Washington, D.C.
Treasury Department Cash Vault
Where the U.S. government kept its actual treasure, before Fort Knox.
895
Places I've been
Places this traveler has marked as been there.
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.
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.
Washington, D.C.
Mary's Garden
An overlooked oasis of quiet on the grounds of Washington's monumental basilica.
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.
Alferd Packer Cannibal Plaque
A brass plaque dedicated to a convicted cannibal hangs in the National Press Club, and that's not even the craziest part of the story.
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.
Permanently Closed
Washington, D.C.
Site of the Knickerbocker Disaster
You could be standing at the site of one of D.C.'s most fatal tragedies and not even know it.
Washington, D.C.
Library of Congress Card Catalog
A nostalgic bibliographic gem.
Washington, D.C.
Mount Zion Cemetery's Underground Railroad Shelter
People escaping slavery may have hidden inside a corpse vault.
Washington, D.C.
International Temple of the Order of the Eastern Star
Obscure Freemasons still live in D.C.’s largest private residence.
Washington, D.C.
Grace Hopper's Bug
A computer bug so primitive it was an actual insect.
Washington, D.C.
The Big Chair
A super-sized promotional trick that is now a D.C. landmark.
Washington, D.C.
The Adams Memorial
A haunting tribute to pioneering photographer Clover Adams.
Washington, D.C.
Holt House
There's a crumbling old mansion inside the Smithsonian National Zoo.
Washington, D.C.
The Mutilated Currency Division
An obscure public service from the U.S. government that redeems burnt, moldy, and soiled old greenbacks.
Washington, D.C.
Tudor Place
A historic estate packed with George Washington's heirlooms, and its own nuclear bunker.
Washington, D.C.
Rockefeller Mansion in Rock Creek Park
This leafy estate is worth $18 million and is so grand it has two mailing addresses.
Washington, D.C.
Barbie Pond on Q Street
A rotating cast of guys and dolls in front of a Washington, D.C. building.
Permanently Closed
Washington, D.C.
Church of Two Worlds
A Spiritualist house of worship where believers communicate with the dead in the spirit world.
Washington, D.C.
Ruins of the McMillan Sand Filtration Site at Reservoir Park
An Industrial Revolution-era public work that purified water using nothing but sand.
Washington, D.C.
Kilroy Was Here
There’s a hidden military meme engraved on the World War II Memorial.
Washington, D.C.
Summerhouse
A hidden gem on the lawn of the U.S. Capitol Building designed by landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted.
Washington, D.C.
Foundry Branch Trolley Trestle Ruins
A derelict bit of transportation infrastructure hidden in the woods.
