No Empire State on this list
It is hard to believe, but these architectural gems are often overlooked
Image: Kyoshi Reyes
When most people think of American architecture, famous structures like the Chrysler Building or the Golden Gate usually come to mind. But tucked away in quiet towns and unexpected corners are some truly stunning, lesser-known architectural gems. Let’s take a tour of 11 of these under-the-radar buildings that deserve a second look.
1
Forestiere Underground Gardens
Image: Francesco Ungaro
Baldassare Forestiere, a Scicilan immigrant built a series of subterranean structures over a period of 40 years in Fresno, California.
Initially created as a small cellar to escape the summer heat, Baldassare carved a series of attached rooms, with underground trees , creating an incredible structure that can be visited today.
2
Swaminarayan Akshardham
Image: Usha Kiran
A structure that most people would associate with a very different part of the world was built between 2015 and 2023 in Robbinsville, New Jersey: a large Hindu temple . It is the largest building of this kind in the United States and the second largest in the world.
3
Cathedral of Learning
Image: henry perks
A 42-story skyscraper that looks like an Art Deco cathedral, the Cathedral of Learning is part of the University of Pittsburgh’s main campus in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Standing at 535 feet, this Late Gothic Revival structure is the tallest educational building in the Western Hemisphere and the second-tallest university building in the world. It is also the second-tallest gothic-style building in the world, after the Woolworth Building in Manhattan.
4
Hammond Castle
Image: Ted Gracz
An impressive feature of the Atlantic coast in the Magnolia area of Gloucester, Massachusetts, the Hammond Castle was the home, laboratory, and museum of John Hays Hammond Jr., an inventor and pioneer in the study of remote control .
The building is composed of modern and 15th-, 16th-, and 18th-century architectural elements, and operates as the Hammond Castle Museum, displaying Hammond's collection of Roman, medieval, and Renaissance artifacts as well as exhibits about his life and inventions.
5
San Antonio Japanese Tea Garden
Image: Annie Spratt
Imagine a Japanese Tea Garden set in an abandoned limestone rock quarry, and you will be picturing the San Antonio Japanese Tea Garden, or Sunken Gardens in Brackenridge Park, San Antonio, Texas.
After several years working as a quarry, the area was redeveloped as the tea garden that it is today, with walkways, stone arch bridges, an island, a Japanese pagoda, and, of course, a tea room .
6
Ashbel Smith Building
Image: Mario La Pergola
The huge Romanesque Revival building in Galveston, Texas, familiarly known as Old Red, was built in 1891 with red brick and sandstone . The Ashbel Smith Building, as it is officially named, was the first University of Texas Medical Branch edifice.
7
Mission San Xavier del Bac
Image: Sean Benesh
The oldest European structure in Arizona is the Mission San Xavier del Balc. This historical Spanish Catholic mission is 10 miles south of Tucson and was founded in 1692. It is an outstanding example of Spanish Colonial architecture in the United States and it is a well-known pilgrimage site, with thousands visiting each year on foot and on horseback, some among ceremonial cavalcades or cabalgatas.
8
New River Gorge Bridge
Image: Ashley Knedler
The New River Gorge Bridge is a steel arch bridge 3,030 feet long over the New River Gorge near Fayetteville, West Virginia, in the Appalachian Mountains. With an arch 1,700 feet long, the New River Gorge Bridge was t he world's longest single-span arch bridge when completed in 1977.
9
National Park Seminary
Image: Charles Marleau
National Park Seminary was a private girls' school open from 1894 to 1942 , located in Forest Glen Park, Maryland. Its name refers to the nearby Rock Creek Park. The historic campus boasts a massive building dating from the late 1800s.
10
Mercer Museum
Image: Camila Credidio
The incredible Mercer Museum is a poured-in-place concrete structure built by the museum's founder, archeologist Henry Chapman Mercer, originally meant as his private residence. It is located in Doylestown, Pennsylvania.
11
Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church
Image: Charles Marleau
The Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, United States, was designed by architect Frank Lloyd Wright in 1956, and completed in 1961.
Created according to traditional Byzantine architectural forms , but reinterpreted by Wright to suit the modern context, this building offers a striking view to its visitors.
