penelopewaite's User Profile - Atlas Obscura
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Washington, D.C.

Riggs Bank

The bank that helped fund the Mexican-American War and the purchase of Alaska met its downfall after helping Augusto Pinochet launder money.
Washington, D.C.

Yenching Palace

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

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.

Washington Stock Exchange Building

D.C. once had its own tiny rival to the New York Stock Exchange.
Washington, D.C.

George Washington's Townhouse Lots

After his presidency, George Washington planned to live only a few blocks from the Capitol building.
Washington, D.C.

Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Office Museum

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

Arizona Avenue Trestle

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

U.S. Naval Observatory Library

A hoard of sky catalogs, astrophysical journals, even the works of Galileo and Copernicus.
Washington, D.C.

The Sun Building

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

Inaugural Parade Center Line

A line of blue paint marks the route of the inaugural parade.
Washington, D.C.

Southwest Duck Pond

This lovely pocket park is one of the most under appreciated in D.C.
Washington, D.C.

Mary's Garden

An overlooked oasis of quiet on the grounds of Washington's monumental basilica.
Washington, D.C.

First FDR Memorial

One of the most influential presidents in U.S. history wanted only this plain, elegant monument as his lasting memorial.
Washington, D.C.

Churchill and Mandela Call and Response

When it comes to handsignals (and colonialism) rock always beats scissors.
Washington, D.C.

Maine Avenue Fish Market

The oldest continuously operating fish market in the United States.
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.

Washington Aqueduct Chemical Tower

Every drop of D.C. tap water flows through this old waterworks.
Washington, D.C.

American University Experiment Station

The school tested mustard gas for the U.S. Army during World War I.
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.

Jean Jules Jusserand Memorial

An obscure federal monument honors the French diplomat who served as Ambassador to the U.S. during WWI.
Washington, D.C.

Uncle Beazley the Triceratops

A celebrity from the late Cretaceous period.
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.