A lawn full of retired spacecraft on display at one of NASA's first research labs.

The whole world in one water tank.

Built by the patriotic residents of Boonsboro in a single day.

Captain John Smith thought these cliffs were amazing in 1608 but sharks thought so 20 million years before him.

Once home to seven different roller coasters, Glen Echo has undergone many transformations since its founding in 1891.

Despite violent work crews and massive delays this abandoned canal tunnel was built to last into the modern day.

A girls' boarding school inspired by the Chicago World's Fair, once abandoned, now restored to strange and scenic glory.

The ruins of this long-abandoned unsuccessful gold mine can still be found.

An eerie, abandoned military base engulfed by nature and graffiti is now home to a local park.

This English-inspired Maryland garden is home to acres of opulent plant life including bushes shaped into an entire fox hunt.

An astounding collection of medical specimens, including bits of President Lincoln.

The trials and tribulations of marking Poe’s grave.

This lovely picnic spot featuring thunderous jet landings is an aircraft spotter’s dream.

This isn't your average roadway—it's actually a National Park and a transportation pioneer.

A former major munitions plant that has been converted into a sprawling art space.

This rare triple-jurisdiction drawbridge passes through Virginia, Maryland, and Washington, D.C.

This fort down the Potomac from Washington, D.C. was once the only defensive fort protecting the capital.

This concrete ship has had four careers - World War I tanker, floating amusement park, fishing pier, and artificial reef.

A sparse, solitary sequoia still stands as a living tribute to the famous conservationist who planted it—but it's dying.

Where the alchemists dream of transmuting base metal into gold was actually achieved.

The Laureates here get something even more coveted than a Nobel Prize: free parking for life.

This Oakland fairytale kingdom, fiercely devoted to childlike whimsy, was an early inspiration for Disneyland.

Frank Lloyd Wright died a year before construction on his largest public project even began.

George Lucas donated this park to honor the birthplace of his two biggest movie franchises.