Chicago, Illinois
Poetry Foundation Library
The 30,000-volume library is one of the world's most impressive poetry collections.
1535
Places I've been
Places this traveler has marked as been there.
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.
USS Balao Conning Tower
Part of a WWII submarine is lurking outside the Washington Navy Yard parking lot.
Washington, D.C.
C&O Boat Elevator Ruins
This forgotten boat elevator was an engineering marvel in its heyday.
Key West, Florida
Blue Heaven Rooster Cemetery
A small poultry graveyard in the courtyard of a popular Key West watering hole.
Port Royal, Virginia
Assassin's End
The Virginia farm where John Wilkes Booth met his grisly end is now largely forgotten.
Washington, D.C.
The K-9 of the Korean War Veterans Memorial
Those with a sharp eye can find the hidden image of a German Shepherd on the memorial's Mural Wall.
Silver Spring, Maryland
Aspin Hill Pet Cemetery
Dogs, cats, horses, monkeys, frogs, and fish are laid to rest at the second-oldest pet cemetery in the U.S.
Washington, D.C.
Bare-Chested George Washington
Perhaps the most scandalous statue of America's first president.
Austin, Texas
Frost Bank Tower
Locals dubbed it the "Owl Building" because of its bird-like appearance.
Washington, D.C.
Embassy Gulf Service Center
Behind an abandoned storefront is an example of pioneering 1930s gas station architecture.
Washington, D.C.
Russian Ambassador's Residence
Was there a small "backpack nuke" hidden in the attic? JFK apparently thought so.
Frostburg, Maryland
The Jail in the Gunter Hotel
The antique hotel still has a jail in the basement, though the cockfighting ring is long gone.
Washington, D.C.
Secret Entrance to the White House
The winding route passes through an enclosed alleyway, two tunnels, and leads to the White House basement.
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.
Washington Aqueduct Castle Gatehouse
A building shaped like the Army Corps of Engineers logo, because why not?
Washington, D.C.
Man Controlling Trade
A muscular Art Deco monument represents the struggle between regulators and unbridled markets.
Washington, D.C.
D.C. War Memorial
An overlooked memorial honoring the local Washington residents who died in World War I.
Arlington, Virginia
Headstone-Eating Trees
The rogue roots are gradually consuming some of the historic marble grave markers.
Arlington, Virginia
Pierre L’Enfant’s (Second) Gravesite
The controversial urban planner who designed Washington, D.C., was buried in Maryland, and can presently be found in Virginia.
Prague, Czechia
Prague Meridian
The slender brass strip in Prague's Old Town Square was used to tell time from 1652 to 1918.
London, England
Traitors' Gate
The watery entrance for condemned prisoners heading to the Tower of London is still visible along the Thames.
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.
Barbie Pond on Q Street
A rotating cast of guys and dolls in front of a Washington, D.C. building.
