A gift from Japan, 17th-century lantern stands among the cherry trees at D.C.'s Tidal Basin.

The only Leonardo Da Vinci painting in the Western Hemisphere.

One critic described it as "middle Mussolini, early Ramses, and late Neiman-Marcus." Another called it an architectural "natural disaster."

The 5.5-mile ring of steel posts around the Capitol Building is one of the largest (and most uniform) of its kind in the world.

This statue of the "father of television" stands prominently in the United States Capitol.

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

The school tested mustard gas for the U.S. Army during World War I.

Where you can hail your favorite fictional commanders-in-chief.

A secret greenspace hides atop a Capitol parking garage.

This seemingly out-of-place gas station by the Watergate hotel was once described as the most expensive gas station in the world.

One of the most influential presidents in U.S. history wanted only this plain, elegant monument as his lasting memorial.

A derelict bit of infrastructure from the canal that once ran through D.C. is landlocked in the heart of the city.

A hidden passageway now marks the site of an assassination attempt on Ronald Reagan that some say broke a 140-year-old curse.

A muscular Art Deco monument represents the struggle between regulators and unbridled markets.

A bas relief commemorates the "Nuns of the Battlefield" who cared for soldiers on both sides of the conflict.

The first memorial dedicated solely to the Black troops who fought for the Union.

When it comes to handsignals (and colonialism) rock always beats scissors.

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

Look closely and you’ll notice that the color changes a third of the way up the tower.

A historic arena where the Beatles played their first concert in the U.S.

A much-maligned monument to teetotalism.

Architecture lovers won’t stop touching the National Gallery's 19.5 degree marble prow.

Senators used to relax in the nearly forgotten marble tubs now hidden in the U.S. Capitol Building's basement.

Light bulbs, scrap wood, and tinfoil comprise this homemade throne of the gods.