Kyle Magnuson Profile

Kyle Magnuson
Kyle Magnuson.

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I live and work in Los Angeles, California, though I am originally from the Midwest. I graduated with a Bachelor's degree in History at the University of Wisconsin-Superior and a Master's degree in Teaching (Social Studies) from the University of Southern California (USC). As an undergraduate I completed coursework in China, Scotland, and Korea. As a member of AmeriCorps, I provided educational services to communities throughout Los Angeles. Today, I am a founding teacher at a middle school, where I teach United States History.

I have contributed an overabundance of information to the country page and forum for South Korea. I consider Korea to be one the great rewards for world heritage travelers. Firstly, a high number of accessible WHS reachable by efficient public transport. Secondly, excellent interpretation and management of each site, including translation. Lastly, the public awareness and domestic interest in world heritage in Korea is exceptional, including world heritage themed festivals and campaigns for aspiring nominations. 

I often travel plan and create lists/goals regarding future trips. Listed below are the sites I hope to visit during the next few years.

My Flickr

Complete California

World Heritage Planning 2024-2030

Argentina/Uruguay/Brazil (9 WHS)

  • The Architectural Work of Le Corbusier (Argentina)
  • ESMA Museum and Site of Memory (Argentina)
  • Cordoba (Argentina)
  • Colonia del Sacramento (Uruguay)
  • Iguazu National Park (Argentina)
  • Iguacu (Brazil)
  • Rio de Janeiro (Brazil)
  • Valongo Wharf (Brazil)
  • Sítio Roberto Burle Marx (Brazil)

Australia/Singapore (6 WHS)

  • Sydney Opera House (New South Wales, Australia)
  • Greater Blue Mountains Area (New South Wales, Australia)
  • Australian Convict Sites (New South Wales, Australia)
  • Royal Exhibition Building and Carlton Gardens (Victoria, Australia)
  • Budj Bim Cultural Landscape (Victoria, Australia)
  • Singapore Botanic Gardens (Singapore)

Azores-Portugal (1)

  • Central Zone of the Town of Angra do Heroismo in the Azores

Canada-East (9 WHS)

  • Grand Pré
  • Gros Morne National Park
  • Joggins Fossil Cliffs
  • L'Anse aux Meadows
  • Mistaken Point
  • Old Québec
  • Old Town Lunenburg
  • Red Bay Basque Whaling Station
  • Rideau Canal

Canadian Prairie Provinces (4 WHS)

  • Writing-on-Stone / Áísínai’pi
  • Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump
  • Dinosaur Provincial Park
  • The Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks

Caribbean (5 WHS)

  • Historic Bridgetown (Barbados)
  • Morne Trois Pitons (Dominica)
  • Volcanoes and Forests of Mount Pelée and the Pitons of Northern Martinique (France)
  • Blue and John Crow Mountains (Jamaica)
  • La Fortaleza (Puerto Rico)

Costa Rica (1 WHS)

  • Guanacaste Conservation Area

France (9 WHS)

  • The Architectural Work of Le Corbusier
  • Routes of Santiago de Compostela in France
  • Chartres Cathedral
  • The Palace and Park of Fontainebleau
  • Roman Theatre and its Surroundings and the "Triumphal Arch" of Orange
  • Historic Centre of Avignon: Papal Palace, Episcopal Ensemble and Avignon Bridge
  • Pont du Gard (Roman Aqueduct)
  • Maison Carrée de Nîmes
  • Arles, Roman and Romanesque Monuments

Ghana/Rwanda (3 WHS)

  • Forts and Castles, Central Region (Ghana) *Cape Coast/Elmina
  • Memorial sites of the Genocide (Rwanda)
  • Nyungwe National Park (Rwanda)

Gulf States (5 WHS)

  • Qal'at al-Bahrain (Bahrain)
  • Pearling, testimony of an island economy (Bahrain)
  • Aflaj Irrigation System (Oman)
  • Bahla Fort (Oman)
  • Al Zubarah Archaeological Site (Qatar)

India - Western Coast (4 WHS)

  • Victorian Gothic and Art Deco Ensemble of Mumbai
  • Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus
  • Elephanta Caves
  • Churches and Convents of Goa

Japan (8 WHS)

  • National Museum of Western Art (Le Corbusier)
  • Shrines and Temples of Nikko
  • Hiraizumi Temples and Gardens
  • Mount Fuji
  • Historic Villages of Shirakawa-go and Gokayama 

Busan to Fukuoka Ferry

  • Hidden Christian Sites in the Nagasaki Region
  • Sites of Japan's Meiji Industrial Revolution
  • Yakushima

Mongolia (2 WHS)

  • Deer Stone Monuments
  • Orkhon Valley Cultural Landscape

Nordic/Baltic Nations (6 WHS)

  • Visby (Sweden)
  • Karlskrona (Sweden)
  • Birka and Hovgarden (Sweden)
  • Fortress of Suomenlinna (Finland)
  • Tallinn (Estonia) *ferry from Helsinki
  • Struve Geodetic Arc - Tartu Observatory (Estonia)

Northern Mexico via driving (1 WHS)

  • Nuevo Casas Grandes: Archaeological Zone of Paquimé

Slovenia/Italy (3 WHS)

  • The Works of Jože Plečnik in Ljubljana (Slovenia)
  • Škocjan Caves (Slovenia)
  • Venice (Italy)

Thailand/Cambodia (5 WHS)

  • Historic City of Ayutthaya (Thailand)
  • The Ancient Town of Si Thep (Thailand)
  • Dong Phayayen - Khao Yai Forest Complex (Thailand)
  • Angkor (Cambodia)
  • Koh Ker (Cambodia)

United Kingdom (10 WHS)

  • Kew Gardens
  • Westminster
  • Tower of London
  • Maritime Greenwich
  • Blenheim Palace
  • Stonehenge
  • City of Bath
  • Great Spa Towns of Europe
  • Frontiers of the Roman Empire
  • Durham Castle and Cathedral

United States (1 WHS)

  • Alaska: Kluane/Wrangell-St. Elias/Glacier Bay/Tatshenshini-Alsek

Yucatán Peninsula Mexico via Train (6 WHS)

  • Sian Ka'an
  • Pre-Hispanic City of Chichen-Itza
  • Pre-Hispanic Town of Uxmal
  • Historic Fortified Town of Campeche
  • Pre-Hispanic City and National Park of Palenque
  • Ancient Maya City of Calakmul, Campeche

Travel Plans [Country List]

Visited Sites Kyle Magnuson

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Legend

  • Cultural
  • Natural
  • Mixed

Recent Reviews Kyle Magnuson


Guanajuato

Kyle Magnuson California - United States of America - 08-Jan-24

Guanajuato

Clearly, based on the reviews thus far there is no need to go into the magic of Guanajuato! The music of the Callejoneada, the beautiful plazas (personal favorite, Plaza de San Fernando), Teatro Juarez, and the University steps each offer their own reward. The numerous historic Churches are noteworthy, though I would highlight Templo de San Francisco and the surrounding small streets 'Manuel Doblado' and 'Del Campanero' as particularly worthwhile areas to explore. Based on the glowing reviews here, I determined 4 days in Guanajuato would be ideal, considering there would be some closures on Christmas Eve and Christmas day. The festive holidays only added to the city's beauty

Read On

San Miguel de Allende

Kyle Magnuson California - United States of America - 06-Jan-24

San Miguel de Allende

One does wonder walking in San Miguel de Allende if each gallery and restaurant is trying to outdo the other to impress potential customers. The ambience, the decor, the presentation is often impeccable. Yes, the "upmarket" vibe in San Miguel is certainly felt and on full display. Yet, during the holidays families were filling up Jardín Allende and Plaza Civica, usually with an ice cream or snack in hand from a street vendor. There is a little bit of everything here to satisfy a wide range of travelers. Sometimes referred to as 'El Corazon' (the fiercely beating bohemian heart of Mexico), one can see an overabundance of charm, culture, and art throughout the town.

Read On

Querétaro

Kyle Magnuson California - United States of America - 02-Jan-24

Querétaro

Querétaro does not exhibit the type of intact historic core as experienced in San Miguel de Allende and therefore is rightly or wrongly judged as inferior. As a visitor, I also preferred San Miguel de Allende overall, but I noticed something odd while reviewing pictures. I took a lot more pictures in Querétaro, because there are way MORE historic sites or monuments in Querétaro (258 ha) than compared with the relatively small historic centre of San Miguel de Allende (43 ha). More of something rarely means quality, but then I think of the Museo de Arte de Querétaro, the Aqueduct, and Santa Rosa de Viterbo Church, and more. Are these sites inferior to what I experienced in San Miguel de Allende? These are monumental, impressive historic properties

Read On

Sharjah: the Gate to Trucial States (T)

Kyle Magnuson California - United States of America - 22-Dec-23

Sharjah: the Gate to Trucial States (T)

There are so few world heritage sites connected to Aviation. Ideally this nomination will eventually evolve into a transnational nomination with the UK, the UAE, Singapore, and other nations where these early 'air stations' remain preserved.

Croydon Airport (UK)

Mahatta Fort (UAE)

Kallang Airport (Singapore)

1935 Map of Imperial Airways Routes

After the UAE gets their 2nd WHS, perhaps as early as 2025 (Faya), Al Mahatta Airport might be the next dossier queued up for UNESCO. I believe ICOMOS in this case might be preferential to a narrowed UAE nomination focusing on the airport, while also being supportive of a transnational site.

Read On

Mleiha, Late Pre-Islamic Center of a South-East Arabian Kingdom (T)

Kyle Magnuson California - United States of America - 09-Dec-23

Mleiha, Late Pre-Islamic Center of a South-East Arabian Kingdom (T)

You might wonder why Mleiha since 2017 has become an increasingly promoted excursion from Sharjah/Dubai? The interpretation and programing at Mleiha is exceptional. In February 2023, four new tentative nominations emerged from the Emirate of Sharjah. According to our guide, the Ruler of Sharjah and his daughter are obsessed with Archaeology and deeply invested in the discoveries at Mleiha.

To visit Mleiha and specifically to have access to each historic component you must visit the Mleiha Archaeological Centre and reserve the Archaeology Tour (in advance online), but probably no trouble to arrive on-site and pay then. We had reserved both of our tours well in advance, each tour related to TWHS nominations (Mleiha and Faya). We were more intrigued by the Faya Palaeolandscape, while Mleiha gave us more to "see"

Read On

Profile Data

Name
Kyle Magnuson
Country
California - United States of America
Most Impressive
Yellowstone, Machu Picchu
Proposal
Native/Indigenous Sites in the United States: (1) Ancestral Lands of the Diné: Canyon de Chelly & Monument Valley (2) Coso Rock Art Historic District (3) Heritage of the Hawaiian Kingdom (4) Rock Art of the Chumash People (5) Sinagua Cultural Landscape 6) Southwestern Utah: Canyonlands and Bears Ears Cultural Landscape 7) Grand Canyon National Park (cultural criteria)
Website
website

Recently Visited WHS

Update 05.03.24
Rating Stats
Istanbul 4.5
Redwood 4.5
Jeju 4
Sintra 4
Toledo 4
Al Ain 3.5
Cuzco 3.5
Gyeongju 3.5
Macao 3.5
Belem 3
Lima 3
Hopewell 2.5
Mafra 2.5
Nice 2.5
  1. Guanajuato
  2. San Miguel de Allende
  3. Querétaro
  4. Al Ain
  5. Willemstad
  6. Hawaii Volcanoes
  7. Gulf of California
  8. Yellowstone
  9. Waterton Glacier International Peace Park
  10. Great Smoky Mountains
  11. Monticello
  12. Poverty Point
  13. Hopewell
  14. Carlsbad Caverns
  15. Monastery of Alcobaça
  16. Monastery of Batalha
  17. Sintra
  18. Convent of Christ in Tomar
  19. Belem
  20. Mafra
  21. Segovia
  22. El Escurial
  23. Aranjuez
  24. University of Coimbra
  25. Paseo del Prado and Buen Retiro
  26. Drottningholm
  27. Kronborg Castle
  28. Roskilde Cathedral
  29. Skogskyrkogarden
  30. Southern Öland
  31. Par force hunting landscape
  32. Olympic National Park
  33. Nice
  34. El Pinacate
  35. Gaya Tumuli
  36. Seowon, Neo-Confucian Academies
  37. Macao
  38. San Antonio Missions
  39. Works of Antoni Gaudí
  40. Great Wall
  41. Versailles
  42. Mesa Verde
  43. Paris, Banks of the Seine
  44. Statue of Liberty
  45. Independence Hall
  46. Temple of Heaven
  47. Teotihuacan
  48. Central University City Campus of the UNAM
  49. Mexico City and Xochimilco
  50. Grand Canyon
  51. Qhapaq Ñan
  52. South China Karst
  53. Silk Roads Chang'an-Tianshan Corridor
  54. Forth Bridge
  55. El Pinacate
  56. Sansa, Buddhist Mountain Monasteries
  57. Taos Pueblo
  58. Edinburgh
  59. Machu Picchu
  60. Summer Palace
  61. Chaco Culture
  62. Toledo
  63. Cahokia Mounds
  64. Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor
  65. Temple, Mansion and Cemetery of Confucius
  66. Imperial Tombs
  67. Frank Lloyd Wright Buildings
  68. Redwood
  69. Everglades
  70. Imperial Palace
  71. Baroque Churches
  72. Hahoe and Yangdong
  73. Getbol, Korean Tidal Flat
  74. Namhansanseong
  75. Baekje Historic Areas
  76. Gyeongju
  77. Haeinsa Temple
  78. Gochang, Hwasun, and Ganghwa Dolmen
  79. Jongmyo Shrine
  80. Mammoth Cave
  81. Istanbul
  82. Lima
  83. Seokguram Grotto and Bulguksa Temple
  84. Mount Taishan
  85. Hwaseong Fortress
  86. Royal Joseon Tombs
  87. New Lanark
  88. Cuzco
  89. Jeju
  90. Yosemite National Park
  91. Changdeokgung Palace Complex
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