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

D.C.'s first central library was born out of a chance encounter with the philanthropist whose name it bears.

This imposing Masonic temple a mile from the White House was the first public library in Washington, D.C.

The famous abolitionist’s preserved estate is one of Washington's finest monuments to its great Black citizens.

The Byzantine, pre-Columbian, and medieval art at this stately mansion are some of the most under-appreciated collections in D.C.

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

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

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

This grand gothic brewery has been pumping out suds for over a hundred years.

With over 100 jam-packed rooms to explore plus elaborate tea services and events, the Mansion on O Street is a hidden treasure.

The curiosities and wonders of pharmacy in a delightful historic building.

The second oldest continuously operating bar in Louisiana.

Solar observatory doubles as a daring display of Expressionist architecture, much to Einstein's chagrin.

A quaint Russian village in the middle of a German metropolis.

Before he was forced to flee the country under Nazi rule, Albert Einstein spent his summers in this custom-built lakeside house near Berlin.

Germany's Glienicke Bridge has a shady history of clandestine meetings, espionage, and spycraft.

The "Prussian Versailles" that is as glorious today as when it was built.

The monument honors the first (and for a long time, only) African-born philosopher to teach at a German university.

A sweet museum focused on beets.

The abandoned remains of this Victorian brewery hide crumbling bowling alleys and rusting industrial gear.

The music is over at the Ballhaus Riviera Ballroom, but the ballroom remains in haunting disrepair.

A museum dedicated to a Cold War era sausage.

An abandoned swimming pool decays on the outskirts of Berlin.

A state-of-the-art medical facility from the Imperial era is now a derelict ruin.