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

A line of blue paint marks the route of the inaugural parade.

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

At 207 feet, one of the world's longest continuous escalators.

An oft-overlooked, magically musical monolith that stands majestically between Arlington Cemetery and the Iwo Jima Memorial.

This seemingly out-of-place gas station by the Watergate hotel was once described as the most expensive gas station in the world.

The national park was once a plantation estate.

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

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

The beloved statue at the National Academy of Sciences is oh so inviting to sit on.

The hippo that stands on this university campus was once a drunken flea market purchase.

Before Metro, Washington had a robust streetcar network—and you see the remains of this infrastructure if you know where to look.

The site of the climactic scene from the classic horror film is now a historic landmark.

A derelict bit of transportation infrastructure hidden in the woods.

Proto-CIA agents trained with grenades in the sand traps and fired machine guns from the fairways.

One of the oldest standing structures in Montgomery County, Maryland.

The bridge's highly-contested plaque (once again) honors Confederate President Jefferson Davis.

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

Bad farming practices caused this unnatural natural wonder.

FDR hoped to find a cure for polio in this Georgia town's warm springs.

The site of the notorious Camp Sumter Prison is now a peaceful memorial.

This 13-foot smiling peanut in Georgia helped Jimmy Carter win the 1976 presidential election.

A sweet tribute to Georgia's official state vegetable, which even has its own mascot: "Yumion."

A pink and gray pair of pachyderms advertise a fireworks shop.