LLMinORD's User Profile - Atlas Obscura
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Tallinn, Estonia

Seaplane Harbour

Disused seaplane hangar gets a second life as the jaw-dropping home of Estonia's museum of maritime history.
Helsinki, Finland

Bad Bad Boy

This endearingly discomfited urinating statue commemorates the sneaky pees had by us all.
Washington, D.C.

Yenching Palace

The iconic D.C. restaurant where the Cuban Missile Crisis was negotiated, now a Walgreens.
Washington, D.C.

Fireworks Safety Zone on the National Mall

On the Fourth of July this area will transform into a Pompeii-like storm of falling embers and ash.
Washington, D.C.

Spirit of Justice Park

A secret greenspace hides atop a Capitol parking garage.
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.
Washington, D.C.

Ben's Chili Bowl Mural

A gorgeous mural outside a beloved D.C. restaurant pays homage to famous Black Americans.
Washington, D.C.

The L. Ron Hubbard House

Also known as the Founding Church of Scientology.
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.

Organization of American States Building

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

Legislative Bell System

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

National Academy of Sciences

For 60 years, the academy had no permanent location until members voted Washington D.C. as its forever home.
Washington, D.C.

Hinckley Hilton President's Walk

A hidden passageway now marks the site of an assassination attempt on Ronald Reagan that some say broke a 140-year-old curse.
Washington, D.C.

Washington City Canal Outfall

A portal into the bricked up canal that runs through the heart of Washington D.C.
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.
Washington, D.C.

Washington Monument Marble Stripe

Look closely and you’ll notice that the color changes a third of the way up the tower.
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.

Georgetown Waterfront

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

C&O Boat Elevator Ruins

This forgotten boat elevator was an engineering marvel in its heyday.
Washington, D.C.

Water Gate at the Watergate Complex

Before Nixon, "watergate" meant canals.
Washington, D.C.

Knife Edge

Architecture lovers won’t stop touching the National Gallery's 19.5 degree marble prow.
Washington, D.C.

Temperance Fountain

A much-maligned monument to teetotalism.
Washington, D.C.

Carousel on the National Mall

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

Willard Hotel

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