Jillian's User Profile - Atlas Obscura
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Paris, France

The Room of Endangered and Extinct Species

A haunting collection of the vanished and disappearing natural world.
Washington, D.C.

Spirit of Justice Park

A secret greenspace hides atop a Capitol parking garage.
Reading, Pennsylvania

The Reading Pagoda

A failed piece of Orientalism has become the proud symbol of a community.
Kennett Square, Pennsylvania

Longwood Gardens

This palatial botanical garden is home to one of the largest pipe organs ever installed in a private residence, and a piece of Wood's cycad.
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Mütter Museum

America's most famous museum of medical oddities is home to the remains of Albert Einstein's brain.
Doylestown, Pennsylvania

Moravian Pottery & Tile Works Museum

A pride of the state, this working museum crafts pottery mosaics in the style of Pennsylvania's earliest European settlers.
Bethesda, Maryland

Porky The Litter Eater

This propitious plastic porcine has been petitioning park visitors to pick up after themselves for more than 50 years.
Arlington, Virginia

Headstone-Eating Trees

The rogue roots are gradually consuming some of the historic marble grave markers.
Alexandria, Virginia

The George Washington Masonic National Memorial

This stately building in Alexandria, Virginia was built by Freemasons to honor one of their most famous members.
Alexandria, Virginia

Contrabands and Freedmen Cemetery

Once forgotten and built over, this historic Black cemetery now houses a poignant memorial.
Fort Washington, Maryland

Woodrow Wilson Bridge

This rare triple-jurisdiction drawbridge passes through Virginia, Maryland, and Washington, D.C.
Hyattsville, Maryland

Vanadu Art House

An intricately designed junk art house with four extravagant junk art cars hidden in the suburbs.
Arlington, Virginia

George Washington Memorial Parkway

This isn't your average roadway—it's actually a National Park and a transportation pioneer.
Arlington, Virginia

Rosslyn Metro Escalator

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

The Graves of Robert E. Lee's Garden

Soldiers were buried next to Lee's house in the center of Arlington Cemetery to dissuade the general from reclaiming his property after the war.
Washington, D.C.

The Cairo

This unacceptably tall building was the real reason for Washington, D.C.'s skyscraper ban.
Arlington, Virginia

Pierre L’Enfant’s (Second) Gravesite

The controversial urban planner who designed Washington, D.C., was buried in Maryland, and can presently be found in Virginia.
Washington, D.C.

Arizona Avenue Trestle

The span is crooked and made from two older recycled bridges.
Washington, D.C.

Fort DeRussy

A Civil War fort in the middle of Washington, D.C. has been swallowed by a forest.
Washington, D.C.

Riggs Bank

The bank that helped fund the Mexican-American War and the purchase of Alaska met its downfall after helping Augusto Pinochet launder money.
Washington, D.C.

United Brick Corporation Ruins

Once the supplier for noteworthy projects like the National Cathedral, this old brickworks now lies abandoned.
Washington, D.C.

Washington Aqueduct Emergency Pumping Station

These abandoned waterworks are crumbling into the Potomac River.
Washington, D.C.

Churchill and Mandela Call and Response

When it comes to handsignals (and colonialism) rock always beats scissors.
Washington, D.C.

FDR's Swimming Pool

There's an old indoor swimming pool hidden directly underneath the White House Press Briefing Room.