The bank that helped fund the Mexican-American War and the purchase of Alaska met its downfall after helping Augusto Pinochet launder money.

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

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.

On the Fourth of July this area will transform into a Pompeii-like storm of falling embers and ash.

This statue of the "father of television" stands prominently in the United States Capitol.

An ear-piercing buzzer calls lawmakers to a vote with a series of long and short rings to form coded messages.

A line of blue paint marks the route of the inaugural parade.

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

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

This seemingly out-of-place gas station by the Watergate hotel was once described as the most expensive gas station in the world.

"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!”

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

Behind an abandoned storefront is an example of pioneering 1930s gas station architecture.

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

While most wind tunnels test scale models, the "Cave of Winds" was large enough for actual airplanes.

Look closely and you’ll notice that the color changes a third of the way up the tower.

The preamble to the U.S. Constitution written entirely from vanity license plates hangs in the Smithsonian museum.

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

Art deco landmark on the outskirts of Washington, D.C.

A much-maligned monument to teetotalism.

This unacceptably tall building was the real reason for Washington, D.C.'s skyscraper ban.

Senators used to relax in the nearly forgotten marble tubs now hidden in the U.S. Capitol Building's basement.

Members of Congress have traveled between the buildings on Capitol Hill for a century hidden from tourists, press, and storm clouds.

The unique traffic pattern named for an influential urban planner is also known as the Pedestrian Scramble.