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

A 1,100-ton train fell through the floor in 1953. Workers got it patched up in just 72 hours.

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

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

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

Was there a small "backpack nuke" hidden in the attic? JFK apparently thought so.

This nine-story building is the oldest standing skyscraper in D.C.

Behind an abandoned storefront is an example of pioneering 1930s gas station architecture.

While most wind tunnels test scale models, the "Cave of Winds" was large enough for actual airplanes.

"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!”

Before founding the American Red Cross, Clara Barton had a tremendous humanitarian impact by locating thousands of missing soldiers.

A bas relief commemorates the "Nuns of the Battlefield" who cared for soldiers on both sides of the conflict.

A tiny monument to the unsuccessful attempt by Thomas Jefferson to place the prime meridian in Washington.

When it comes to handsignals (and colonialism) rock always beats scissors.

There’s a special club house at the top for the bell ringers.

Before Nixon, "watergate" meant canals.

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

This unacceptably tall building was the real reason for Washington, D.C.'s skyscraper ban.

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

A much-maligned monument to teetotalism.

The discovery site of the "Capitalsaurus," the official dinosaur of Washington, D.C.

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

This poor little statue is the most vandalized memorial in Washington.

This sandwich shop has a century-old elevator behind a sheet of plexiglass.