matt144's User Profile - Atlas Obscura
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Washington, D.C.

NASA Full Scale Wind Tunnel Propeller

While most wind tunnels test scale models, the "Cave of Winds" was large enough for actual airplanes.
Washington, D.C.

Amelia Earhart's Lockheed Vega

The "lovely red Vega" of the legendary record-settling pilot.
Washington, D.C.

Peacock Room

This stunning blue and gold room changed cities twice before becoming part of the Smithsonian.
Washington, D.C.

National Building Museum

Fittingly, America's museum of architecture is itself a magnificently designed old building.
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.

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.
Washington, D.C.

The Portrait Monument

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

Philo Farnsworth Statue

This statue of the "father of television" stands prominently in the United States Capitol.
Washington, D.C.

Senate Corncob Capitals

Corn-inthian columns with a uniquely American take on neoclassical architecture.
Washington, D.C.

Senate Bathtubs

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

Titanic Memorial

This lonely waterfront memorial to the men of the Titanic was erected by the "Women of America."
Washington, D.C.

Spirit of Justice Park

A secret greenspace hides atop a Capitol parking garage.
Savannah, Georgia

Jen Library Bee

You’ve heard of bookworms, but this small sculpture at a university library may be the world’s first bookbee.
Washington, D.C.

Capitol Bollards

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.
Washington, D.C.

Rayburn House Office Building

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

Summerhouse

A hidden gem on the lawn of the U.S. Capitol Building designed by landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted.