The institution is sitting on a goldmine of 21,000 paints, varnishes, pigments, and primers preserved for posterity.

The "lovely red Vega" of the legendary record-settling pilot.

The remains of Martha, the last known passenger pigeon, serve as a tool to educate about conservation.

The most decorated dog of World War I is preserved in the Smithsonian.

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

A heroic pigeon that, through a barrage of gunfire, delivered a message that saved over 100 lives in World War I.

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

The national park was once a plantation estate.

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

Those with a sharp eye can find the hidden image of a German Shepherd on the memorial's Mural Wall.

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

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

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

This mysterious structure by the Washington Monument is a flood barrier designed to protect the White House against rising waters.

An overlooked memorial honoring the local Washington residents who died in World War I.

There’s a hidden military meme engraved on the World War II Memorial.