"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!”

A fantastic array of trays and cables once whisked books over to the Capitol at 600 feet per minute.

Fittingly, America's museum of architecture is itself a magnificently designed old building.

A historic arena where the Beatles played their first concert in the U.S.

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.

Need a hardcopy of the 50-title Code of Federal Regulations? This is the place.

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

An easily overlooked memorial to a Ukrainian famine-genocide that killed over 4 million people.

The tunnel under the Capitol Building where Congress takes out its trash.

A hidden gem on the lawn of the U.S. Capitol Building designed by landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted.

An ear-piercing buzzer calls lawmakers to a vote with a series of long and short rings to form coded messages.

A little marble compass above George Washington's (empty) tomb in the Capitol marks where D.C.'s four quadrants intersect.

This statue of the "father of television" stands prominently in the United States Capitol.

Rumor has it the uncarved lump behind the three famous suffragists is reserved for the first woman president.

Corn-inthian columns with a uniquely American take on neoclassical architecture.

The elevator that makes it possible to fly American flags in bulk over the U.S. Capitol

Senators used to relax in the nearly forgotten marble tubs now hidden in the U.S. Capitol Building's basement.

Members of Congress have traveled between the buildings on Capitol Hill for a century hidden from tourists, press, and storm clouds.