Top 10 US Architectural Wonders You MUST See

If you appreciate art in any form, you may agree with my opinion that architecture is "imagination physically manifested". I remember the giddy feeling I experienced riding in the backseat through Houston as an adolescent. It took me a long time to understand the indescribable admiration I felt to see a building that just looked different to the others. My brain at the time couldn't grasp that the massive structure before me was once a thought in a creative mind that it would eventually outlive. Maybe architecture could also be considered imagination immortalized.

That nostalgic feeling of admiration and awe inspired my summer traveling bucket list to see structures that were once the brain children of visionaries with the audacity to build something bigger than them.

Here are just a few:

The Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts in Kansas City, Missouri

1601 Broadway Blvd, Kansas City, MO 64108

Architect: Moshe Safdie

The Museum of Contemporary Art in Cleveland, Ohio

11400 Euclid Ave, Cleveland, OH 44106

Architect: Farshid Moussavi

The Aqua Tower in Chicago, Illinois

225 N Columbus Dr, Chicago, IL 60601

Architect: Jeanne Gang

The Washington National Cathedral in Washington, D.C.

3101 Wisconsin Ave NW, Washington, DC 20016

Architects: Philip H. Frohman, George Frederick Bodley, Henry Vaughan

Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health in Las Vegas, Nevada

888 W Bonneville Ave, Las Vegas, NV 89106

Architect: Frank Gehry

The Bahá'í House of Worship in Wilmette, Illinois

100 Linden Ave, Wilmette, IL 60091

Architects: Louis Bourgeois, George A. Fuller

The George Peabody Library in Baltimore, Maryland

17 E Mt Vernon Pl, Baltimore, MD 21202

Architect: Edmund George Lind

The Air Force Academy Chapel in Colorado Springs, Colorado

2348 Sijan Dr. Ste 100, USAF Academy, CO 80840

Architect: Walkter Netsch

Palace of Gold in Moundsville, West Virginia

3759 McCreary's Ridge Rd. Moundsville, WV 26041

Architect: Kirtanananda Swami

Mildred B. Cooper Memorial Chapel in Bella Vista, Arkansas

504 Memorial Dr, Bella Vista, AR 72714

Architect: Euine Fay Jones

My hope is that at least one of these photos sparked your imagination or appreciation for the art that is architecture. These structures are the visions of those who have physically manifested their imaginations and are indicative to the genius each of us hold. The next time you take a drive or a trip, be sure to take a minute to really take in these structures for the wonders they are.