I had been to London only perhaps a half-dozen times before I moved, and so I had lived in visitors' London: an intoxicating fairy tale of quirky architecture, treasure-filled museums, theater for every mood, exotic accents, stately parks, humorous food, royalty looming in the background and a subway system I could experience as amusing novelty rather than logistical necessity.
Ironically, another UN body – Unesco – listed earthen architecture as a world treasure a decade ago.
The New York Times' architecture critic, Nicolai Ouroussoff, has twice declared them architectural treasures that could be rehabilitated.
Yet the museum was also a trove of architectural treasures, including renderings and models from czarist times and the archives of many of the titans of Soviet architecture, from Konstantin Melnikov to Alexei Shchusev, after whom the institution was named.
The project does this while framing and preserving the Hollywood Palladium — not a particularly remarkable work of architecture but a treasure trove of entertainment history since its opening in 1940.
He and his colleague Andy MacMillan used to meet up and drink their favourite Scottish whisky, Macallan, while mourning the death of treasured architecture.
Before World War II, Dresden was called "Florence on the Elbe" and was considered one of the world's most beautiful cities because of its architecture and art treasures.
At 9,200 feet above sea level and stretching for 36 miles on a plateau lined with volcanoes, Quito was the first city ever to be declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site back in 1978 owing to its geographical beauty, 18th-century architecture, priceless Colonial treasures and its living traditions and culture.
The garden became a centerpiece of her life — she worked on it for more than 80 years — and a treasure of landscape architecture, which she opened to the public.
And Kiev is a treasure trove of church architecture and shady courtyards, and does not yet have the sleek look and feel of the well-trod tourist destination.
Galena, which has a population of just 3,500, is a treasure of 19th-century architecture and a popular destination for visitors from around the Midwest and beyond.
