Old Masonic temples are hard to reuse and quick to burn

A tiny, traveling bookshop, the Seikan Tunnel, and a parade museum. Email not displaying correctly? View in your browser. October 24, 2019 The Vulnerability of Masonic Temples Fires in Masonic buildings like the one that erupted this month at the Masonic Temple in Aurora, Illinois, can be stubborn. The combination of minimal windows, flammable decor, and sometimes lack of upkeep makes them easy targets for flames, as well as tough places for firefighters to wrangle a blaze. Read More → France’s Tiny, Traveling Bookshop Jean-Jacques Megel-Nuber didn’t always imagine he’d be living in his bookshop, but he knew he wanted it to move. So he crowdfunded the construction of a tiny-house-bookshop, which he now tows around the Alsace and Jura regions of France, bringing thousands of second-hand books to readers of all ages. Read more → Atlas Obscura Trips Vietnam Culinary Adventure On this nine-day journey next June, we’ll explore Vietnam through its unique cuisine, tasting our way across North, Central, and South Vietnam by way of steaming pork belly meatballs in Hanoi’s Old Quarter and white rose dumplings in Hoi An. Along the way, we’ll learn from local chefs, sample street eats, and savor freshly caught seafood. Learn more → Video A Museum on Parade What happens to parade floats after the parade? Well, some of them end up here, at American Celebration on Parade. The Quicksburg, Virginia, museum features some of the most iconic floats in history, including an eagle that’s more than 29 feet tall and a flag that was used for President Reagan’s inauguration. Watch now → Japan Seikan Tunnel The world’s longest tunnel with an undersea segment connects the Japanese islands of Honshu and Hokkaido. Its total length is 33.46 miles, 14.5 miles of which are under the seabed at a depth of 790 feet below sea level. Read more → Community Tombs and Mausoleums Inês de Castro and his ill-fated lover‘s ornate sarcophagi inside Portugal’s Monastery of Alcobaça are adorned with magnificent carvings depicting the final judgment. There are many tombs and mausoleums across the globe that are just as magnificent as this. Tell us about the most wondrous ones you’ve visited. Share now → PORT RENFREW, BRITISH COLUMBIA The Tree on the Lake Defying all odds, this lonely little tree found a home on a log sticking out of a Canadian lake. Read more → Visit AtlasObscura.com · View in Browser · Unsubscribe · See All Newsletters 61 Greenpoint Ave #622, Brooklyn, NY 11222