American Heritage
Across The USA
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Brooklyn, NY
Location: New York
Reason to Visit: With the Brooklyn Bridge turning one hundred twenty-five and one in seven Americans being able to trace their ancestry to Brooklyn, it should come as no surprise that Brooklyn contains a plethora of American history. It is the best of America's past and future.
Up Next: The Bunker at Greenbrier -
The Bunker at Greenbrier
Location: West Virginia
Reason to Visit: Experience an incredible piece of Cold War history at The Bunker at Greenbrier. The former U.S. Government Relocation Facility has reopened for tours. Explore the labyrinth beneath the West Virginia Wing that was one of America's best-kept secrets until The Washington Post revealed its location in 1992.
Up Next: Chicago Skyscapers -
Chicago Skyscapers
Location: Illinois
Reason to Visit: Many people know that Chicago is the Windy City and that the Sears Tower is one of the tallest buildings in the world, but did you know that Chicago is the birthplace of the skyscraper? Take the Chicago Architecture Foundation's Historic Skyscraper tour to better understand Chicago's outstanding architectural legacy. There's even a river tour, giving other vantage points of Chicago's built environment.
Up Next: Rockford's Midway Village & Museum Center -
Rockford's Midway Village & Museum Center
Location: Illinois
Reason to Visit: The Village is representative of a typical rural town in Northern Illinois at the end of the 19th century. Midway Village features 26 historical structures including a general store, hardware store and print shop. The Mission of the Midway Village & Museum Center is to provide interpretation of the history of the City of Rockford and Northern Illinois and show how this region affects the world through its products, people and industrial innovations.
Up Next: Chalmette Battlefield -
Chalmette Battlefield
Location: Louisiana
Reason to Visit: The Battle of New Orleans ended January 8, 1815. When it was all over, a ragtag group of American soldiers and volunteers had repelled a much larger and better-trained British force. It was the final battle of the War of 1812 and Great Britain's final attempt to lay claim to American soil. Today, Chalmette Battlefield is home to a monument paying tribute to the troops who fought there, along with other historic artifacts.
Up Next: The Cape Henry Cross & Lighthouse -
The Cape Henry Cross & Lighthouse
Location: Virginia
Reason to Visit: The Cape Henry Cross is a national landmark in tidewater Virginia -- the site where the Jamestown settlers first landed in the New World in 1607. The first permanent English settlers set up a cross to affirm England's claim to the site, and later traveled to Jamestown. Nearby, the Old Cape Henry Lighthouse was the first public building authorized by the federal government and the first lighthouse on the Chesapeake Bay in the 1700's.
Up Next: Trans Alaska Pipeline -
Trans Alaska Pipeline
Location: Alaska
Reason to Visit: The Trans Alaska Pipeline is an engineering modern marvel that was completed on May 31, 1977. The pipeline zigzags across Alaska's wilderness and is so distinctive, astronauts say they can see it from space! Oil moves through the pipeline at a rate of 5-7 miles per hour and takes just under 6 days to move through the entire 800 miles of pipeline stretching from Prudhoe Bay to the port of Valdez. Visitors come to Alaska to marvel at the 48-inch diameter pipe and to get their picture taken next to the pipeline.
Up Next: Mount Vernon Estate & Gardens -
Mount Vernon Estate & Gardens
Location: Virginia
Reason to Visit: The historic riverside estate of George Washington -- Mount Vernon -- features the restored mansion, original outbuildings, the tomb where the Washingtons are buried, beautiful gardens, and heritage breed animals who work at a four-acre farm site near the river. The most famous dentures in the world are on permanent display, along with three life-size models of Washington created from a forensic investigation.
Up Next: Virginia City, Nevada -
Virginia City, Nevada
Location: Nevada
Reason to Visit: The mining boom turned Virginia City into the most important settlement between Denver and San Francisco; and the grubby prospectors into instant millionaires who built mansions. There was gold in every hill and millions of dollars were being made. Men came from everywhere, the "Bonanza Kings" of Irish descent: Mackay, Fair, Flood and O'Brien. The old west is real here with the flair of the Victorian era all around you.
Up Next: Plaza del Pasado -
Plaza del Pasado
Location: California
Reason to Visit: Did you know that San Diego became California's first Spanish settlement when a mission and fort were established in 1769? At Old Town San Diego State Historic Park, interpreters and strolling storytellers from Plaza del Pasado take visitors back to the early American periods of 1821 to 1872 when converging cultures transformed San Diego from a Mexican pueblo to an American settlement.
Up Next: New Orleans Jazz -
New Orleans Jazz
Location: Louisiana
Reason to Visit: New Orleans has a deep, rich cultural heritage. It's a melting pot of African heritage, Caribbean flair, Spanish style, Cajun spice, Creole vitality and French tradition. It's the city that is the birthplace of America's earliest original art forms: Jazz. And each year the town celebrates with it's famous Jazz Fest.
Up Next: Acoma Pueblo -
Acoma Pueblo
Location: New Mexico
Reason to Visit: New Mexico's Acoma Pueblo , just 45 minutes west of Albuquerque, offers a premier Native American experience. Become immersed in the living culture of the Acoma people, the longest continuously inhabited community in the United States through a guided walking tour atop the sheer-walled, 376-foot sandstone bluff that has been home to the tribe for 2000+ years. Take in North America's oldest Mission Church San Esteban del Rey, discover the tribe's artisans and their centuries-old pottery traditions. -
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More American Heritage Highlights ...
- Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center
- Williamson County Courthouse
- Red River Mining and Ghosttown
- Ganondagan
- Red Rock Scenic Byway
- Rickwood Field Ball Park
- Christ Church
- Colorado History Museum
- Sisters Quilt Show
- Effigy Mounds National Monumen
- Pony Express Trail
- Rock Island Arsenal
- Historic Harpers Ferry
- Lion House, Historic Home of Brigham Young
- Gold Country California
- Ohio's Amish Country
- Charles Towne State Historic Site
- Stuhr Museum of the Prairie Pioneer
- Oregontrail
- Lentz Steam Engine in Rice Lake
- Norwegian Heritage in Stoughton, Wisconsin
- Soldiers & Sailors Monument
- The Mark Twain Study
- Ephrata Cloister
- Battles for Chattanooga
- Mission San Juan Capistrano
- Fort Frederica on St. Simons Island
- U.S. Capitol Building
- Calusa Heritage Trail
- Fort Ouiatenon
