Once the largest trading firm of enslaved people in the U.S., this building is now a museum that preserves Alexandria's dark past.

Get up close and personal at this Fresnel Lens.

At Brandy Station, Civil War soldiers left their mark on the battlefield and the walls of this small wooden house.

An eponymous directional signpost erected by the first president of the United States.

The Pentagon sits on a former island that was in Virginia at low tide and D.C. at high tide.

This former Cold War missile control site played an important role in the creation of GPS.

The last of nine massive kilns that produced many of the red bricks for buildings in Washington, D.C. and northern Virginia in the early 20th century.

The birthplace of Appalachia's only first lady, who some have dubbed the United States' "first female president."

A glimpse into the sacrifices of military members during World War II.

The controversial urban planner who designed Washington, D.C., was buried in Maryland, and can presently be found in Virginia.

These massive concrete balls were used to mine gold in Virginia.

At Washington's Dulles Airport is a satellite museum (no pun intended) with three quarters of a million square feet of aircraft history.

Memorial stone for GWAR vocalist, depicted in his iconic costume.

These figures float and flutter in this fountain crafted by famed Swedish sculptor Carl Milles.

The largest cemetery for enslaved people in Loudoun County was almost lost to history, if not for the research of a minister.

A former major munitions plant that has been converted into a sprawling art space.

The maritime museum that boasts the largest nautical library in the western hemisphere.

Standing for over 200 years, the abandoned home of a Revolutionary War hero and later a succession of prison superintendents.

This cannonball stands as a reminder of the final act of a fleeting governor amidst a revolution.

Extraordinary objects lurk in this quintessential regional museum.

Herbert Hoover's "Brown House" rural presidential retreat was a PR disaster amid the start of the Great Depression.

A museum in the heart of Virginia peanut country devoted to the humble goober.

This twice-relocated "Usonian" home is among the smallest built by master architect Frank Lloyd Wright.

One man's lifelong collection of 10,000 rare steins tells the story of beer drinking from 1350 to today.