A shining sculpture made of 3,115 lights, the number of visible stars in the Northern Hemisphere.

The twin towers in this Chicago fountain use 50 foot tall video screens to spit on people.

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.

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

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

A derelict bit of infrastructure from the canal that once ran through D.C. is landlocked in the heart of the city.

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

The monument's pointy aluminum tip has been melted down by repeated lightning strikes.

A little marble compass above George Washington's (empty) tomb in the Capitol marks where D.C.'s four quadrants intersect.

A much-maligned monument to teetotalism.

This poor little statue is the most vandalized memorial in Washington.

The "lovely red Vega" of the legendary record-settling pilot.

Light bulbs, scrap wood, and tinfoil comprise this homemade throne of the gods.

There’s a hidden military meme engraved on the World War II Memorial.

The actual model from the original "Star Trek" series is now on display at the National Air and Space Museum.

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

One of the dwarven trees dates back to 1625 and survived the Hiroshima bombing.

The site of the climactic scene from the classic horror film is now a historic landmark.

The United States Capitol's former columns still stand.

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

Daredevil repair workers can worm their way out the access hatch, loop ropes over the apex and rappel down the monument.

This mysterious structure by the Washington Monument is a flood barrier designed to protect the White House against rising waters.

The U.S. Fish Commission’s effort to mass produce carp.

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