Washington, D.C.
George Washington's Townhouse Lots
After his presidency, George Washington planned to live only a few blocks from the Capitol building.
Places Annie Oortman Wants to Go
1964
Places I want to go
Places on this traveler's wishlist.
Washington, D.C.
White House Helipad
Disks are rolled out onto the south lawn to absorb the impact of Marine One's wheels like giant coffee coasters.
Washington, D.C.
Washington Stock Exchange Building
D.C. once had its own tiny rival to the New York Stock Exchange.
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.
Clean Rivers Tunnel
An 18-mile-long tunnel for sewage waste will soon wind within the bowels of Washington, D.C.
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.
Benjamin Grenup Monument
This grisly headstone doesn’t seem to be resting in peace.
Washington, D.C.
Missing Capitol Building Cornerstone
A promising candidate for the lost rock laid by George Washington was unearthed, but the hunt is still on.
Washington, D.C.
Site of the Union Station Train Crash
A 1,100-ton train fell through the floor in 1953. Workers got it patched up in just 72 hours.
Washington, D.C.
Freezing Newsmen Plaque
A small token of gratitude from freezing cold journalists who were given a warm haven while covering JFK's inauguration.
Washington, D.C.
The Lockkeeper's House
A derelict bit of infrastructure from the canal that once ran through D.C. is landlocked in the heart of the city.
Washington, D.C.
D.C. War Memorial
An overlooked memorial honoring the local Washington residents who died in World War I.
Washington, D.C.
Hinckley Hilton President's Walk
A hidden passageway now marks the site of an assassination attempt on Ronald Reagan that some say broke a 140-year-old curse.
Washington, D.C.
The Preamble in License Plates
The preamble to the U.S. Constitution written entirely from vanity license plates hangs in the Smithsonian museum.
Washington, D.C.
Bootlegging Room in the Cannon House Office Building
During Prohibition, the U.S. Congress had an "official" bootlegger, with his own Capitol Hill office.
Permanently Closed
Washington, D.C.
Government Printing Office
Need a hardcopy of the 50-title Code of Federal Regulations? This is the place.
Washington, D.C.
Potomac Park Flood Levee
This mysterious structure by the Washington Monument is a flood barrier designed to protect the White House against rising waters.
Washington, D.C.
First FDR Memorial
One of the most influential presidents in U.S. history wanted only this plain, elegant monument as his lasting memorial.
Washington, D.C.
Watergate Gas Station
This seemingly out-of-place gas station by the Watergate hotel was once described as the most expensive gas station in the world.
Washington, D.C.
Embassy Gulf Service Center
Behind an abandoned storefront is an example of pioneering 1930s gas station architecture.
Washington, D.C.
American University Experiment Station
The school tested mustard gas for the U.S. Army during World War I.
Washington, D.C.
Letelier-Moffitt Monument
A diminutive memorial marks the site of a successful assassination by a right-wing death squad in America's capital.
Washington, D.C.
The Tabulating Machine Co.
The early data processor factory founded in Washington for the 1890 U.S. Census went on to become IBM.
Washington, D.C.
The Sun Building
This nine-story building is the oldest standing skyscraper in D.C.
