NOCTURNA
ATLAS OF THE UNUSUAL
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Stories from Nova York, Nova York, Estados Unidos

Explore published stories from Nova York, Nova York, Estados Unidos and nearby.

In this place

Death Avenue: freight trains, children and cowboys on New York streets

For nearly a century, freight trains shared Manhattan streets with pedestrians. The nickname “Death Avenue” grew from real accidents and fueled protests, legislation and the High Line. This dossier traces the route, the West Side Cowboys, Seth Low Hascamp’s death, conflicting casualty figures and the railroad’s transformation into a park.

Nearby stories

110 km · New Haven

The Voynich Manuscript: the real book behind the unread script

Held at Yale as MS 408, the codex contains hard-to-identify plants, celestial diagrams, bathing figures and a script still without an accepted reading. This dossier follows the object, its ownership, the dating of its parchment and the actual limits of linguistic analysis.

197 km · Centralia

Centralia: the town divided by fire beneath the ground

A fire first reported in 1962 spread through coal seams and old mine workings below Centralia, Pennsylvania. Before it became a “ghost town,” the place saw containment attempts, gas measurements, arguments over risk and the painful relocation of families. This dossier follows the records, residents’ voices and the fire that persists.