taramark1998's User Profile - Atlas Obscura
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Washington, D.C.

National Academy of Sciences

For 60 years, the academy had no permanent location until members voted Washington D.C. as its forever home.
Washington, D.C.

Navy Yard Railroad Gun

One of the largest artillery pieces in the world sits in a Washington D.C. parking lot.
Washington, D.C.

Treasury Department Cash Vault

Where the U.S. government kept its actual treasure, before Fort Knox.
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.

Peirce Mill Spy Station

Cold War intelligence agents monitored communist embassies from an attic in a former pigeon coop.
Washington, D.C.

National Archives Vault

An atomic bomb-proof strongbox protects the U.S. Constitution from terrorists and thieves.
Washington, D.C.

The Mutilated Currency Division

An obscure public service from the U.S. government that redeems burnt, moldy, and soiled old greenbacks.
Washington, D.C.

Rockefeller Mansion in Rock Creek Park

This leafy estate is worth $18 million and is so grand it has two mailing addresses.
Washington, D.C.

Sergeant Stubby

The most decorated dog of World War I is preserved in the Smithsonian.
Washington, D.C.

Library of Congress Card Catalog

A nostalgic bibliographic gem.
Washington, D.C.

National Building Museum

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

Tudor Place

A historic estate packed with George Washington's heirlooms, and its own nuclear bunker.
Washington, D.C.

The Old Patent Model Museum

During the Industrial Revolution this “Temple of Invention” was full of intricate miniature machines and gadgets.
Washington, D.C.

FBI Spy House

A painfully obvious spy house sits right across the street from the Russian Embassy.
Washington, D.C.

Riggs Library

A wondrous old library overlooking the nation's capital.
Washington, D.C.

The Dupont Underground

Long-abandoned trolley tunnels just a mile away from the White House are turning into an art space.
Washington, D.C.

International Spy Museum

Home to items never before seen by the public.
New York, New York

Strecker Memorial Laboratory

Site of the first pathological and bacteriological research facility in the United States.
Brooklyn, New York

Farm.One

Underneath the bustling city streets, a hydroponic farm grows unique herbs in an urban oasis.
New York, New York

Grand Central Oyster Bar

This subterranean oyster house has been the pearl of Grand Central Station since 1913.
New York, New York

American Numismatic Society

Play heads or tails with thousands of different coins.
New York, New York

New York City Fire Museum

A museum collection honoring the long history of the FDNY is held in a disused Manhattan fire house.
New York, New York

Site of Columbia University's Nuclear Reactor

This was one of the first (and last) university-built and operated nuclear reactors.
New York, New York

Daredevil Tattoo Museum

This iconic tattoo shop has its own onsite museum with artifacts from the early history of modern body art.