The United States is famous for breathtaking landscapes, tall buildings, iconic bridges, and well-loved historic sights.
The team at Apartment Guide decided to capture the beauty of these iconic attractions in modern-day illustrations.
Check out all 10 of the posters below.
Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona
Arizona is home to multiple stunning desert landmarks, but none as famous as the Grand Canyon. Located in a remote part of the state, most visit it by taking a four-hour drive (or helicopter if you’re lucky) from Las Vegas, or driving from Flagstaff, which is about two hours away.
Fun facts about the Grand Canyon
Mount Rushmore, South Dakota
In the Black Hills National Forest in South Dakota sits Mount Rushmore. This carved mountain attracts more than two million visitors every year.
Between 1927 and 1941, sculptor Gutzon Borglum carved the faces of US presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt into the stone as part of a ploy to attract tourists — it worked.
Fun facts about Mount Rushmore
Dynamite was used to carve the mountain. (source)
A cave called the “Hall of Records” is located behind the monument and contains a vault with the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, biographies of the four presidents, and a history of the US on 16 porcelain enamel panels. (source)
The mountain that Borglum chose to carve was known to the Lakota as the “Six Grandfathers”, which was a sacred place. (source)
The mountain is made of granite, which erodes roughly one inch every 10,000 years. (source)
The project cost $989,992.32. (source)
Pike Place Market, Seattle
The vibrant and bustling Pike Place Market is located along Elliot Bay in Seattle. It opened in August 1907 and is considered to have been one of the first farmers’ markets in the United States.
Fun facts about Pike Place Market
The market covers nine acres. (source)
Up to 10 million people visit the market every year. That works out to about 20,000-40,000 daily. (source)
The oldest business in the market is the Virginia Inn, a restaurant that opened in 1903 before the Market opened in 1907. (source)
The market has 85 local farmers, 225 local artists, and 240 small businesses. (source)
People live in the market! There are 400 apartments in the market that are the homes of around 500 Seattleites. (source)
The Empire State Building, New York
Nothing screams “New York” more than the Empire State Building. This iconic tower is 102 stories tall and 1,454 feet high, which made it the world’s tallest skyscraper when it was completed in 1931. In 1972, it lost the title to the New York World Trade Center.
Fun facts about The Empire State Building
The building took only one year and 45 days to build. (source)
Couples can sometimes see sparks when they kiss on the viewing platforms due to the static electricity at the top of the building. (source)
More than four million visitors visit the viewing platforms on the 86th and 102nd floors yearly. (source)
The upper tower was originally designed as a mooring mast for airships. (source)
For the film’s 50th anniversary, an inflatable King Kong was attached to the building. (source)
Yosemite National Park, California
Known for its stunning natural wonders like Yosemite Falls, Half Dome, and El Capitan, Yosemite National Park is a destination for tourists from around the world.
The more than 1,500 square miles of land became the third national park in the United States in 1980.
Fun facts about Yosemite National Park
The park is visited by more than three million people every year.
It is considered to be the birthplace of rock climbing as a sport. (source)
Yosemite’s luxurious Ahwahnee Hotel was used as a hospital during World War II. (source)
The granite rock formations in Yosemite glow like fire at sunset. (source)
There are more than 400 species of animals that call the park home. (source)
Gateway Arch, St. Louis
St Louis was known as the “Gateway to the West” when the US began to expand westward in the 19th century, and The Gateway Arch was built to symbolize this.
Located on the west bank on the Mississippi River, more than four million people visit the Arch every year.
Fun facts about The Gateway Arch
In a controversial move, forty blocks of St. Louis were demolished to build the arch and its surrounding park. (source)
The arch is as tall as it is wide — 630 feet tall and 630 feet wide. (source)
The Arch weighs 17,246 tons. (source)
The Arch is the tallest national monument in the United States. (source)
Over one million visitors take the tram ride to the top every year. The trams have been in operation for over 30 years and have traveled a total of 250,000 miles. (source)
The Cloud Gate, Chicago
More popularly known as “The Bean”, the stainless steel Cloud Gate is located in downtown Chicago in Millennium Park. Its highly polished surface reflects the world around it,
Fun facts about The Cloud Gate
The artist who created the sculpture was Anish Kapoor. (source)
The sculpture was actually built in California and assembled on-site. (source)
The touchable parts of the sculpture are wiped multiple times throughout the day, and the entire sculpture is washed twice a year. (source)
The total cost of the project was $23 million with all funding coming from private donations and fundraising. (source)
Tourists can walk under the 3.7-meter (12-foot) high arch. (source)
Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco
This huge, iconic red suspension bridge connects the city of San Francisco to the Marin headlands that are located just across the bay.
Fun facts about The Golden Gate Bridge
The bridge was originally meant to be yellow or blue, but when the steel arrived primed in a burnt red paint, the architect decided to keep it. (source)
The bridge’s cables were made by the same company that built the Brooklyn Bridge. (source)
It took a little over four years to build the bridge, and the total cost of the project was $35 million. (source)
The bridge officially opened to vehicles on May 28, 1937. (source)
The bridge shapes the fog that flows into the harbor, (source)
Liberty Bell Center, Philadelphia
The Liberty Bell is a piece of history that attracts visitors (and Nicholas Cage) to Philadelphia. It was rung on July 8, 1776, to summon citizens together for the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence.
Fun facts about The Liberty Bell
The Bell weighs 2,080 pounds. (source)
On the Bell, Pennsylvania is misspelled "Pensylvania." This spelling was one of several acceptable spellings of the name at that time. (source)
The strike note of the Bell is E-flat. (source)
No one knows when the Bell was cracked. (source)
A bible verse is written on the bell that says, “Proclaim Liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof”. (source)
The White House, District of Columbia
Located in Washington DC, the location of the White House was selected by George Washington, the first president of the United States.
Packed full of history, tourists flock to The White House to take guided and self-guided tours daily.
Fun facts about The White House
The first president to live in The White House was the second president, John Adams. (source)
The largest room is the East Room that spans the entire width of the building. (source)
It spans six floors and includes 132 rooms and 35 bathrooms. (source)
There’s a hidden swimming pool beneath the press room. (source)
There is a twin of this iconic building in Ireland. (source)
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Meet The Author
Lindsay Shapka is an avid traveler and the creator of The Anthrotorian — a website dedicated to sharing travel tips, stories about adventures, culture quirks, artists you should know, fascinating bits of history, and more!
She is also an artist, marketing specialist, editor, and freelance writer who has work featured on websites, blogs, and in magazines like National Geographic Traveler.
