"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 building shaped like the Army Corps of Engineers logo, because why not?

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

A heroic pigeon that, through a barrage of gunfire, delivered a message that saved over 100 lives in World War I.

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

A museum cafe showcases Native American dishes and indigenous ingredients from across the Western Hemisphere.

A historic ruin just 20 feet away from a busy highway onramp.

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

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

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

The institution is sitting on a goldmine of 21,000 paints, varnishes, pigments, and primers preserved for posterity.

The remains of Martha, the last known passenger pigeon, serve as a tool to educate about conservation.

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

These recently uncovered walls are all that's left of Washington, D.C's first defense contractor.

A traveling postal dog covered 48 states and more than 140,000 miles, and he lives on as taxidermy, patched up with a rabbit's foot and a pig's ear.

A brass plaque dedicated to a convicted cannibal hangs in the National Press Club, and that's not even the craziest part of the story.

Perhaps the most scandalous statue of America's first president.

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.

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

Cold War intelligence agents monitored communist embassies from an attic in a former pigeon coop.

A computer bug so primitive it was an actual insect.

A super-sized promotional trick that is now a D.C. landmark.

There's a crumbling old mansion inside the Smithsonian National Zoo.

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