Washington, D.C.
The Cairo
This unacceptably tall building was the real reason for Washington, D.C.'s skyscraper ban.
Places petracca5 Wants to Go
255
Places I want to go
Places on this traveler's wishlist.
Washington, D.C.
Gun Barrel Fence
This robust fence in front of a historic Georgetown home is likely made from hundreds of recycled Revolutionary War firearms.
Washington, D.C.
Serenity Statue
This poor little statue is the most vandalized memorial in Washington.
Washington, D.C.
Jokes Phone
Press 1 for knock-knock jokes.
Washington, D.C.
Library of Congress Book Conveyor Tunnel
A fantastic array of trays and cables once whisked books over to the Capitol at 600 feet per minute.
Washington, D.C.
Senate Bathtubs
Senators used to relax in the nearly forgotten marble tubs now hidden in the U.S. Capitol Building's basement.
Washington, D.C.
Defense Intelligence Agency Museum
Amid the sprawling Defense Intelligence Agency Headquarters is one of Washington's least accessible museums.
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.
Glenwood Cemetery's Chainsaw Sculptures
The towering figures were created from the cemetery's fallen old-growth trees.
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.
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.
Chinatown Barnes Dance
The unique traffic pattern named for an influential urban planner is also known as the Pedestrian Scramble.
Washington, D.C.
Mary's Garden
An overlooked oasis of quiet on the grounds of Washington's monumental basilica.
Washington, D.C.
Martha, the Last Passenger Pigeon
The remains of Martha, the last known passenger pigeon, serve as a tool to educate about conservation.
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.
National Academy of Sciences
For 60 years, the academy had no permanent location until members voted Washington D.C. as its forever home.
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.
Holodomor Memorial
An easily overlooked memorial to a Ukrainian famine-genocide that killed over 4 million people.
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.
The Mary Surratt Boarding House
The house where John Wilkes Booth conspired with his co-conspirators.
Washington, D.C.
Grace Hopper's Bug
A computer bug so primitive it was an actual insect.
Washington, D.C.
Alferd Packer Cannibal Plaque
A brass plaque dedicated to a convicted cannibal hangs in the National Press Club, and that's not even the craziest part of the story.
Washington, D.C.
Peirce Mill Spy Station
Cold War intelligence agents monitored communist embassies from an attic in a former pigeon coop.
Washington, D.C.
Holt House
There's a crumbling old mansion inside the Smithsonian National Zoo.
