A little marble compass above George Washington's (empty) tomb in the Capitol marks where D.C.'s four quadrants intersect.

Decades before the scandal, this staircase on the river was a literal "water gate."

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

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

Occult books, tarot, oddities.

This knobby, drooping New Orleans oak is a favorite place both for climbing and for meeting giraffes.

This beautiful vintage movie palace has seen little change in form or function since the 1920s.

Contrary to popular belief, this secluded statue doesn't represent Pennsylvania's founder.

A tour de force of a fountain, memorializing a man who loved fountains more than anything else.

This elaborate towering structure was once famed for its revolutionary height.

Yo, Adrian!

This charming colonial alleyway is one of the oldest continuously used residential streets in the U.S.

A Norwegian-born sculptor created these soaring guardian angels at the entrance to Hoover Dam.

Experience a charming 1930's version of "infotainment."

These banned cigarette vending machines now sell little pieces of pocket-sized art.

This gorgeous beach hides behind two headlands in Oregon's Ecola State Park.

A Roman-style column in Oregon hides a spiral staircase inside.

Lighthouse-cum-columbarium where "Nor'easters" and grandma go to die.

A massive sea stack famous for its appearance in The Goonies.

The 5.5-mile ring of steel posts around the Capitol Building is one of the largest (and most uniform) of its kind in the world.

Look closely and you’ll notice that the color changes a third of the way up the tower.

An overlooked memorial honoring the local Washington residents who died in World War I.

Those with a sharp eye can find the hidden image of a German Shepherd on the memorial's Mural Wall.

Members of Congress have traveled between the buildings on Capitol Hill for a century hidden from tourists, press, and storm clouds.