Washington, D.C.
Willard Hotel
Legend has it that President Grant’s frequent drinking in the lobby gave rise to the term “lobbyist.”
Places From the Backwoods Wants to Go
3427
Places I want to go
Places on this traveler's wishlist.
Washington, D.C.
Glenwood Cemetery's Chainsaw Sculptures
The towering figures were created from the cemetery's fallen old-growth trees.
Washington, D.C.
Mary's Garden
An overlooked oasis of quiet on the grounds of Washington's monumental basilica.
Washington, D.C.
Holodomor Memorial
An easily overlooked memorial to a Ukrainian famine-genocide that killed over 4 million people.
Washington, D.C.
Abandoned Drawbridge Control Room
The hidden offices underneath Memorial Bridge have been locked up since 1976.
Washington, D.C.
Hecht Company Warehouse
Art deco landmark on the outskirts of Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington Monument Lightning Rod
The monument's pointy aluminum tip has been melted down by repeated lightning strikes.
Washington, D.C.
Temperance Fountain
A much-maligned monument to teetotalism.
Washington, D.C.
NIST Newton Apple Tree
A clone of a cloned tree that was so important it allegedly had its own guards.
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.
International Temple of the Order of the Eastern Star
Obscure Freemasons still live in D.C.’s largest private residence.
Washington, D.C.
District of Columbia Center Point
A little marble compass above George Washington's (empty) tomb in the Capitol marks where D.C.'s four quadrants intersect.
Washington, D.C.
Ruins of the Columbian Cannon Foundry
These recently uncovered walls are all that's left of Washington, D.C's first defense contractor.
Washington, D.C.
FDR's Bomb Shelter
The first presidential bomb shelter was located in an old vault under the Treasury, connected to the White House via tunnel.
Washington, D.C.
Godey Lime Kilns
A historic ruin just 20 feet away from a busy highway onramp.
Washington, D.C.
U.S. Naval Observatory Library
A hoard of sky catalogs, astrophysical journals, even the works of Galileo and Copernicus.
Washington, D.C.
Memorial to Japanese-American Patriotism in World War II
An unassuming, powerful monument north of the U.S. Capitol bears witness to the resilience of Japanese Americans during a time of grave injustice.
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.
Watergate Steps
Decades before the scandal, this staircase on the river was a literal "water gate."
Washington, D.C.
Bare-Chested George Washington
Perhaps the most scandalous statue of America's first president.
Washington, D.C.
Treasury Department Cash Vault
Where the U.S. government kept its actual treasure, before Fort Knox.
Washington, D.C.
Uncle Beazley the Triceratops
A celebrity from the late Cretaceous period.
Washington, D.C.
USNO Master Clock
The most accurate timepiece in the world.
Washington, D.C.
Peirce Mill Spy Station
Cold War intelligence agents monitored communist embassies from an attic in a former pigeon coop.
