10 Amazing Works Of Architecture To Visit (PHOTOS)

Whether it's intricate carving on an ancient temple or steel bended in ways you never thought possible, the complexities of architecture never cease to amaze.

Love them or hate them, these 10 extraordinary buildings selected by the travelers and staff of travel website Trippy.com bring new meaning to the art of the possible.

1. Printemps; Paris, France
While the stained glass ceiling at Galeries Lafayette usually gets all the attention, the one at Printemps is no slouch. As incredible as this may seem, the glass here was dismantled in the 1930s to protect it from bombing and then re-assembled years later.

Photo credit: Pauline Sirks
2. Gran Hotel Cuidad de Mexico; Cuidad de Mexico, Mexico
The centerpiece of an absolutely stunning hotel, this amazing domed ceiling was made from Tiffany glass. Built in 1908, it perfectly compliments the stained glass in the hotel's ornate elevators.

Photo credit: Adrién Sandoval



3. Fordyce Bath House; Hot Springs, Arkansas
Open from 1915-1962, this once-popular spa featured electrotherapy among its treatments. For those not into pampering, the baths also featured a bowling alley.

Photo credit: Roland Klose



4. Société Générale; Paris, France
If every bank looked like this, no one would ever use an ATM. Built in 1912, this building not only boasts some of the most spectacular glass work ever constructed, but equally ornate floor mosaics.


Photo credit: Martin Goodwin



5. City Hall Subway Station; New York City, New York
Opened in 1904, this City Hall subway stop was meant to be the jewel in the crown of the city's new underground transportation system. It was closed in 1945 as the new, larger trains were unable to safely navigate the sharp curve of the station.

Photo credit: Manny Christophidis



6. National Gallery of Victoria; Southbank, Australia

One of the largest stained-glass ceilings in the world, the Leonard French ceiling at the National Gallery of Victoria took five years to complete. It was so heavy that instead of being constructed in a flat piece, it had to be built in triangular sections.

Photo credit: Manny Christophidis



7. Palace Hotel; San Francisco, California
Originally the carriage entrance to the hotel, this breathtaking dining room was constructed after the infamous 1906 earthquake. In addition to this beauty, the hotel bar also boasts Maxfield Parrish's Pied Piper painting.



Photo credit: Jamie McCaffrey



8. Legislative Assembly of Ontario; Toronto, Canada
Talk about rising from the ashes! When the original West Wing of the building burned down in a terrible fire in 1909, the re-build included this magnificent ceiling which depicts Ontario's coat of arms.



Photo credit: Brian Cameron



9. Hotel Boulderado; Boulder, Colorado

In 1959, a heavy snow storm destroyed some of this ceiling's original glass panels which were replaced with red, white, and blue plexiglass until the ceiling was properly restored in the 1970s. The first luxury hotel in Boulder, the Boulderado celebrated its centennial in 2009.


Photo credit: Victoria B.

 


10. Chicago Cultural Center; Chicago, Illinois

Supposedly the largest stained glass Tiffany dome in the world, the dome area in Preston Bradley Hall is the site of everything from art exhibits to lectures. Containing 30,000 pieces of glass, the dome underwent a restoration in 2008.


Photo credit: Dan Huntley Photography

 



11. Paris Hotel and Casino; Las Vegas, Nevada

If you can't make it to the real thing, the ceiling at the Paris Hotel and Casino in Vegas offers a pretty good alternative. In addition to the ceiling, the hotel boasts a replica of the Eiffel Tower that offers a great view of the city.


Photo credit: Robert Catalano




12. Arctic Club Seattle; Seattle, Washington

Not surprisingly, this room has been the site of many an area wedding. Built in 1917, the ballroom is known to locals as the "Dome Room" and has recently undergone a renovation.



 

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