bpickert99's User Profile - Atlas Obscura
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Cass, West Virginia

Cass Scenic Railroad

Take a steam-powered ride straight out of the past on this Appalachian rail line.
Washington, D.C.

Holodomor Memorial

An easily overlooked memorial to a Ukrainian famine-genocide that killed over 4 million people.
Washington, D.C.

Roman Legionnaire Modesty Shields

Railroad officials in the early 1900s sought to spare travelers the sight of Roman soldiers’ private parts.
Washington, D.C.

Hall of Fake Presidents

Where you can hail your favorite fictional commanders-in-chief.
Washington, D.C.

Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception

Largest Roman Catholic church in North America.
Washington, D.C.

Ruins of the McMillan Sand Filtration Site

An Industrial Revolution-era public work that purified water using nothing but sand.
Silver Spring, Maryland

Wheaton Station Escalator

The longest escalator in the Western Hemisphere takes over three minutes to ride down.
Bethesda, Maryland

Walter Reed National Military Medical Center

FDR's Art Deco hospital tower was hopelessly inefficient.
Washington, D.C.

The Mutilated Currency Division

An obscure public service from the U.S. government that redeems burnt, moldy, and soiled old greenbacks.
Washington, D.C.

Alferd Packer Cannibal Plaque

A brass plaque dedicated to a convicted cannibal hangs in the National Press Club, and that's not even the craziest part of the story.
Washington, D.C.

The Cairo

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

USNO Master Clock

The most accurate timepiece in the world.
Washington, D.C.

FBI Spy House

A painfully obvious spy house sits right across the street from the Russian Embassy.
Washington, D.C.

National Cathedral Bell Tower

There’s a special club house at the top for the bell ringers.
Washington, D.C.

Space Window at the Washington National Cathedral

A tiny piece of the Moon is embedded in this stained glass masterpiece.
Washington, D.C.

Sharpshooter's Tree

A diminutive plaque recalls the treetop sniper who almost killed Abe Lincoln.
Silver Spring, Maryland

'Coastline' Wave Pool

Live data is transmitted from the Atlantic coast to instantly recreate the ocean waves in this fountain at the NOAA headquarters.
Suttons Bay, Michigan

The Archduke of Austria's Michigan Grave

Where else would you expect to find the gravesite of European royalty than the windswept dunes of rural Northern Michigan?
Germantown, Maryland

Ruins of Clopper Mill

The hidden ruins of a mill that is linked to an attempt to assassinate the vice president of the United States.
Gaithersburg, Maryland

U.S. National Prototype Kilogram

This golfball sized platinum iridium cylinder is the official starting point for all national weight calibrations
Rockville, Maryland

The Fitzgeralds' Gravesite

The final resting place of the tragic king and queen of the Jazz Age is tucked away in a small Maryland graveyard.
Colmar Manor, Maryland

Bladensburg Dueling Grounds

Politicians, bureaucrats, and military officers gathered in this field near the Capitol to settle their disputes with blood.
Kansas City, Missouri

The Holy Finger of Kansas City

A piece of John the Baptist in the American heartland.
Overland Park, Kansas

1950s All-Electric House

Step back in time at this 1950s display home, built to showcase once cutting-edge electric amenities.