nerdly's User Profile - Atlas Obscura
Loading map...
Harpers Ferry, West Virginia

True Treats

Time travel with sweets across history at this research-based candy store.
Washington, D.C.

Chinatown Barnes Dance

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

George Washington Memorial Parkway

This isn't your average roadway—it's actually a National Park and a transportation pioneer.
Richmond, Virginia

Edgar Allan Poe Museum

This museum devoted to the gothic author holds such interesting ephemera as his socks and walking stick.
Rockville, Maryland

The Fitzgeralds' Gravesite

The final resting place of the tragic king and queen of the Jazz Age is tucked away in a small Maryland graveyard.
Washington, D.C.

Lincoln Memorial Undercroft

A cavernous three-story, 43,800-square-foot basement that was forgotten about for 60 years.
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.

Congressional Garbage Tunnel

The tunnel under the Capitol Building where Congress takes out its trash.
Washington, D.C.

Boy Scout Memorial

The innocent intentions of this monument are somewhat lost in the sculpture's muscled imagery.
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.

The Lockkeeper's House

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

D.C. War Memorial

An overlooked memorial honoring the local Washington residents who died in World War I.
Washington, D.C.

Jefferson Pier Marker

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

Old Stone House

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

Kilroy Was Here

There’s a hidden military meme engraved on the World War II Memorial.
Washington, D.C.

Zero Milestone

A monument in Washington D.C. marks the spot from which all other roads were supposed to stem.
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.

Cuban-American Friendship Urn

The only National Monument ever to go missing for nearly 50 years then resurface in a dump.
Fort Washington, Maryland

Woodrow Wilson Bridge

This rare triple-jurisdiction drawbridge passes through Virginia, Maryland, and Washington, D.C.
Laconia, New Hampshire

American Classic Arcade Museum

The largest arcade museum in the world chronicles the golden age of video games which ended promptly in 1987.
Gilmanton, New Hampshire

Birthplace of H.H. Holmes

Birthplace of America's first documented serial killer.
Wichita, Kansas

Original Pizza Hut

The first "Hut" was actually a small brick building.
Wichita, Kansas

Keeper of the Plains

The grandson of a Kiowa chief created what has become the iconic symbol of a city on the Plains.