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

The Dupont Underground

Long-abandoned trolley tunnels just a mile away from the White House are turning into an art space.
Washington, D.C.

Organization of American States Building

The grand marble structure next to the White House is Andrew Carnegie's temple to Pan-American diplomacy.
Chicago, Illinois

Green Mill Jazz Club

A century-old hotspot for jazz, frequented by everyone from Charlie Chaplin to Al Capone.
Washington, D.C.

Carnegie Library of Washington, D.C.

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

Hammering Man

This working class sculpture pounds his hammer all the livelong day.
Washington, D.C.

Treasury Department Cash Vault

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

Watergate Gas Station

This seemingly out-of-place gas station by the Watergate hotel was once described as the most expensive gas station in the world.
Washington, D.C.

USNO Master Clock

The most accurate timepiece in the world.
Baltimore, Maryland

Frank Zappa Bust

The likeness of the Baltimore music icon was unveiled in time for the anniversary of his Senate hearings on music censorship.
Washington, D.C.

National Archives Vault

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

Rayburn House Office Building

One critic described it as "middle Mussolini, early Ramses, and late Neiman-Marcus." Another called it an architectural "natural disaster."
Washington, D.C.

Godey Lime Kilns

A historic ruin just 20 feet away from a busy highway onramp.
Washington, D.C.

Potomac Park Flood Levee

This mysterious structure by the Washington Monument is a flood barrier designed to protect the White House against rising waters.
Prague, Czechia

Old Jewish Cemetery

Around 100,000 bodies are buried below the medieval headstones, many of which mark graves with multiple bodies stacked up to 12 deep.
Chicago, Illinois

Great Train Story Diorama

This $3 million model train takes you through Chicago, Seattle, and the thousands of miles in between.
Berkeley, California

UC Berkeley's Nobel Laureate Parking Spaces

The Laureates here get something even more coveted than a Nobel Prize: free parking for life.
Arlington, Virginia

George Washington Memorial Parkway

This isn't your average roadway—it's actually a National Park and a transportation pioneer.
Washington, D.C.

The Old Patent Model Museum

During the Industrial Revolution this “Temple of Invention” was full of intricate miniature machines and gadgets.
Washington, D.C.

Riggs Bank

The bank that helped fund the Mexican-American War and the purchase of Alaska met its downfall after helping Augusto Pinochet launder money.
Washington, D.C.

Watergate Steps

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

Unconditional Surrender

A sculpture of the famous photograph stands on San Diego's "Greatest Generation Walk."
Washington, D.C.

Starship Enterprise NCC-1701

The actual model from the original "Star Trek" series is now on display at the National Air and Space Museum.
Halethorpe, Maryland

Maryland's 3rd Congressional District

A winding district gerrymandered into the shape of a mantis.
Budapest, Hungary

Panoptikum Budapest

A series of caves under Castle Hill that once held the prisoner Vlad Tepes, better known as Count Dracula.