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

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

"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!”

Mrs. Mallard and her brood are a beloved fixture in Boston Public Garden.

Read a book next to a Midtown waterfall.

Software company Epic Systems has created one of the strangest and largest workplaces of all time.

Manatees congregate around a power plant's discharge canal where the water is especially warm.

This memorial plaque remembers a strangely shallow maritime disaster known as "Chicago's Titanic."

The palatial McDonald's that inspired Wesley Willis.

A headstone tells the sad story of a lost little boy and his pet dog.

A monument to a Native American leader who was known for never breaking a promise and met his end after signing a deal with white settlers.

One of the largest collections of holy relics in the country.

Inside, ancient treasures. Outside, modern contradictions.

An office built to look like a giant basket.

A favorite of Amelia Earhart, ranking among those rare bridges that can be crossed without changing sides of the river.

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

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

The most accurate timepiece in the world.

Before Metro, Washington had a robust streetcar network—and you see the remains of this infrastructure if you know where to look.

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

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

Largest Roman Catholic church in North America.

A tiny piece of the Moon is embedded in this stained glass masterpiece.

A nostalgic bibliographic gem.