iellwen's User Profile - Atlas Obscura
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Charlottesville, Virginia

University of Virginia's Seven Society

The story behind the mysterious symbol painted in front of the historic university's famous Rotunda.
Staunton, Virginia

Frontier Culture Museum

Outdoor exhibits explore the contributions of European, African, and indigenous peoples to American frontier culture.
Staunton, Virginia

Abandoned DeJarnette Sanitarium

A former mental hospital founded in the 1930s by a eugenicist who advocated for the forced sterilization of patients.
Washington, D.C.

Daguerre Monument

Go take a picture with the inventor of the daguerreotype photographic process.
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Philadelphia City Hall

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

Bazaar

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

Edgar Allan Poe's Grave

The trials and tribulations of marking Poe's grave.
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Eastern State Penitentiary

World's first "penitentiary," meant to be humane, drove men insane.
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Elfreth's Alley

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

Hollywood Cemetery

The final resting place of two (or three) presidents, one vampire, and 18,000 Confederate soldiers.
Washington, D.C.

Sweet Home Cafe

This unique museum cafeteria showcases the history and regional diversity of African American cuisine.
Washington, D.C.

District of Columbia Center Point

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

The Portrait Monument

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

Summerhouse

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

Capitol Air Conditioning Towers

"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!”
Washington, D.C.

Capitol Building Tunnel System

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

Washington, D.C. Temple

The tallest The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints temple in the world soars above the Beltway.
Brighton, England

The Royal Pavilion

Regency-era excess on the English Coast.
Cherokee, North Carolina

Bat Creek Stone

Cherokee alphabet, proof of ancient North American Jews, or just a hoax?
Washington, D.C.

Capitol Bollards

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.
Jacksonville, Florida

Jacksonville Interchange Spiral

Must form and function forever remain at odds? Not if the Florida Department of Transportation has its way.
Cherokee, North Carolina

Mountain Farm Museum

Step back in time on this preserved 1800s farm.
Bryson City, North Carolina

The Road to Nowhere

This road in the Great Smoky Mountains was supposed to assuage a displaced community, but ended up a $52 million dead end.