do with a round barn if you had one on your property? This one was built in the early 20th century and now seems to have put its Dakota Dairy days behind it. Too bad it seems to be a bit neglected. Even the ramp that used to lead up to the second story entrance has been removed. [2007]

Deerfield, Wisconsin, USA

The Schuster Barn: When you have something unique, capitalize on it! The round Schuster Barn has been turned into Schuster's Farm (see logo below), which now offers seasonal produce and activities for much of the year. Fortunately, it is located not far from the Madison metropolitan area which supplies a steady flow of customers. [1985]

Baltimore, Maryland, USA

The day may have been dreary, but the music was cheery: thanks to this busker and his plastic drums. Want to hear what he sounds like? Check out the clip below. Want to see his counterpart perform in northern Thailand? Check out this clip from a decade ago. Want to hear what he might sound like in Holland? Here's another clip. [2021]

Otrobanda, Willemstad, Curaçao

"The handsome devil pictured here may not look like much of a meal to you, but it is indeed a Delicacy and an important part of Curacao's culinary tradition! A MUST TRY!" What more can be said? [2017]

Road Town, Tortola, British Virgin Islands

What does Road Town, Tortola, have in common with Hampton Roads, Virginia? Their names. Both are roadsteads, deep-water places along the coast that are less sheltered than harbors. Hampton Roads has turned its roadstead into the world's largest naval base, and Road Town has evolved into one of the sailing capitals of the Caribbean. [2014]

Cinnamon Bay, St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands

St. John is just one of the Virgin Islands. It is one of the American Virgins. But there are also two other groups of Virgins: the British Virgins to the east and the so-called Spanish Virgins to the west. But the Spanish Virgins are part of Puerto Rico. All are part of the Greater Antilles, even though none of them are greater, in size at least. [2014]

Cairo, Egypt

Middle Eastern suqs regale aliens with an array of unrecognizable curiosities for sale. In the 1990s, before the Internet, it took many conversations with locals to unravel the story behind these 'twigs' (really roots). Now, just pop miswak into a search bar and you will get a surfeit of information on what is usually called a traditional Islamic toothbrush. [2001]

Tbilisi, Georgia

Read it as you would English: from left to right. It's Georgian, a unique language related only to a few others (Svan, Mingrelian, Laz) in one of the world's premier linguistic refuge areas, the Caucasus Mountains, a place where a passel of ancient tongues holds on for dear life. [2015]

Amman, Jordan

Remember: Read right to left. It's Arabic. This global company's logo has changed, but do you recognize it? If so, you can read Arabic. It shares a letter with one we learned last month when we looked at Coca-Cola in Tunis. It begins the second word of the company's name, transliterated (but not translated!) into Arabic. Here's a hint. [2001]

Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

When this picture was taken (see the date in brackets?) the independent UAE had not even reached its majority (i.e., it had not turned 21). As a young nation, it could not quite figure out how to fit together the global jigsaw. Look closely. See Australia? Where's Tasmania? Sea the Mediterraean? There's Tasmania! [1992]

Arthurdale, West Virginia, USA

Museum-quality pumps have become the visual anchor of the filling station that served residents of Arthurdale for almost four decades. Arthurdale was a planned community designed to lift people (mostly miners and farmers) out of the Great Depression by making them homesteaders. Over 100 original buildings are still standing. [2021]

Oakland, Maryland, USA

Just a Marvel-ous mural, don't you agree? "Our Local Heroes" are being artistically honored in communities all across the country, but this one stands out because it echoes the language of our times: 911...help is on the way. Trooper 5 is close by! Easy boy! The patient is stable. Doctors are on standby. Everyone is safe and out of the structure! [2021]

Denver, Colorado, USA

Today, the State of Colorado is 145 years old. Yet, that is only two generations. Any native Coloradan who was born in 1876 has undoubtedly passed on, but, if he fathered a child at the age of fifty, that child could be a spry 95 this year. In those 145 years, however, an entire era of human geography has closed: See the statue? [2019 and 2005]