Washington, D.C.
USNO Master Clock
The most accurate timepiece in the world.
Places BethWH Wants to Go
703
Places I want to go
Places on this traveler's wishlist.
Washington, D.C.
Watergate Steps
Decades before the scandal, this staircase on the river was a literal "water gate."
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.
Carnegie Library of Washington, D.C.
D.C.'s first central library was born out of a chance encounter with the philanthropist whose name it bears.
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.
Barbie Pond on Q Street
A rotating cast of guys and dolls in front of a Washington, D.C. building.
Washington, D.C.
Frederick Douglass’s House, Cedar Hill
The famous abolitionist’s preserved estate is one of Washington's finest monuments to its great Black citizens.
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.
Lincoln Book Tower
A three-story tower of books about Abraham Lincoln is one of the more unusual monuments to the president.
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.
The Mary Surratt Boarding House
The house where John Wilkes Booth conspired with his co-conspirators.
Washington, D.C.
National Archives Vault
An atomic bomb-proof strongbox protects the U.S. Constitution from terrorists and thieves.
Washington, D.C.
Mount Zion Cemetery's Underground Railroad Shelter
People escaping slavery may have hidden inside a corpse vault.
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.
House of the Temple
This imposing Masonic temple a mile from the White House was the first public library in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Fort DeRussy
A Civil War fort in the middle of Washington, D.C. has been swallowed by a forest.
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.
Sergeant Stubby
The most decorated dog of World War I is preserved in the Smithsonian.
Washington, D.C.
Library of Congress Card Catalog
A nostalgic bibliographic gem.
Washington, D.C.
Tudor Place
A historic estate packed with George Washington's heirlooms, and its own nuclear bunker.
Washington, D.C.
Foundry Branch Trolley Trestle Ruins
A derelict bit of transportation infrastructure hidden in the woods.
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.
National Building Museum
Fittingly, America's museum of architecture is itself a magnificently designed old building.
