On the Fourth of July this area will transform into a Pompeii-like storm of falling embers and ash.

The National Park Service’s best-kept secret with views that rival any in D.C.

The 5.5-mile ring of steel posts around the Capitol Building is one of the largest (and most uniform) of its kind in the world.

The tunnel under the Capitol Building where Congress takes out its trash.

D.C. once had its own tiny rival to the New York Stock Exchange.

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

A muscular Art Deco monument represents the struggle between regulators and unbridled markets.

A tiny monument to the unsuccessful attempt by Thomas Jefferson to place the prime meridian in Washington.

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

Look closely and you’ll notice that the color changes a third of the way up the tower.

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's iconic carousel has a nice piece of Civil Rights history.

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

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

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

A museum cafe showcases Native American dishes and indigenous ingredients from across the Western Hemisphere.

There's a 12-foot-tall replica of the Washington Monument hidden under a manhole nearby.

Accessible only by boat, this centuries-old island fort never saw troops or combat.

Why settle for barbecue chips when you can get actual barbecue?

Undone by Prohibition, this abandoned brewery-turned-flour mill is now ready for its third act.

Legend has it the commander of the defenders drew a fateful line in the dirt with his sword just before the final battle.

A tall smoke stack and boarded-up buildings are all that's left of the pioneering plant.

Two small markers remember the Alamo's feline protectors.

An ivy-covered arch bridge dedicated to Tejano music singer and legend Rosita Fernandez.