>>>>>>>Lately I have been reading the mystery novels of John Lescroart (thanks again, Tamar). They are all set in San Francisco with a you-are-there specificity. The cover art of the next one on deck is a shot of the Golden Gate Bridge. It got me thinking about what our most iconic structures are. Man made, not natural wonders like the Grand Canyon or Niagara Falls. So maybe we can bat this around a little in the best chat tradition.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>These are in no particular order and not intended to be definitive. In fact I had about 8 before realizing I had left out my #1. Here is what I have so far ---
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>Statue of Liberty
>>>>>>>White House
>>>>>>>Capitol
>>>>>>>Washington Monument
>>>>>>>Lincoln Monument
>>>>>>>Yankee Stadium
>>>>>>>Mt. Rushmore
>>>>>>>The Hollywood sign
>>>>>>>Golden Gate Bridge
>>>>>>>Empire State Building
>>>>>>>Pentagon
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>Yeah, I know, that's 11. This is a work in progress. The floor is open.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>Also, don't forget the Welcome to Las Vegas sign!!!
>>>>>>
>>>>>>also... Hoover Dam (along with the Mike O’Callaghan – Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge (Colorado River Bridge) )
>>>>>>
>>>>>>and soon to be 1 World Trade Center (Freedom Tower).... just a few off the top of my bald head!
>>>>>
>>>>>How could everyone have overlooked the obvious: Graceland.
>>>>
>>>>We are in rare disagreement. It's not only tacky beyond words, it is the place where a once great artist met his final demise.
>>>
>>>Many are. What's the definition of iconic? However tacky, Graceland is a place where thousands go to gawk. On his birthday it's pandemonium. So, what's the definition of iconic? I'd have to say the home of an icon is iconic.
>>>
>>>>
>>>>Can we substitute Sun Studios in Memphis?
>>>
>>>Or maybe the Apollo Theatre?
>>
>>I will have to give more thought to Graceland.
>>
>>The Apollo is historic but I don't think iconic. You could drop most Americans into a seat 8th row center and they wouldn't know where they were. The Golden Gate, we know what that is. The White House, we know what that is. That's what I meant.
>
>But you could drop most Americans into a seat in one of the meeting rooms in the Whitehouse and they wouldn't know where they were either.
>
>If you dropped someone into an office in the Empire State Building, would they know where they are?
>

I think what makes it a landmark is that you can show someone an unlabelled picture and they'll know what it is. One of my morning stops is the Bing home page to see the photo of the day. When they're not nature photos, I always challenge myself to identify the location. (I rarely actually know it, though.) The ones that most people could identify are landmarks.

Tamar