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Washington, D.C.

Willard Hotel

Legend has it that President Grant’s frequent drinking in the lobby gave rise to the term “lobbyist.”
Elliot Carter Added by Elliot Carter
Washington, D.C.

Glenwood Cemetery's Chainsaw Sculptures

The towering figures were created from the cemetery's fallen old-growth trees.
Laflaneure Added by Laflaneure
Washington, D.C.

Mary's Garden

An overlooked oasis of quiet on the grounds of Washington's monumental basilica.
R Stemple Added by R Stemple
Washington, D.C.

Holodomor Memorial

An easily overlooked memorial to a Ukrainian famine-genocide that killed over 4 million people.
R Stemple Added by R Stemple
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.

Hecht Company Warehouse

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

Washington Monument Lightning Rod

The monument's pointy aluminum tip has been melted down by repeated lightning strikes.
Elliot Carter Added by Elliot Carter
Washington, D.C.

Temperance Fountain

A much-maligned monument to teetotalism.
WhiskeyBristles Added by WhiskeyBristles
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.

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.

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.

District of Columbia Center Point

A little marble compass above George Washington's (empty) tomb in the Capitol marks where D.C.'s four quadrants intersect.
Elliot Carter Added by Elliot Carter
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.

FDR's Bomb Shelter

The first presidential bomb shelter was located in an old vault under the Treasury, connected to the White House via tunnel.
Elliot Carter Added by Elliot Carter
Washington, D.C.

Godey Lime Kilns

A historic ruin just 20 feet away from a busy highway onramp.
WhiskeyBristles Added by WhiskeyBristles
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.

Memorial to Japanese-American Patriotism in World War II

An unassuming, powerful monument north of the U.S. Capitol bears witness to the resilience of Japanese Americans during a time of grave injustice.
WhiskeyBristles Added by WhiskeyBristles
Washington, D.C.

Capitol Building Tunnel System

Members of Congress have traveled between the buildings on Capitol Hill for a century hidden from tourists, press, and storm clouds.
Elliot Carter Added by Elliot Carter
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.

Bare-Chested George Washington

Perhaps the most scandalous statue of America's first president.
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.

Uncle Beazley the Triceratops

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

USNO Master Clock

The most accurate timepiece in the world.
Elliot Carter Added by Elliot Carter
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