Washington, D.C.
Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Office Museum
Before founding the American Red Cross, Clara Barton had a tremendous humanitarian impact by locating thousands of missing soldiers.
Places varmicon Wants to Go
367
Places I want to go
Places on this traveler's wishlist.
Washington, D.C.
'Cartwheel' Tower
Washington's top-secret Cold War-era doomsday communications tower is located in a small neighborhood park.
Washington, D.C.
Washington Aqueduct Castle Gatehouse
A building shaped like the Army Corps of Engineers logo, because why not?
Washington, D.C.
National Cathedral Bell Tower
There’s a special club house at the top for the bell ringers.
Washington, D.C.
Godey Lime Kilns
A historic ruin just 20 feet away from a busy highway onramp.
Washington, D.C.
Capitalsaurus Court
The discovery site of the "Capitalsaurus," the official dinosaur of Washington, D.C.
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.
Hall of Fake Presidents
Where you can hail your favorite fictional commanders-in-chief.
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.
Navy Yard Railroad Gun
One of the largest artillery pieces in the world sits in a Washington D.C. parking lot.
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.
Treasury Department Cash Vault
Where the U.S. government kept its actual treasure, before Fort Knox.
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.
Defense Intelligence Agency Museum
Amid the sprawling Defense Intelligence Agency Headquarters is one of Washington's least accessible museums.
Washington, D.C.
Tivoli's Astounding Magic Supply
The district's only illusionarium supports free writing programs for local students with every purchase.
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.
Arizona Avenue Trestle
The span is crooked and made from two older recycled bridges.
Washington, D.C.
The Portrait Monument
Rumor has it the uncarved lump behind the three famous suffragists is reserved for the first woman president.
Washington, D.C.
Abandoned Drawbridge Control Room
The hidden offices underneath Memorial Bridge have been locked up since 1976.
Washington, D.C.
Old Stone House
The oldest building in the District of Columbia was preserved because of a mistaken connection to George Washington.
Washington, D.C.
The National Gallery's Art Materials Collection
The institution is sitting on a goldmine of 21,000 paints, varnishes, pigments, and primers preserved for posterity.
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.
Holt House
There's a crumbling old mansion inside the Smithsonian National Zoo.
Washington, D.C.
Peirce Mill Spy Station
Cold War intelligence agents monitored communist embassies from an attic in a former pigeon coop.
