Salem, OR

Judge William Waldo planted a giant sequoia sapling on his Oregon property in 1872. He liked it so much that when he later sold his land to the town of Salem, he made the town promise never to harm the tree. Salem agreed, and made the tree and the land immediately around it a park in 1936 -- but it probably wishes that it hadn't.

The town has grown into a city much faster than a giant sequoia grows into a giant sequoia. "Waldo Park" -- all 12 by 20 feet of it -- is gradually becoming a traffic hazard, encroaching into the lanes of busy Summer Street. The tree currently stands over 80 feet tall, but giant sequoias reach heights of hundreds of feet, and can live for over a thousand years. This is one attraction that promises to stick around for a long time.