michelel72

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/museum-of-radio-technology

The Museum of Radio & Technology explores the birth and evolution of electronic communication and entertainment with artifacts ranging from the earliest broadcast radios to mid-century televisions to vintage computers.

Founded in 1991, the museum grew from a passion project into one of the nation’s standout collections of historical electronic gear. It preserves not just old radios but the stories of how communities connected, from the uses of Morse code to the golden age of radio broadcasts to the dawn of television.

Visitors can wander among cathedral-cabinet radios, early broadcast equipment, military communications gear, and even a working ham radio station. A dedicated section honors the West Virginia Broadcasting Hall of Fame, celebrating more than 200 local figures from radio and TV history.

The museum’s volunteer community also hosts events like swap meets, repair classes, and club gatherings that bring enthusiasts together to teach and share skills. The result is a space that’s less a polished corporate museum and more a lively clubhouse of stories, nostalgia, and tinkering that reflects both technical evolution and local culture.

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/museum-of-radio-technology

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/griffith-feil-soda-fountain

When you walk through the door at Griffith & Feil Soda Fountain in Kenova, it feels like someone flicked a switch back to another era.

Here, in a pharmacy with roots stretching back to 1892, the soda fountain isn’t a decorative relic; it’s a living centerpiece where locals and visitors gather for milkshakes, root beer floats, and burgers. Beneath the metal-tiled ceiling, soda jerks pull tart-sweet phosphate drinks and sling sundaes across the counter the same way they were made over a century ago.

But it’s not all sweets and comfort food; the store is still a working pharmacy. Current owner Ric Griffith and his daughter, Heidi, keep the drugstore alive as well. Sip a malt while you wait for your prescription or grab a BLT and put a favorite tune on the jukebox for a relaxing retro lunch.

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/griffith-feil-soda-fountain

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/the-poky-dot

When you step inside the Poky Dot, it’s hard not to instantly feel cheerful. From the bright yellow booths to the hamburger wallpaper to the towering milkshakes served in chocolate-dipped mason jars, everything appears bigger and more colorful here. 

With a soundtrack of 1950s music and retro decor, the ambience feels like a candy-colored time capsule. Whether you’re tucking into the nine-pound banana split, a pile of onion rings, or s'mores French toast, every meal feels a bit like a celebration.  

The menu includes standard diner comforts like burgers and breakfast platters, but the true standouts here are the homemade desserts. Clocking in at nine pounds, the banana split is a particularly decadent delight. But for a true challenge, try the He-Man breakfast, a gargantuan assortment of four eggs, four pancakes, four strips of bacon, two biscuits with gravy, two sausage links, two sausage patties, one slice of ham, two slices of toast, and a side of home fries. Those who finish the meal in 45 minutes get their breakfast for free and a coveted T-shirt.

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/the-poky-dot

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/gesellschaftsspiegel-society-mirror

Installed in 2020, Gesellschaftsspiegel is a public artwork in Hamburg by Danish-Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson. Two brown-black patinated brass sculptures, each about 28 feet (8.5 meters) tall, stand on raised legs, allowing visitors to walk underneath. Their geometric forms, a triangular base and a diamond shape, contrast with the ornate historic buildings nearby. From a distance, they resemble abstract rockets on stilts. Inside, a kaleidoscope of angled mirrors reflects fragments of the surrounding architecture and sky, creating shifting patterns that change with light and movement.

The title Gesellschaftsspiegel translates as “society mirror.” Eliasson has said the work is intended to draw attention upward, toward the open air above, which he describes as a shared element of the urban landscape. By framing views of it within mirrored structures that function as both interior and exterior spaces, the pavilions invite visitors to slow down in the busy city center and consider the relationship between public space and private perception.

The sculptures were installed as part of a public art commission tied to the redesign of Alter Wall, an Old Town street, into a pedestrian precinct. During planning, members of the Green Party proposed planting trees along the route, but the project’s architects opposed this, citing concerns that trees would obscure the historic facades. Ultimately, only the two works at either end were realized.

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/gesellschaftsspiegel-society-mirror

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/the-temple-scotland

Hidden away in woods of the old Cally Estate is a little gothic tower, simply known as "The Temple".

The Temple was built as a folly in 1779, as a decorative feature to be seen from Cally House across the parklands.  The Temple is now surrounded by trees but these are the result of the Forestry Commission who purchased the land in 1933 and would never have previous blocked the views.

The Cally Estate grounds were laid out by James Ramsay an architect turned landscape gardner.  Although there is no concrete evidence of his involvement, the construction of the folly is attributed to him.

The Temple was once occupied by William Todd, a cow herd who looked after the estate’s black cattle.  This is unusual as follies are usually decorative structures with no practical purpose. William occupied the tower from around 1782 to 1792, and brought up his family there. 

After the sale of the estate grounds The Temple became dilapidated and lost its roof over time, but it not m its charm.  In 2015 a restoration project was undertaken that saw it the folly restored for future visitors to enjoy.

The Temple has an external staircase leading up to the first floor, but visitors can go no further than the top of the stairs.

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/the-temple-scotland