Morris-Jumel Mansion is located in upper Manhattan, NY The mansion was originally built in 1765 as the home of former British Army officer Roger Morris. When Morris fled America for England at the outbreak of the Revolutionary War, the house was confiscated along with other Loyalist properties by the Commissioners of Forfeiture. Following his defeat at the battle of Long Island in 1776, George Washington took refuge and set up his…
Squirrel Cage Jail is located in Pottawattamie Count Council Bluffs, Iowa The unique jail was built in 1885 on the site of an old church morgue; one of 18 revolving jails built — and the only one with three stories. Today, it’s one of only three left standing. What’s a revolving jail you ask? The jail’s pie-shaped cells revolve inside a cage that only has one opening. To let prisoners…
Central Indiana State Hospital is located West of downtown Indianapolis, Indiana. This psychiatric treatment hospital opened in 1848 and can be found on Tibbs Avenue, Washington Street, Warman Avenue, and Vermont Street. Complex buildings in the area housed mentally ill patients including the criminally insane. There were even two castle-like buildings built, called the Seven Gables as well as gardens, fountains, and fine landscaping to offer patients a pleasant place….
Joshua Ward House is located in Salem, Massachusetts next to the Salem Witch Musuem. While Joshua Ward constructed his house in 1784, the property has a much older history, dating back to the 17th century, an era that Salem, Massachusetts is best remembered for its involvement in the Salem Witch Trials. These trials had a serious impact on not only the town, but the entire country during the 17th century…
House of 200 Demons used to be located in Gary, Indiana. Has since been demolished. Atoya Ammons moved her family into a quaint one-story home on Carolina Street in November 2011 — but were what she believed to be demonic forces that forced her and loved ones to flee in terror just six months later real or products of their overactive imaginations? The first sign something was terribly wrong came…
Congress Plaza Hotel, located on Michigan Ave in Chicago, Illinois. The Congress was originally named the Auditorium Annex when it was built to house visitors to the Columbian Exposition—the transformative World’s Fair of 1893. The name referenced the Auditorium Theater across Congress Parkway, an acoustically magnificent structure designed by blockbuster architectural duo Dankmar Adler and Louis Sullivan. The Annex’s original North Tower was designed by Clinton Warren, but Adler and…
Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel is located outside the US in Alberta, Canada. Since it opened to the public in 1888, the Banff Springs Hotel has seen history, celebrity, and rebuilds, but it’s also seen tragedy. Millions of guests have checked in, but a few have never checked out. Some even believe that they still roam the halls of the iconic concrete castle in the Rockies, today. In 132 years, the…
St. James Hotel is located in a small town in Cimarron, New Mexico The St James Hotel in Cimarron, New Mexico was built in 1872 by Henri Lambert (later changed to Henry) and was originally called Lambert’s Inn. Its saloon, restaurant, and 43 rooms were witness to at least 26 murders during Cimarron’s wilder days. Clay Allison, Black Jack Ketchum, Jesse James, and Buffalo Bill Cody have all left their mark on the St. James, as attested by the numerous bullet holes…