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

This imposing Masonic temple a mile from the White House was the first public library in Washington, D.C.

A rotating cast of guys and dolls in front of a Washington, D.C. building.

The beloved statue at the National Academy of Sciences is oh so inviting to sit on.

People escaping slavery may have hidden inside a corpse vault.

The United States Capitol's former columns still stand.

This grand gothic brewery has been pumping out suds for over a hundred years.

A brass and marble scale model of the solar system embedded in the concrete.

The oldest building in the District of Columbia was preserved because of a mistaken connection to George Washington.

The little-known, 300-year history of the area includes former lives as a bustling tobacco port, parking lot, and industrial dump.

A small token of gratitude from freezing cold journalists who were given a warm haven while covering JFK's inauguration.

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

The yawning maw of this pagan visage is said to bite off the hands of liars.

Architectural monsters are devouring this palace's every door and window.

An alchemist's "magic door" stands in the middle of a Roman park.

The crypts of Capuchin friars decorated with the bones of over 4,000 friars, including an entire "crypt of pelvises."

Hundreds of lucky felines haunt the ruins where Caesar was murdered.

A dismembered holy head stares out from her beautiful reliquary at the St. Dominic Basilica.

Contains some of the world's more disturbing wax anatomical models.

First founded in 1472, this is the oldest bank in the world. Its history may explain why we call financial institutions "banks."

The preserved arm of a third-century sorcerer is believed to have the power to lift curses and spells.

This $62 million dollar temple was erected to house one little dental fragment of religious history.

An early Portuguese serial killer's head is alarmingly well preserved in a jar at the University of Lisbon.

As can be expected from a centuries old church built in a canal city, the undercroft of this house of worship is beautifully flooded.