rdapb's User Profile - Atlas Obscura
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Atlanta, Georgia

Spiller Field Magnolia Trees

This pair of centuries-old magnolia trees was once struck by a Babe Ruth home run.
Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania

Wilkes-Barre Abandoned Train Station

A train station that was abandoned by the coal industry and was later converted into a cocktail bar.
Washington, D.C.

Embassy Gulf Service Center

Behind an abandoned storefront is an example of pioneering 1930s gas station architecture.
Washington, D.C.

Temperance Fountain

A much-maligned monument to teetotalism.
Washington, D.C.

Mary's Garden

An overlooked oasis of quiet on the grounds of Washington's monumental basilica.
Washington, D.C.

Old Stone House

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

Uncle Beazley the Triceratops

A celebrity from the late Cretaceous period.
Washington, D.C.

Peirce Mill Spy Station

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

St. Elizabeths Hospital

Government testing at the asylum briefly explored using marijuana as a "truth serum" on Nazi prisoners of war.
Washington, D.C.

Lincoln Book Tower

A three-story tower of books about Abraham Lincoln is one of the more unusual monuments to the president.
Washington, D.C.

Summerhouse

A hidden gem on the lawn of the U.S. Capitol Building designed by landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted.
Washington, D.C.

NIST Newton Apple Tree

A clone of a cloned tree that was so important it allegedly had its own guards.
Washington, D.C.

USNO Master Clock

The most accurate timepiece in the world.
Syracuse, New York

World Reclamation Art Project

In DeWitt, New York, a blanket-wrapped gas station makes a creative statement on global dependence on oil.
Albany, New York

The Mummy Ankhefenmut

A CT scan revealed the identity of this 3,000-year-old mummy that everyone erroneously thought was female.
Moundsville, West Virginia

New Vrindaban Palace of Gold

Despite its lavish ornamentation, and wholesome lifestyle of its devotees, this mountain commune has faced its share of issues.
Fairmont, West Virginia

Frank and Jane Gabor West Virginia Folklife Center

The center preserves and houses artifacts ranging from the colonial era to modern times from across Appalachia.
Cleveland, Ohio

Grave of Alan Freed

A jukebox headstone marks the grave of the Cleveland disc jockey credited with coining the term “rock 'n' roll."
Cleveland, Ohio

Balto the Sled Dog

The heroic sled dog of the 1925 serum run is preserved in taxidermy.
Washington, D.C.

Capitol Tile Room

In the basement of the U.S. Capitol Building is a hidden storage room full of ornate floor tiles leftover from the 1850s.
Washington, D.C.

Inside the Capitol Dome

The walls of the iconic dome are hollow and have a secret stairway.
Washington, D.C.

Fireworks Safety Zone on the National Mall

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

Willard Hotel

Legend has it that President Grant’s frequent drinking in the lobby gave rise to the term “lobbyist.”