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

The Throne of the Third Heaven of the Nations' Millennium General Assembly

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

Southwest Duck Pond

This lovely pocket park is one of the most under appreciated in D.C.
Washington, D.C.

USNO Master Clock

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

Watergate Steps

Decades before the scandal, this staircase on the river was a literal "water gate."
Washington, D.C.

Uncle Beazley the Triceratops

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

The Big Chair

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

Holt House

There's a crumbling old mansion inside the Smithsonian National Zoo.
Washington, D.C.

Mount Zion Cemetery's Underground Railroad Shelter

People escaping slavery may have hidden inside a corpse vault.
Washington, D.C.

Zero Milestone

A monument in Washington D.C. marks the spot from which all other roads were supposed to stem.
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.

National Capitol Columns

The United States Capitol's former columns still stand.
Washington, D.C.

Ruins of the McMillan Sand Filtration Site

An Industrial Revolution-era public work that purified water using nothing but sand.
Washington, D.C.

Peirce Mill Spy Station

Cold War intelligence agents monitored communist embassies from an attic in a former pigeon coop.
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.
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.

Theodore Roosevelt Island

The national park was once a plantation estate.
Washington, D.C.

St. Elizabeths Hospital

Government testing at the asylum briefly explored using marijuana as a "truth serum" on Nazi prisoners of war.
Washington, D.C.

National Building Museum

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

Secret Entrance to the White House

The winding route passes through an enclosed alleyway, two tunnels, and leads to the White House basement.
Washington, D.C.

Lincoln Memorial Undercroft

A cavernous three-story, 43,800-square-foot basement that was forgotten about for 60 years.
Washington, D.C.

Foundry Branch Trolley Trestle Ruins

A derelict bit of transportation infrastructure hidden in the woods.
Washington, D.C.

Riggs Library

A wondrous old library overlooking the nation's capital.