An ancient capital city that dates back 3,000 years old and harbors many surprises.

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

Giant acorn-shaped 19th century gazebo from which suburban Washingtonians gazed upon the original "silver" spring.

The longest escalator in the Western Hemisphere takes over three minutes to ride down.

A faded sign from the 1920s remembers Baltimore's resistance toward banning alcohol.

A 200-year-old bar with a cheeky name claims to have served Edgar Allan Poe his final drink.

This free, take-a-book shop seems like a trick but isn't.

This bug-eyed water wheel uses the power of the Sun to clean up Baltimore Harbor.

The design of this historic domed church was influenced by Thomas Jefferson and intended as a statement of religious freedom.

A monumental statue of RCA's mascot now sits atop a historical society roof after a life of moving around.

A hidden alley in urban Baltimore is a haven for graffiti artists.

Crammed into a Baltimore row house is an oddities shop that sells everything from skulls to dead insects.

A museum dedicated to exhibiting remarkable outsider art.

The trials and tribulations of marking Poe's grave.

An ear-piercing buzzer calls lawmakers to a vote with a series of long and short rings to form coded messages.

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.

The little-known, 300-year history of the area includes former lives as a bustling tobacco port, parking lot, and industrial dump.

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

It was once the base for a series of domestic terror attacks.

Washington's iconic carousel has a nice piece of Civil Rights history.

Need a hardcopy of the 50-title Code of Federal Regulations? This is the place.

The unique traffic pattern named for an influential urban planner is also known as the Pedestrian Scramble.

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

Rumor has it the uncarved lump behind the three famous suffragists is reserved for the first woman president.