dbsdream's User Profile - Atlas Obscura
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Chicago, Illinois

Couch Place (The Alley of Death)

This alley in downtown Chicago held the bodies of over 600 people after the fateful Iroquois Theatre fire.
Chicago, Illinois

Wooden Block Alley

All of Chicago's wood-paved streets are long gone but two alleys remain.
Chicago, Illinois

Graceland Cemetery

An enormous park-like oasis, full of famous Chicagoans' graves.
Chicago, Illinois

Shit Fountain

A giant bronze coil of feces is both a tribute to doggie defecation and a reminder to pick it up.
Chicago, Illinois

Alinea Restaurant

The subtle science of a master molecular gastronomist.
Chicago, Illinois

The Insect Asylum

A small Chicago museum filled with thousands of preserved butterflies, beetles, and more.
Chicago, Illinois

Ulysses S. Grant Boulder

A strange rock in Chicago marks the spot where a tree once stood in honor of the 18th President.
Chicago, Illinois

Pritzker Military Museum & Library

A military museum and library dedicated to the citizen soldier.
Chicago, Illinois

Shipwreck of the Silver Spray

This historic-shipwreck-cum-diving-spot can still be seen poking its boiler out of the Lake Michigan waters that claimed it.
Washington, D.C.

Serenity Statue

This poor little statue is the most vandalized memorial in Washington.
Washington, D.C.

Palace of Wonders

Bar full of oddities, specimens, artifacts and homages to the great dime museums of the past.
Washington, D.C.

Harewood Lodge

One of the first Second Empire-style buildings constructed in North America.
Washington, D.C.

Legislative Bell System

An ear-piercing buzzer calls lawmakers to a vote with a series of long and short rings to form coded messages.
Washington, D.C.

Washington Stock Exchange Building

D.C. once had its own tiny rival to the New York Stock Exchange.
Washington, D.C.

Freezing Newsmen Plaque

A small token of gratitude from freezing cold journalists who were given a warm haven while covering JFK's inauguration.
Washington, D.C.

Eritrean Cultural Civic Center

Daily lunch spot for many of Washington, D.C.'s cab drivers.
Washington, D.C.

Georgetown Waterfront

The little-known, 300-year history of the area includes former lives as a bustling tobacco port, parking lot, and industrial dump.
Washington, D.C.

C&O Boat Elevator Ruins

This forgotten boat elevator was an engineering marvel in its heyday.
Washington, D.C.

Hecht Company Warehouse

Art deco landmark on the outskirts of Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.

Washington Coliseum

A historic arena where the Beatles played their first concert in the U.S.
Washington, D.C.

The Cairo

This unacceptably tall building was the real reason for Washington, D.C.'s skyscraper ban.
Washington, D.C.

National Academy of Sciences

For 60 years, the academy had no permanent location until members voted Washington D.C. as its forever home.
Washington, D.C.

Historic Elevator at Potbelly

This sandwich shop has a century-old elevator behind a sheet of plexiglass.
Washington, D.C.

Library of Congress Book Conveyor Tunnel

A fantastic array of trays and cables once whisked books over to the Capitol at 600 feet per minute.