Washington, D.C.
U.S. Naval Observatory Library
A hoard of sky catalogs, astrophysical journals, even the works of Galileo and Copernicus.
Places Caroline Thrift Wants to Go
432
Places I want to go
Places on this traveler's wishlist.
New York, New York
5 Beekman Street
This beautiful building in the heart of Manhattan's Financial District was empty for decades.
Mitaka, Japan
Ghibli Museum
A magical place that lets you play in and explore the world of Studio Ghibli.
Seattle, Washington
Howe Street Stairs
Spanning an elevation of 160 feet and containing 388 steps, this is Seattle's longest staircase.
Permanently Closed
Seattle, Washington
Seattle's Ramps to Nowhere
Activists are fighting to preserve these unfinished highway ramps as a tribute to the citizen revolt that halted their construction decades ago.
Seattle, Washington
Georgetown Steam Plant
A frozen relic of Seattle's hydroelectric boom is now a teaching facility for future engineers.
Aba, China
Huanglong Travertine Pools
Intensely colorful calcite pools in Southern China.
Seattle, Washington
Seattle Meowtropolitan Cat Café
Make your reservation to have coffee with some kitties.
Corbett, Oregon
Vista House at Crown Point
This extravagant Art Nouveau rest stop features a million-dollar view of the Columbia River.
Phoenix, Arizona
Octobass
The massive, incredibly rare instrument is over 11 feet tall with a range so deep it goes lower than humans can hear.
Madison, Wisconsin
Lamp House
Hidden away in the city of Madison, Wisconsin is a nearly forgotten home that Frank Lloyd Wright built for a childhood friend.
Richland Center, Wisconsin
A.D. German Warehouse
The only Frank Lloyd Wright-designed structure in the architect's hometown.
Washington, D.C.
Cuban-American Friendship Urn
The only National Monument ever to go missing for nearly 50 years then resurface in a dump.
Washington, D.C.
Dumbarton Oaks
The Byzantine, pre-Columbian, and medieval art at this stately mansion are some of the most under-appreciated collections in D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Culture House
A historic neighborhood church is reborn as a psychedelic arts collective.
Washington, D.C.
Foundry Branch Trolley Trestle Ruins
A derelict bit of transportation infrastructure hidden in the woods.
Sorrento, Italy
Valle dei Mulini (Valley of the Mills)
An Italian crevasse filled with abandoned buildings gives visitors a look at the world without humans.
Washington, D.C.
Owney the Postal Dog
A traveling postal dog covered 48 states and more than 140,000 miles, and he lives on as taxidermy, patched up with a rabbit's foot and a pig's ear.
Somerville, Massachusetts
Somerville Round House
A unique columnar residence built in the 19th century.
Cold Spring, New York
West Point Foundry Preserve
This abandoned ironworks was once the most important military supplier in America.
Alexandria, Virginia
The Grave of the Female Stranger
This grave marks the passing of a historic Jane Doe whose identity remains a mystery to this day.
Washington, D.C.
The Sun Building
This nine-story building is the oldest standing skyscraper in D.C.
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.
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.
