Washington, D.C.
Georgetown Waterfront
The little-known, 300-year history of the area includes former lives as a bustling tobacco port, parking lot, and industrial dump.
36
Places I've been
Places this traveler has marked as been there.
Washington, D.C.
Maine Avenue Fish Market
The oldest continuously operating fish market in the United States.
Washington, D.C.
American University Experiment Station
The school tested mustard gas for the U.S. Army during World War I.
Washington, D.C.
Carousel on the National Mall
Washington's iconic carousel has a nice piece of Civil Rights history.
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.
Watergate Gas Station
This seemingly out-of-place gas station by the Watergate hotel was once described as the most expensive gas station in the world.
Permanently Closed
Washington, D.C.
Yenching Palace
The iconic D.C. restaurant where the Cuban Missile Crisis was negotiated, now a Walgreens.
Washington, D.C.
Willard Hotel
Legend has it that President Grant’s frequent drinking in the lobby gave rise to the term “lobbyist.”
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.
Rayburn House Office Building
One critic described it as "middle Mussolini, early Ramses, and late Neiman-Marcus." Another called it an architectural "natural disaster."
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.
The Mutilated Currency Division
An obscure public service from the U.S. government that redeems burnt, moldy, and soiled old greenbacks.
Washington, D.C.
USNO Master Clock
The most accurate timepiece in the world.
Washington, D.C.
Temperance Fountain
A much-maligned monument to teetotalism.
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.
Amelia Earhart's Lockheed Vega
The "lovely red Vega" of the legendary record-settling pilot.
Washington, D.C.
Fort Reno Park
The only Civil War battle in Washington D.C. took place near this highest natural point in the city.
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.
Washington, D.C.
Albert Einstein Bronze Statue
The beloved statue at the National Academy of Sciences is oh so inviting to sit on.
Washington, D.C.
National Building Museum
Fittingly, America's museum of architecture is itself a magnificently designed old building.
Washington, D.C.
Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens
A lovely aquatic park built by a one-armed Civil War veteran who made a fortune from lotuses.
Washington, D.C.
The Throne of the Third Heaven of the Nations' Millennium General Assembly
Light bulbs, scrap wood, and tinfoil comprise this homemade throne of the gods.
Washington, D.C.
The Mary Surratt Boarding House
The house where John Wilkes Booth conspired with his co-conspirators.
Washington, D.C.
Sergeant Stubby
The most decorated dog of World War I is preserved in the Smithsonian.
