A line of blue paint marks the route of the inaugural parade.

These abandoned waterworks are crumbling into the Potomac River.

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

A derelict bit of infrastructure from the canal that once ran through D.C. is landlocked in the heart of the city.

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

A muscular Art Deco monument represents the struggle between regulators and unbridled markets.

This mysterious structure by the Washington Monument is a flood barrier designed to protect the White House against rising waters.

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

A museum cafe showcases Native American dishes and indigenous ingredients from across the Western Hemisphere.

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

A building shaped like the Army Corps of Engineers logo, because why not?

Before Nixon, "watergate" meant canals.

This forgotten boat elevator was an engineering marvel in its heyday.

A historic arena where the Beatles played their first concert in the U.S.

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

A heroic pigeon that, through a barrage of gunfire, delivered a message that saved over 100 lives in World War I.

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

A much-maligned monument to teetotalism.

Art deco landmark on the outskirts of Washington, D.C.

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

The oldest building in the District of Columbia was preserved because of a mistaken connection to George Washington.

The span is crooked and made from two older recycled bridges.

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

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