This twisty sign depicts the chain's first logo.

The word "Watergate" will forever be associated with the infamous scandal in 1972, but this fountain is famous in its own right.

Where layer cakes tower above one’s head and there is never a shortage of icing.

The sculpture's largest spire points directly toward the North Star.

A hulking remnant of Alaska's industrial gold mining boom in the 1920s.

This apartment building designed by a notable Washington D.C. architect housed the Qing Dynasty's Legation.

A striking memorial to the 21 lives lost in an explosion at the Washington Arsenal

An unassuming, powerful monument north of the U.S. Capitol bears witness to the resilience of Japanese Americans during a time of grave injustice.

An echo chamber with a waterfall wrapped around its base at the Embassy of Canada in Washington, D.C.

Fake subway tiles were installed to cover a design that resembled the Confederate flag—it's unclear if the resemblance was intentional.

Every drop of D.C. tap water flows through this old waterworks.

Built in 1931, this small passageway is believed to be the first modern skyway.

This whimsical campus lawn is dotted with large sculpted numbers and hidden mathematical formulas.

A single handprint, which, according to Ohio State University legend, cannot be scrubbed off.

Once forgotten and built over, this historic Black cemetery now houses a poignant memorial.

This gravelly, dangerous highway is the only road in the United States that leads to the Arctic Ocean.

A massive, majestic mammal watches over pedestrians from his perch atop a former B.P.O.E. lodge.

A sealed test tube said to hold Thomas Edison's dying breath was given to the inventor's friend and mentee, Henry Ford.

It may look like no more than a full-scale model, but every part of this full Space Shuttle stack had a working role in aviation history.

A propulsion engine testbed that paved the way for the Space Shuttle launch sits without recognition at this rocket center.

Bananas are often left for the first monkey America ever recovered alive after being launched into space.

The 72-foot giant escaped confinement in a large patch of mulch only to be reburied in the sandy shores of the Potomac River.

A painfully obvious spy house sits right across the street from the Russian Embassy.

In Florida, these naughty monkeys live on their own mini-monkey Alcatraz.