On December 12, 1925, the first motel in America opened its doors. It had Spanish Mission style architecture, a red roof, and an orange tree outside each door. We trace the rise and fall (and second rise) of motels over the past century: the good, the bad, and yes, the seedy. 

Check out Megan McCrea’s timeline tracing the rise of the motel: 

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/12/insider/motels-history-road-trips-travel.html

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In California, a rare specimen of sequoia produces ghostly white leaves. Reporter Alexa Lim ventures into the forest to get a look at albino redwoods. 

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The staff of Atlas Obscura share their new year’s travel resolutions – the things we want to change about how we travel or see the world this year.        

Plus, we want to hear stories about the interesting or unusual places where you’ve stayed the night. How did you find it? Who did you go with? What made the experience of staying there good… or bad? Give us a call at 315-992-7902 and leave a message telling us your name and story. Our mailbox will cut you off after three minutes so please call again if you get disconnected. Or better yet, you can record a voice memo and email it to us at [email protected].

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One man in Brooklyn, New York - armed with a homemade boat and an artistic vision - helped transform one of the most polluted industrial waterways in the US.

READ MORE IN THE ATLAS: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/newtown-creek-nature-walk

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 Today, Sea View Hospital on Staten Island is largely abandoned. But it was here, in this forgotten place, staffed by people who were shunned and segregated, where medical workers eventually found a cure for a disease that had plagued humanity for nearly 500,000 years: tuberculosis.

Learn more in Maria’s book, The Black Angels: The Untold Story of the Nurses Who Helped Cure Tuberculosis: https://www.amazon.com/Black-Angels-Untold-Nurses-Tuberculosis/dp/0593544927

The Staten Island Museum has an exhibit about the nurses called Taking Care: The Black Angels of Sea View Hospital: https://www.statenislandmuseum.org/exhibitions/takingcare/

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The new year is just around the corner. And the Atlas Obscura staff look back on the lessons and experiences they learned this year throughout their travels. 

Plus, we want to hear about your New Year's travel resolutions. What are you hoping to change about the way you travel or move through your existing world? What inspired this resolution? Give us a call at 315-992-7902 and leave a message telling us your name and story. Our mailbox will cut you off after three minutes so please call in if you get disconnected. Or better yet, you can record a voice memo and email it to us at [email protected].

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In 1971, a paleontologist discovered an animal graveyard in northeastern Nebraska. It was crammed with species that lived in North America millions of years ago: camels, rhinos, and three-toed horses…  Excavating this site, two things immediately became clear: something had drawn all these animals to this particular spot – and something very bad had happened to them.

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When a 180-year old bur oak tree collapsed during a rainstorm, a couple in Minnesota made a new life for it. 

Plus: How many U.S. states have you visited? Join the AO community and create your own U.S. state tracker map here: https://www.atlasobscura.com/my-state-map  

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Travel to Penobscot, Maine, where one farmer maintains the tradition of burning his crop each year to rejuvenate it the next.

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Over the course of its 200 year history, the lighthouse on Wood Island in Maine has been home to a celebrity dog, a grisly murder, some mischievous ghosts, and a monster storm that may or may not have been brought on by a pickpocket’s curse.

Learn more about Wood Island Lighthouse on their website (here’s Richard’s book.)

Want to hear more stories of mega storms, heroic sea rescues, and maybe even some more lighthouse ghosts? Here’s some information about Maine’s 60 historic lighthouses.

It's Maine Week on the show, so every day we're introducing you to someone from that great state — people who live, and work, and get inspired by Maine’s rugged beauty. This episode was produced in partnership with the Maine Office of Tourism.

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