History in the United States

Every drop of D.C. tap water flows through this old waterworks.

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

A lion given to the prime minister somehow got stuffed and sent to Florida.

The bridge's highly-contested plaque (once again) honors Confederate President Jefferson Davis.

A nostalgic bibliographic gem.

The famous bell was secreted away and hidden in a church in Allentown during the British occupation of Philadelphia.

A small Richmond island dotted with the remnants of hundreds of years of history.

Where the U.S. government kept its actual treasure, before Fort Knox.

Once the supplier for noteworthy projects like the National Cathedral, this old brickworks now lies abandoned.

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

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

A restored, one-room African-American schoolhouse in the diva's hometown now preserves the legacy of its most famous student.

The final resting place of the Seminole Indian chief who fought against government occupation in Florida.

Seemingly unremarkable items like empty sushi trays, chef hats, and freshness stickers are being preserved so future generations can look back on this beloved cultural import.

When Motown musicians came to Nashville in the 1960s they stayed at this historic record-pressing company because hotels wouldn't host them.

The birthplace of professional hockey on the shores of Portage Lake.