The Gulf, Mobile, and Ohio Passenger Terminal in Mobile, Alabama, which has Spanish influences with its cream walls and red clay tiles, was designed by P. Thornton Marye. It was completed in 1907 and has undergone restoration since passenger train service ceased in the 1950s.

The University of Alaska Museum of the North is home to numerous exhibits showcasing the native cultures, natural wonders, and wildlife of our nation's largest state. It's also a stylish refuge from the cold.

The Chapel of the Holy Cross in Sedona was completed in 1956, and it juts majestically from a red stone butte, some 200 feet above the ground.

The beautiful Thorncrown Chapel in Eureka Springs looks like an open-air structure, but it's actually a serene, glass-enclosed architectural marvel.

It was designed in 1960, but the Chemosphere still looks futuristic. It's a house with 2,200 square feet of space, perched atop a 30-foot concrete pole. And it's survived every major Californian earthquake in the San Fernando Valley since it was built.

Mesa Verde National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, features some of the best-preserved prehistoric landscapes of the Ancestral Puebloan people. These ancient dwellings, where the Ancestral Puebloans once lived, were constructed on the sides of natural cliffs.

While most dwellings had only one to five rooms, the Cliff Palace, the largest known cliff dwelling in North America, had 150 rooms, 23 sacred meeting spaces, and housed about 100 people, according to the National Park Service.

The main feature of Grace Farms in New Canaan is a serpentine wooden pavilion that links glass-walled rooms, including a library, stage, tea room, and a gym with a full basketball court. Completed in 2015, it's open to the public for free.

The country's oldest state has some classic buildings that stand the test of time. Wilmington's Grand Opera House, built in 1871, is as classic as it gets.

The Salvador Dalí Museum in St. Petersburg is a fittingly unique tribute to the beloved master of surrealism. The museum boasts the largest collection of Dalí's work outside Europe.

This might not look much like other buildings in this list, but the Ocmulgee Mounds National Park's Earth Lodge dates back to the year 1015, per the National Park Service.

The lodge is a reconstructed council chamber of the native Mississippian culture. While the walls and ceiling were reconstructed in the late 1930s, the clay floor remains the same as the original, dating back over a thousand years.

ʻIolani Palace in Honolulu is the only royal palace on United States soil. David Kalākaua, the last reigning king of Hawaiʻi and the first monarch to travel around the world, was inspired by the European palaces he saw during his 1881 voyage.

The Dog Bark Park Inn in Cottonwood is a delightful piece of American kitsch. The bed and breakfast is shaped like two charming beagles.

Although there are between 5 and 6 million adherents to the Bahá'í Faith, there are only eight continental houses of worship worldwide. The one in Wilmette, Illinois, is the oldest still standing, and the only one in the United States.

When the West Baden Springs Hotel opened in 1902, it was billed as the Eighth Wonder of the World. While enjoying the view from inside the massive domed atrium — at one point the largest in the world — it's easy to see why.

Father Paul Dobberstein promised to build a shrine to the Virgin Mary as she helped cure his grave case of pneumonia. His resulting Grotto of the Redemption in West Bend is made of rocks, shells, fossils, and gems pressed into concrete. It's the size of a football field.

The Big Well in Greensburg is a museum that rests atop its titular main attraction: the largest hand-dug well in the world, spanning 32 feet in diameter and reaching a depth of 109 feet.

Churchill Downs, most famously the host of the Kentucky Derby, can hold 120,000 excited, sometimes rowdy, racing fans at max capacity.

The Pontalba Buildings, which make up two sides of New Orleans' Jackson Square, are emblematic of the French Quarter. Some of the residences on the upper floors are believed to be the oldest continuously rented apartments in the country.

The Portland Head Light — one of the state's many lighthouses — has been around since 1791. It was built under the directive of George Washington himself.

The American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore showcases outsider art. All the works within its wonky exterior were made by inspired, self-taught creators.

Simmons Hall at MIT is the coolest dorm building in the US. It looks like a monstrous Tetris piece combined with underground caverns.

The museum, one of the oldest and largest dedicated to African American history, is a three-story building designed with influences of African and local Detroit architecture. The building features a stunning 55-foot-tall glass dome ceiling.

The Marjorie McNeely Conservatory at Saint Paul's Como Park was opened to the public in 1915 and features Japanese, Bonsai, and butterfly gardens, among others.

Designed by Frank Gehry — whose striking work also includes the Louis Vuitton Foundation in Paris, the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, and the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao in Spain — the curved metal pods, which house pottery at Biloxi's Ohr-O'Keefe Museum of Art, are meant to look as if they were "dancing with the trees," per the museum's website.

The parking garage at the Kansas City Library is called the Community Bookshelf. It displays the giant spines of 22 classic books that were suggested by Kansas City readers.

Construction started on the Montana State Capitol in 1896. The inside of the rotunda salutes four types of people central to the state's early history: a native American, an explorer, a gold miner, and a cowboy.

The Nebraska Capitol in Lincoln is one of the greatest state capitol buildings in the US. Built between 1922 and 1932, the building features artworks representing the development of law and the state of Nebraska.

The Ward Charcoal Ovens in Ely were built in the 1870s for silver mining.

The distinctive beehive-shaped Ward Charcoal Ovens in Ely were built for silver mining back in the 1870s, and they still look like nothing else on the landscape.

Built in 1902, the Mount Washington Hotel — today operating as the Omni Mount Washington Resort — is one of the last remaining grand hotels in the state, and is rumored to be haunted.

Nassau Hall is the oldest building at Princeton University, dating back to the 1750s. While it now houses the school's administrative offices, during the Revolutionary War it was occupied by both British and American forces and suffered damage during the battles.

Hundreds of years old, the Taos Pueblo is a multi-story complex built by Native Americans from the region. It looks like one big, molded piece, and it's still used as a residence.

The Empire State Building gets all the hype, but it's the Chrysler Building that's really the most magnificent skyscraper in New York City. The Art Deco-style building was the tallest in the world when it was built, but it was beaten out by — you guessed it — the Empire State Building just 11 months later.

North Carolina's Executive Mansion in Raleigh is the home of the governor.

Give it to North Carolina for having its most beautiful building designated as a civil landmark. The state's Executive Mansion in Raleigh is the home of the governor and a high-profile event venue that's open to public tours.

At the center of the North Dakota Heritage Center in Bismarck is a great glass cube flanked by two copper-colored wings. It's the home of the state's greatest treasures, including Native American historical artifacts and lots of dinosaur fossils.

The Longaberger Company, which makes baskets, made a building in Newark that perfectly matches its brand. The building was closed in 2016, and it has largely sat idle since.

Plans for the property have included a hotel, a coworking space, and, most recently, a mixed-use development, but it still has an unclear path for the future.

The First Americans Museum's 175,000-square-foot building in Oklahoma pays homage to the state's indigenous populations and their history. The design is inspired by the importance placed on the rising and setting sun by Native populations, with the Remembrance Walls being aligned with the sunrise.

The central half-dome is supported by 10 pillars of various stones, each representing a 10-mile stretch traveled by Native people during forced removal from their original homelands, according to the museum's website.

In 2009, Travel + Leisure famously called The Portland Building "one of the most hated buildings in America," and its reputation is split among architecture critics. But its shapes, strange geometric clashes of glass and stone, make it the weird building that Portland most deserves.

Frank Lloyd Wright's 1935 masterpiece Fallingwater remains Pennsylvania's greatest work of architecture. Water falls from each level of the building into the one below, perfectly integrating with the landscape.

Built as a summer residence for Cornelius Vanderbilt II, The Breakers mansion in Newport has 70 rooms across 138,300 square feet, making it one of the largest houses in the US and an icon of Gilded Age architecture.

In South Carolina, the International African American Museum stands on top of 18 13-foot pillars that keep the museum from touching the sacred ground on which it was built.

The museum is situated on the historic site of Gadsden's Wharf in Charleston's Cooper River, which was the last and most significant disembarkation point in North America for enslaved Africans during the transatlantic slave trade, per the US Civil Rights Trail website.

The walls of the Corn Palace in Mitchell are adorned with complex murals and art that's all been made out of, you guessed it, corn. The design changes every year.

Built in 1897 for the Tennessee Centennial Exposition — and then reconstructed between 1921 and 1930 — the Parthenon in Centennial Park is a full-sized replica of the Parthenon in Athens, Greece. Today, it's open to the public as an art museum.

Designed by renowned artist James Turrell, the "Twilight Epiphany" Skyspace in Houston is a performance space that makes you feel as though you've entered another dimension.

The Natural History Museum of Utah in Salt Lake City looks like it could have been carved out of the landscape. It was designed by Todd Schliemann of Ennead Architects.

The Old Round Church in Richmond is technically a 16-sided polygon, but it's still enough of a circle to lend credence to a rumor that it was built in that shape so that the Devil had no corners to hide in.

If they're done wrong, airports can be the most insufferable place to spend a few hours. But we have to admire Virginia's Dulles International Airport, which almost looks like a futuristic aircraft itself.

Forget the idea of a dusty old home for books nobody reads. The Seattle Central Library is a miracle of modern architecture.

The United States Capitol is such a mainstay of nightly news and political pop culture that it's easy to take for granted. It's nice to step back once in a while and take in the grandeur and historical significance of this government building that reflects on America's complicated past.

Construction on the Capitol began in September 1793, and much of the structure was built by enslaved workers working alongside free Black and white laborers, per the White House Historical Association. In 2012, a marker was added to the Capitol Visitor Center commemorating the unpaid labor of enslaved people who built the nation's Capitol.

The Palace of Gold is a majestic memorial shrine located in the Hare Krishna community of New Vrindaban.

The most striking feature of the Milwaukee Art Museum is the Burke Brise Soleil, a towering sunscreen with a 217-foot wingspan. It folds and unfolds twice a day.

This wacky-looking building is in the middle of the remote Wapiti Valley. In 1971, architect Francis Lee Smith started building the structure by hand as his and his family's home. After completing the first floor in 1973, he could not stop building. He died after falling from one of the balconies in 1992.

A home may look spectacular online, but sometimes, once you walk through the door and look under the hood, it isn't what it appeared to be in the listing photos. I jokingly call it "lipstick on a pig."

Before making an offer, buyers should understand what they're actually getting, beyond gorgeous photos and expensive-looking finishes.

I like to look more closely at things like the cabinetry and hardware, flooring, countertops, stonework, fixtures, and overall quality of workmanship.

One of the easiest places to spot a lower-quality renovation is the cabinetry — specifically, whether the joints are properly fitted, the drawers glide smoothly, and the cabinet doors align. I also look out for things like uneven tilework, inconsistent grout lines, poorly installed flooring, and gaps around the cabinets or trim.

To me, the biggest concern is whether the renovation will hold up over time. If the materials and workmanship aren't up to par, buyers could end up repairing or replacing finishes far sooner than expected.

When you're paying for a luxury home, you want to know you're investing in quality that will last, not just an aesthetic that looks good in listing photos.

Everyone has heard the term "location, location, location," and there's a reason for that. Almost anything about a home can be renovated or changed — its location can't.

I always tell buyers not to overlook things like road noise, backing to a busy street, an undesirable lot position, or other location factors simply because they love the house.

Those things may not bother you personally, but they could narrow your buyer pool significantly when it comes time to sell.

Seeing a high days-on-market number — the amount of time the property has been actively listed — isn't inherently detrimental, but it's important to understand why a house hasn't been able to sell.

A question I often get from clients is, "How many days on market is considered too many?" The reality is that there isn't a single magic number, as it depends on the area, the specific neighborhood, and the price point.

Just because a home has been on the market for an extended period doesn't necessarily mean there is something wrong with the property. It could be road noise, a less desirable location, or simply a matter of pricing. However, I've seen instances where issues were uncovered during inspections, causing buyers to walk away.

Regardless of the reason, I always look at the listing history, previous price reductions, and comparable sales in the area to get a better picture of what's going on.

I'm also not afraid to ask the seller's agent point-blank what the issue has been. All of that information helps me decide how my clients and I should approach and structure an offer.

Even a picture-perfect home listed for millions of dollars can have an aging HVAC system, roof issues, water damage, plumbing concerns, or other costly problems that aren't obvious during a showing.

That's why inspections are so important. If an inspection reveals that an HVAC system needs to be replaced, that's a significant expense the buyer may not have anticipated when making their original offer.

I always remind my clients that the inspection period is still very much a negotiation period. The key is knowing which issues are worth negotiating, and being strategic about what you ask for.

If a listing agent tells me their seller put $300,000 into a home's renovation, that doesn't automatically mean it's worth $300,000 more.

A seller may have spent a significant amount on finishes or design choices they personally loved, but that doesn't necessarily mean the next buyer will place the same value on them.

I think it's important for buyers to separate what someone spent on a home from what the market supports.

High-quality improvements absolutely matter, but ultimately, I don't think a buyer should pay a premium simply because a seller spent a lot of money.

The Moores bought the rental house, which provided supplemental income, in 2007 for $360,000. At 1,400 square feet, it had three bedrooms and two bathrooms.

The front couldn't be changed too drastically because the Moores live in a historic area, but their lot had space in the back where they could expand the home.

As they realized they wanted to upsize for retirement from their 2,700-square-foot home, Bonnie and Hunter decided to do a massive overhaul of the rental house, taking it down to the studs.

The renovation, which added a two-story addition to the back, gave them a 4,400-square-foot space with four bedrooms, four bathrooms, and two half baths, plus ample living space and a bonus room that could be converted into a bedroom if needed.

They also incorporated features that would make aging in place easier.

The Moores hired Michael Brown Construction, Beth Haley Designs, and Allard Ward Architects to bring the project to life. Brown specialized in historic renovations, and Haley had an expertise in aging-in-place accommodations, both of which were needed.

Renovations kicked off in early 2024 and took about 18 months to complete. Because they gutted the original structure, the Moores had to pay for all new plumbing and electrical wiring throughout the home in addition to the cosmetic changes. The height of the original exterior stayed the same, and the windows that were originally there didn't move. Nearly everything else changed, though.

The Moores were able to stay in their first home while they transformed their new house, which, Bonnie said, made everything easier.

"We didn't have to move," she said. "We could look out the window and notice somebody was walking around, and go over to see if they needed to talk to us. It was wonderful."

It was important to the Moores that the addition had a second story so they'd have plenty of bedrooms for their kids, grandkids, and loved ones to stay in when they visited.

However, they wanted the first floor to be where they spent most of their time. It needed to accommodate larger parties, such as their Christmas gatherings or Bonnie's Bible study group, and their bedroom had to be on the main level as well.

The kitchen and living areas are combined in the Moores' home, with large windows and sliding glass doors framing the space and letting in light.

A table helps to visually separate the kitchen from the living area.

"My kitchen is probably about the size of part of my downstairs next door," Bonnie said of the space, which features a large island surrounded by ample built-in cabinetry.

It also has a walk-in pantry, one of Bonnie's favorite features, and was set up to suit the couple as they get older, with wide walkways and doorways. A few of the drawers also have large gaps behind them, so you can reach behind them without jamming your fingers.

The first floor has a larger living room with a TV, and another with two comfortable chairs in front of the fireplace, which the Moores think of as their den. A grand piano splits the two spaces.

Bonnie also said they had the fireplace raised intentionally.

"As you're sitting in your chair, you're looking straight into the fireplace instead of looking down," she said. "When you're old, you don't want to have to bend over as much, so you raise things in that way without it looking weird."

The house came with a formal dining room, but the Moores didn't feel they needed that space, since they had a dining area at their kitchen counter and kitchen table.

Instead, they turned it into a workout room and office for Bonnie.

It has a treadmill, a weight machine, and a desk. However, it could easily still work as a dining space or even a bedroom down the line if needed.

"We kept it with the feel of a dining room in case somebody wanted that for resale," Bonnie said.

To maximize the space, they put shelving wherever possible. For instance, Bonnie turned the space below their stairs into a "hobbit hole" for her grandsons, filling it with a bean bag and books as an escape for them.

"I used every place that you could store something," she said.

Bonnie described Hunter as a "voracious reader," so a library was a must-have for their home.

Still, the room has a closet and an en suite bathroom, and it could fit a smaller bed or a Murphy bed, so it could become another first-floor bedroom if the Moores ever need live-in help.

Bonnie and Hunter's bedroom has plenty of room for the couple to walk around the bed on either side, which was intentional. They didn't want the space to become cumbersome if they use wheelchairs or walkers someday.

It also has a loveseat, which Bonnie said they added so they can sit and put on their shoes without bending down.

The suite has a walk-in closet, one of Bonnie's favorite features in her new home.

Its blue cabinetry matches that in the bathroom for a cohesive look.

The bathroom is designed to accommodate a walker or wheelchair with ease.

It has luxury touches, like a double vanity and a massive walk-in shower with grab bars and a bench running the length of the shower for aging-in-place accommodations.

They also made the showerhead adjustable, which was a must-have because Bonnie is 5-foot-4 and Hunter is 6-foot-2. Bonnie wanted to make sure the height could adjust easily with one hand in case they developed any mobility issues, and that function has already come in handy.

Bonnie had a mastectomy in August and wasn't able to lift her arms above her head in the initial weeks of her recovery. Being able to adjust the showerhead height on her own during that time allowed her to maintain her independence as she healed.

The location of the laundry room means the Moores can live entirely on their first floor if they want, ensuring they don't have to use stairs if it becomes challenging for them.

The Moores didn't want their second floor to become inaccessible if stairs became harder for them to manage as they age, so they decided to add an elevator to the home in the renovation.

It was a pricey aspect of the renovation, coming in at around $31,000, which doesn't include the cost of building out the space for it or installation.

Bonnie said the elevator was worth it, though, as it feels "responsible" for her and Hunter at this stage. It's a big comfort to their kids, too.

"They're so relieved that we aren't going up and down the stairs," Bonnie said.

The elevator sits next to a room where Bonnie stores things like Christmas decor and luggage, and she said being able to pop items directly into the elevator has been great for them.

One of the bedrooms has twin beds for the Moores' grandsons to enjoy, and it connects to Hunter's office (which could also be turned into a bedroom if needed) via a Jack-and-Jill bathroom.

The other bedroom on the second floor has an en suite bathroom, providing privacy for whoever stays there.

An open area at the top of the stairs has a wet bar, a mini fridge, and a cozy seating area.

The Moores love having an additional flex space for their family or friends to enjoy when they come to visit.

The Moores didn't have a large garage at their old home, so they were excited about the detached, two-car garage on their new property.

They finished a space at the back with a half bathroom and a room for Hunter to work on his model trains. The space has vaulted ceilings for a more luxurious look, which Bonnie said they added with the home's resale value in mind.

There's an unfinished attic in the garage as well, which gives the Moores the option to expand their living space further if they want.

"If one of our kids wanted to live over there and finish it, they could," Bonnie said.

The Moores moved into their home in August 2025, and they've been loving it ever since.

"This is our dream house," Bonnie said. "We are so grateful that we could do this because we put everything we possibly wanted."

"When we sit at our dining room table and eat breakfast, I tell my husband every morning, 'I'm so happy,'" she added.

Hunter echoed Bonnie, saying the renovation "seemed like a huge project," but their design team made it manageable, as did being able to bounce ideas off Bonnie.

"I'm so glad we did it," he added.

It's working well for their community, too. Bonnie said the house has made their guests feel at ease when they've hosted parties and had people stay overnight.

"It's better than I thought it would even turn out, and the way it makes us feel is just very peaceful," Bonnie said. "My kids all love it, and we have room for everybody. I host all the holidays and the birthday parties."

In total, the Moores said they spent about $1.7 million turning their rental property into their dream home. That cost includes furniture upgrades and some exterior stonework to ensure the house looks up to date from the outside.

They were able to offset it with the $850,000 sale of their first home, and Bonnie said she views the work they did as an investment in the future, for both themselves and their kids.

"This allows us to stay in our house as long as we possibly can, and if we can't, then we have designed a house that will probably sell for $1.9 million," she said. "Our kids can sell it, pay for wherever we need to be, or it can be a great inheritance for them."

She and Hunter feel only gratitude that they could create a house that will benefit them and their whole family for years to come.

"The sooner you do it, the more you can enjoy it before you really need it," she said. "And it's a relief for your children. It's the best gift we could give them."