The preamble to the U.S. Constitution written entirely from vanity license plates hangs in the Smithsonian museum.

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

One critic described it as "middle Mussolini, early Ramses, and late Neiman-Marcus." Another called it an architectural "natural disaster."

Look closely and you’ll notice that the color changes a third of the way up the tower.

A derelict bit of infrastructure from the canal that once ran through D.C. is landlocked in the heart of the city.

An overlooked memorial honoring the local Washington residents who died in World War I.

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

While most wind tunnels test scale models, the "Cave of Winds" was large enough for actual airplanes.

The little-known, 300-year history of the area includes former lives as a bustling tobacco port, parking lot, and industrial dump.

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

Home to a vast and influential collection of Shakespeareana.

A bas relief commemorates the "Nuns of the Battlefield" who cared for soldiers on both sides of the conflict.

Before Nixon, "watergate" meant canals.

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

Those with a sharp eye can find the hidden image of a German Shepherd on the memorial's Mural Wall.

Washington's iconic carousel has a nice piece of Civil Rights history.

A heroic pigeon that, through a barrage of gunfire, delivered a message that saved over 100 lives in World War I.

Legend has it that President Grant’s frequent drinking in the lobby gave rise to the term “lobbyist.”

A much-maligned monument to teetotalism.

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

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

An unassuming, powerful monument north of the U.S. Capitol bears witness to the resilience of Japanese Americans during a time of grave injustice.

Decades before the scandal, this staircase on the river was a literal "water gate."

Perhaps the most scandalous statue of America's first president.