Washington, D.C.
Fireworks Safety Zone on the National Mall
On the Fourth of July this area will transform into a Pompeii-like storm of falling embers and ash.
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Places I've been
Places this traveler has marked as been there.
Washington, D.C.
Capitol Bollards
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.
Washington, D.C.
Reading Room at the Folger Shakespeare Library
Home to a vast and influential collection of Shakespeareana.
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.
USS Balao Conning Tower
Part of a WWII submarine is lurking outside the Washington Navy Yard parking lot.
Washington, D.C.
Inaugural Parade Center Line
A line of blue paint marks the route of the inaugural parade.
Washington, D.C.
The Lockkeeper's House
A derelict bit of infrastructure from the canal that once ran through D.C. is landlocked in the heart of the city.
Washington, D.C.
First FDR Memorial
One of the most influential presidents in U.S. history wanted only this plain, elegant monument as his lasting memorial.
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.
Washington, D.C.
Potomac Park Flood Levee
This mysterious structure by the Washington Monument is a flood barrier designed to protect the White House against rising waters.
Washington, D.C.
Washington Monument Access Hatch
Daredevil repair workers can worm their way out the access hatch, loop ropes over the apex and rappel down the monument.
Washington, D.C.
NASA Full Scale Wind Tunnel Propeller
While most wind tunnels test scale models, the "Cave of Winds" was large enough for actual airplanes.
Washington, D.C.
Navy Yard Railroad Gun
One of the largest artillery pieces in the world sits in a Washington D.C. parking lot.
Washington, D.C.
Carousel on the National Mall
Washington's iconic carousel has a nice piece of Civil Rights history.
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.
Peacock Room
This stunning blue and gold room changed cities twice before becoming part of the Smithsonian.
Washington, D.C.
Washington Monument Lightning Rod
The monument's pointy aluminum tip has been melted down by repeated lightning strikes.
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.
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.
Temperance Fountain
A much-maligned monument to teetotalism.
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.
Theodore Roosevelt Island
The national park was once a plantation estate.
Washington, D.C.
St. Elizabeths Hospital
Government testing at the asylum briefly explored using marijuana as a "truth serum" on Nazi prisoners of war.
Washington, D.C.
Watergate Steps
Decades before the scandal, this staircase on the river was a literal "water gate."
