One of the world’s most famous dams, the Hoover Dam in Nevada opened in 1935 and features a wall that extends 726 feet above the Colorado River. The Gateway Arch opened to the public in 1967. The St. Louis, Missouri, landmark reaches 630 feet tall, making it the largest arch anywhere in the world.

There are five Guggenheim museums around the world, and they are famous for their intricate designs. The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum opened in New York City in 1959. Its famously curvy facade was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. In 1997, the Guggenheim Foundation opened an equally stunning museum in Bilbao, Spain, which was designed by architect Frank Gehry.

Located in Rome, Italy, the Trevi Fountain was built between 1732 and 1762. The famous Baroque fountain reaches 85 feet tall and 161 feet wide. Las Vegas’ Bellagio Fountains are a considerably more modern landmark. Opened in 1998, they put on a spectacular water show, with water jetting as high as 460 feet above the Las Vegas Strip.

China’s Forbidden City complex was built in the early 1400s. Composed of 980 buildings, the site served as China’s imperial palace from 1420 to 1912. India’s Taj Mahal was commissioned in 1632 by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan, who built the monument to serve as a burial ground for his wife.

The Great Pyramid of Giza is among the oldest structures on Earth. It was commissioned by King Khufu sometime around the year 2550 BCE and took around 30 years to build. The Great Wall of China, on the other hand, was built beginning in the third century BCE and expanded upon several times in subsequent years.

New York City’s Brooklyn Bridge opened on May 24, 1883, while San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge opened on May 27, 1937. While the Brooklyn Bridge is older, the Golden Gate wins on length — it soars 8,981 feet across San Francisco Bay, while the Brooklyn Bridge stretches 6,016 feet across the East River.

Buckingham Palace was built in the early 18th century and later acquired by King George III in 1761. However, the palace didn’t serve as a royal residence until 1837. The White House was completed in 1800 and welcomed its first resident, America’s second President, John Adams, that same year.

The Louvre Museum opened in Paris, France, in 1793 (though its iconic glass pyramid entryway wasn’t completed until 1989). Design of the Museo Nacional del Prado in Madrid, Spain, began as far back as 1785, but the museum didn’t open to the public until 1819. Both institutions are among the most prestigious art museums in the world.

Famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright’s Robie House in Chicago, Illinois, was built in 1906. It helped define the prairie style that Wright pioneered. In 1935, Wright designed the iconic Fallingwater house in Mill Run, Pennsylvania, notable for incorporating a natural waterfall in its design.

Hagia Sophia, located in Istanbul, Turkey, was built during the sixth century by the Byzantines. It has served as a mosque, a Christian church, and a museum throughout its existence. The Borobudur Temple in Magelang, Indonesia, was completed centuries after the Hagia Sophia in 825 CE. It is the largest Buddhist temple ever built.

Washington Union Station opened six years before Grand Central Terminal. The D.C. train station serves as the headquarters for Amtrak, the national rail service of the United States. The Beaux-Arts-style Grand Central Terminal opened in New York City in 1913. Its 44 platforms make it the world’s largest train station.

The 605-foot-tall Space Needle was built for the 1962 world’s fair in Seattle, Washington. The CN Tower opened in Toronto, Canada, over a decade later in 1976. The Canadian observation tower may not be as old, but it’s much taller, reaching heights of 1,815 feet.

The Roman Pantheon and Greek Parthenon may have similar names and purposes, but they were built over five centuries apart. The Parthenon, which dates to between 447 and 438 BCE, was built to honor the Greek goddess Athena. The Pantheon was built in Rome in 126 CE as a sacred hall meant to honor all Roman gods.

Opened in 1871 by Queen Victoria, London’s Royal Albert Hall still hosts more than 400 events annually. On the other side of the globe, the Sydney Opera House wasn’t completed until over a century later in 1973. The Sydney Opera House hosts an incredible 2,000-plus events each year.

Standing 1,046 feet tall, New York City’s Chrysler Building opened in 1930 and held the title of world’s tallest building for its first 11 months of existence. The Chrysler Building lost the title to another Manhattan skyscraper when construction on the 1,454-foot-tall Empire State Building was completed in 1931.

Soaring 2,717 feet tall, Dubai’s Burj Khalifa has been the world’s tallest building since its completion in 2010. In 2014, another impressive (albeit slightly shorter) tower was completed in New York City. One World Trade Center reaches heights of 1,776 feet, making it the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere.

While several churches have existed on the site of St. Peter’s Basilica as far back as the fourth century CE, the current structure wasn’t built in Vatican City until 1626. Meanwhile, the construction of Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, Spain, began in 1882. Work on this Antoni Gaudí-designed church is still ongoing, with an estimated 2026 completion date.

Rome’s Colosseum was built under Emperor Vespasian beginning sometime around 72 CE. Construction on the Leaning Tower of Pisa didn’t begin until 1173. The angled tower was finally completed in 1372, as the project was delayed due to ongoing wars.

Engineer Gustave Eiffel not only created the Eiffel Tower in Paris, but also helped design the framework of New York City’s Statue of Liberty. A gift to the United States from the people of France, the Statue of Liberty was completed and shipped to America in 1885. President Grover Cleveland officially dedicated the statue a year later. Eiffel began work on his namesake tower in 1887, and it opened in 1889.

Washington, D.C.’s National Mall is filled with important architectural landmarks, from the White House to the U.S. Capitol. Upon its opening in 1884, the Washington Monument became the mall’s first site honoring a former U.S. President. The Lincoln Memorial opened several decades later, in 1922, and the Jefferson Memorial opened in 1943.