awiseman's User Profile - Atlas Obscura
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Washington, D.C.

Owney the Postal Dog

A traveling postal dog covered 48 states and more than 140,000 miles, and he lives on as taxidermy, patched up with a rabbit's foot and a pig's ear.
Annetta Black Added by Annetta Black
Washington, D.C.

Martha, the Last Passenger Pigeon

The remains of Martha, the last known passenger pigeon, serve as a tool to educate about conservation.
Rachel Added by Rachel
Washington, D.C.

Capitol Tile Room

In the basement of the U.S. Capitol Building is a hidden storage room full of ornate floor tiles leftover from the 1850s.
Elliot Carter Added by Elliot Carter
Washington, D.C.

Treasury Department Cash Vault

Where the U.S. government kept its actual treasure, before Fort Knox.
Elliot Carter Added by Elliot Carter
Washington, D.C.

The National Gallery's Art Materials Collection

The institution is sitting on a goldmine of 21,000 paints, varnishes, pigments, and primers preserved for posterity.
Elliot Carter Added by Elliot Carter
Washington, D.C.

D.C.'s Underground Bald Cypress Fossils

Four bald cypress trees in Lafayette Square, across from the White House, mark the southern edge of a 100,000 year old cypress swamp.
erikmoe Added by erikmoe
Washington, D.C.

NIST Newton Apple Tree

A clone of a cloned tree that was so important it allegedly had its own guards.
Elliot Carter Added by Elliot Carter
Washington, D.C.

Smithsonian Sushi Collection

Seemingly unremarkable items like empty sushi trays, chef hats, and freshness stickers are being preserved so future generations can look back on this beloved cultural import.
Elliot Carter Added by Elliot Carter
Washington, D.C.

Arizona Avenue Trestle

The span is crooked and made from two older recycled bridges.
Elliot Carter Added by Elliot Carter
Washington, D.C.

Belmont-Paul Women's Equality National Monument

Housing the National Women's Party since 1929, this historic house is now a monument to the fight for gender equality.
racheldoyle Added by racheldoyle
Washington, D.C.

Georgetown's Haunted Halcyon House

This stately mansion, built in 1787 by America's first Secretary of the Navy, is rumored to be one of the most haunted buildings in Washington, DC.
micahspangler Added by micahspangler
Washington, D.C.

Watergate Steps

Decades before the scandal, this staircase on the river was a literal "water gate."
Molly McBride Jacobson Added by Molly McBride Jacobson
Washington, D.C.

Ruins of the Columbian Cannon Foundry

These recently uncovered walls are all that's left of Washington, D.C's first defense contractor.
Elliot Carter Added by Elliot Carter
Washington, D.C.

U.S. Naval Observatory Library

A hoard of sky catalogs, astrophysical journals, even the works of Galileo and Copernicus.
Elliot Carter Added by Elliot Carter
Washington, D.C.

The Portrait Monument

Rumor has it the uncarved lump behind the three famous suffragists is reserved for the first woman president.
Meg Added by Meg
Washington, D.C.

Uncle Beazley the Triceratops

A celebrity from the late Cretaceous period.
Added by brazellrobert
Washington, D.C.

Grace Hopper's Bug

A computer bug so primitive it was an actual insect.
Molly McBride Jacobson Added by Molly McBride Jacobson
Washington, D.C.

International Temple of the Order of the Eastern Star

Obscure Freemasons still live in D.C.’s largest private residence.
Elliot Carter Added by Elliot Carter
Washington, D.C.

Abandoned Drawbridge Control Room

The hidden offices underneath Memorial Bridge have been locked up since 1976.
Elliot Carter Added by Elliot Carter
Washington, D.C.

The Big Chair

A super-sized promotional trick that is now a D.C. landmark.
Added by sjs89
Washington, D.C.

Reading Room at the Folger Shakespeare Library

Home to a vast and influential collection of Shakespeareana.
jessicahester1 Added by jessicahester1
Washington, D.C.

Peirce Mill Spy Station

Cold War intelligence agents monitored communist embassies from an attic in a former pigeon coop.
Elliot Carter Added by Elliot Carter
Washington, D.C.

House of the Temple

This imposing Masonic temple a mile from the White House was the first public library in Washington, D.C.
Added by dtjd594
Washington, D.C.

Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception

Largest Roman Catholic church in North America.
AllisonEng Added by AllisonEng