Josep Pascó Casa Casas-Carrbó, Barcelona 1902.

The former private home is now a luxury store. link

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Lavirotte Building (1901), 29 Avenue Rapp, 7th arrondissement, Paris.

I bet people who live here smile every time they see that doorway.

Rockefeller Center in 1933, before it was surrounded by tall buildings.

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Grace Farms, New Canaan, Connecticut.

Thrillist has some good ones.

At 29 Avenue Rapp in the 7th arrondissement, very close to the Eiffel Tower. Built between 1899 and 1901, this Art Nouveau masterpiece by Jules Lavirotte is quite striking. The detailed door was designed by sculptor Jean-Baptiste Larrive and sculpted by a variety of others. If you happen to be in Paris, seek this beauty out!” (Photo: W. Brian Duncan.)

Amusing Planet:

When Sutyagin began work on his house in 1992, he only intended to build a two-storey structure — larger than those of his neighbors to reflect his position as the city’s richest man. But a trip to see the wooden houses in Japan and Norway convinced him that he had not used roof space efficiently enough and decided to keep building.

“First I added three floors but then the house looked ungainly, like a mushroom,” explained Sutyagin to the Telegraph in 2007. “So I added another and it still didn’t look right so I kept going. What you see today is a happy accident.”

Sutyagin even built a five-storey bath house in the garden, complete with rooms where he could entertain his colleagues from his construction company, and their girlfriends. But before he could complete his dream, Sutyagin was arrested on racketeering charges in 1998 and sent to prison for four years.

When he was released, he discovered that his rivals had robbed him blind, destroyed his equipment, and even threw his five cars into the river. And then his neighbors started complaining about the monstrosity of his house while city authorities pointed out to him that no wooden structure should be higher than two floors, and warned him that fire could cause the whole suburb to go up in flames. Finally in 2008, the court ordered the house to be demolished. Over the following year, the house was pulled down.

More photos

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Lohort Castle, County Cork, Ireland
Lohort Castle was built near Cecilstown around 1496 by Donogh Og McDonagh McCarthy. It was taken by Irish forces during the Civil War. In 1647, one of the bloodiest battles of the War took place at the Castle and over 4,500 men were killed. In 1650 Lohort was bombarded and captured by Cromwell’s troops but the structure withstood the cannon fire due to the strength of its 10 foot thick walls. Lohort was rebuilt around 1750 by Sir John Percival, the Earl Of Egmont. The Percivals lived there until 1922 when Lohort Castle was burned down by the IRA.