mcmerrill's User Profile - Atlas Obscura
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Washington, D.C.

James C. Dent House

Now a living classroom, this house was once the home of Reverend James Clinton Dent, a formerly enslaved man and a pastor.
Washington, D.C.

Mary McLeod Bethune Council House

The final residence of an educator, civil rights leader, and presidential advisor was also the first headquarters of the National Council of Negro Women.
Washington, D.C.

Rush-Bagot Monument

An overlooked tribute to one of the most important peace deals in American history.
Washington, D.C.

Old Post Office Tower

The National Park Service’s best-kept secret with views that rival any in D.C.
Washington, D.C.

Georgetown Waterfront

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

Florida Avenue Grill

The world's oldest soul food restaurant is also one of its best.
Washington, D.C.

Annie's Paramount Steakhouse

This restaurant has been a haven for D.C.'s LGBTQ community since the 1950s.
Washington, D.C.

Frederick Douglass's House, Cedar Hill

The famous abolitionist’s preserved estate is one of Washington's finest monuments to its great Black citizens.
Washington, D.C.

Albert Einstein Bronze Statue

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

Mitsitam Native Foods Cafe

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

FBI Spy House

A painfully obvious spy house sits right across the street from the Russian Embassy.
Washington, D.C.

Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens

A lovely aquatic park built by a one-armed Civil War veteran who made a fortune from lotuses.
Washington, D.C.

Riggs Library

A wondrous old library overlooking the nation's capital.
Washington, D.C.

The Portrait Monument

Rumor has it the uncarved lump behind the three famous suffragists is reserved for the first woman president.
Washington, D.C.

Civil War Nurses Memorial

A bas relief commemorates the "Nuns of the Battlefield" who cared for soldiers on both sides of the conflict.
Berlin, Germany

German Resistance Memorial Center

The site where a plot to assassinate Hitler was planned—and its conspirators were executed—is now a powerful memorial to the German resistance during World War II.
Schwetzingen, Germany

The Mosque of Schwetzingen Palace Gardens

This 18th-century folly is one of Europe's rare "garden mosques."
Ludwigsburg, Germany

Antiquariat Alt-Hoheneck

This outdoor library provides around-the-clock access to around 7,000 books.
Freiberg, Germany

Terra Mineralia

A Saxony castle houses one of the largest and most outstanding mineral collections in the world.
Berlin, Germany

Platform 17 Memorial

This platform is now a memorial dedicated to those who were deported during the Holocaust.
Berlin, Germany

Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church

An imperial church bombed to ruins during WWII now stands as a jagged memorial.
Chiemsee, Germany

Herrenchiemsee Neues Schloss

Originally envisioned by King Ludwig II to rival Versailles, Herrenchiemsee's "New Palace" remains half-gilded for lack of funds.
Darmstadt, Germany

The Vortex Garden

Crop circles inspired this whimsical garden in Germany.
Heidelberg, Germany

Heidelberger Bergbahnen

This historic funicular system combines the old with the new while offering delightful views over the surrounding valley.