Franciscan monks created a facsimile of the Holy Land for North Americans who couldn’t afford the trip overseas.

This Brazilian palace island was once the site of the last grand ball before revolution.

The massive machine creates cracking displays of indoor lightning.

The site of one of the strangest disasters in history—a wave of deadly molasses traveling at 35 mph.

The American Revolution was galvanized into serious action due to the tragic clash with British soldiers that occurred at this location.

Remnants of a storybook amusement park hidden behind a strip mall.

Built in 1945, this historic train station has a new lease on life with its baggage area serving as an event space.

Hidden within an idyllic suburban garden is a memorial dedicated to the victims of a terrifying spree of killings committed on U.S. soil.

This mighty white oak in Bethesda survived both the American Revolution and the construction of Washington D.C.'s metro red line.

FDR's Art Deco hospital tower was hopelessly inefficient.

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

A relic of FDR's brief foray into utopian urban planning.

A suburban museum tells the story of a historic transportation network and even provides rides in antique trolley cars.

The tallest The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints temple in the world soars above the Beltway.

The world's oldest continuously operating airport was founded by the Wright Brothers.

A benevolent, 16-foot-tall river dragon lives on a suburban lawn.

Giant acorn-shaped 19th century gazebo from which suburban Washingtonians gazed upon the original "silver" spring.

The design of this historic domed church was influenced by Thomas Jefferson and intended as a statement of religious freedom.

The longest escalator in the Western Hemisphere takes over three minutes to ride down.

Once home to seven different roller coasters, Glen Echo has undergone many transformations since its founding in 1891.

A girls' boarding school inspired by the Chicago World's Fair, once abandoned, now restored to strange and scenic glory.

Walk a trail through a historic Quaker town that outlawed slavery in 1777 and was a major waypoint on the Underground Railroad.

A priceless collection of the Nation's cryptologic history.

The land is home to swimming ponies and a legendary 18th-century treasure.