This monument claims to display the first pot used to cook a famed Southern stew.

An overlooked memorial honoring the local Washington residents who died in World War I.

A tiny monument to the unsuccessful attempt by Thomas Jefferson to place the prime meridian in Washington.

There's a 12-foot-tall replica of the Washington Monument hidden under a manhole nearby.

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

An atomic bomb-proof strongbox protects the U.S. Constitution from terrorists and thieves.

This sandwich shop has a century-old elevator behind a sheet of plexiglass.

A much-maligned monument to teetotalism.

A muscular Art Deco monument represents the struggle between regulators and unbridled markets.

A spectacular tribute to statesman and philanthropist Andrew Mellon.

It was once the base for a series of domestic terror attacks.

An echo chamber with a waterfall wrapped around its base at the Embassy of Canada in Washington, D.C.

An unassuming, powerful monument north of the U.S. Capitol bears witness to the resilience of Japanese Americans during a time of grave injustice.

Fittingly, America's museum of architecture is itself a magnificently designed old building.

After his presidency, George Washington planned to live only a few blocks from the Capitol building.

Architecture lovers won’t stop touching the National Gallery's 19.5 degree marble prow.

A hidden gem on the lawn of the U.S. Capitol Building designed by landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted.

"Congress may voluntarily remain in session throughout the summer, in order that our Congressmen may be protected from the intolerable discomforts and dangers of the ordinary outdoor weather!”

One critic described it as "middle Mussolini, early Ramses, and late Neiman-Marcus." Another called it an architectural "natural disaster."

A secret greenspace hides atop a Capitol parking garage.

One of the three perfect vellum copies of this historic book known to exist is on display in a specially-designed case.

Home to a vast and influential collection of Shakespeareana.

There just so happens to be a court even higher than the U.S Supreme Court: a basketball court in the building itself.

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.