The only Civil War battle in Washington D.C. took place near this highest natural point in the city.

The privately owned cemetery that holds room for Washington's finest when they step down from life.

Washington's iconic carousel has a nice piece of Civil Rights history.

Decades before the scandal, this staircase on the river was a literal "water gate."

For 60 years, the academy had no permanent location until members voted Washington D.C. as its forever home.

D.C.'s first central library was born out of a chance encounter with the philanthropist whose name it bears.

An Industrial Revolution-era public work that purified water using nothing but sand.

The oldest continuously operating fish market in the United States.

The country's oldest continually-operated mini golf course lies hidden in plain sight, eclipsed by one of D.C.'s most popular tourist attractions.

A derelict bit of transportation infrastructure hidden in the woods.

A three-story tower of books about Abraham Lincoln is one of the more unusual monuments to the president.

Home to items never before seen by the public.

A playground built by the kids that is a child's wonderland, and a helicopter parent's nightmare.

A hardware store Buddha statue installed to deter vandalism wound up attracting Vietnamese immigrants who came to pray.

After starting as a whimsical tourist attraction that eventually found its way to ruin, these renovated canals offer a lush and exotic locale on the Pacific Coast.

Scores of vintage street lamps shine along L.A.’s Miracle Mile.

A trash dump made beautiful by nature's power.

These delicate buggers are some of the rarest fossils that have bubbled up from the Tar Pits.

Hollywood's most famous landmark, the "temporary" sign that has stood for decades longer than intended.

A huge musical instrument played by the ocean.

This propitious plastic porcine has been petitioning park visitors to pick up after themselves for more than 50 years.

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

The longest escalator in the Western Hemisphere takes over three minutes to ride down.

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