punskin57's User Profile - Atlas Obscura
Loading map...
Fredericksburg, Virginia

Monument to the Angel of Marye's Heights

The Kirkland Monument remembers a selfless Civil War hero who braved the battlefield to give water to his dying enemies.
Fredericksburg, Virginia

Innis House

A home that witnessed Civil War combat on the Sunken Road has the battle scars to prove it.
Fredericksburg, Virginia

Hugh Mercer Apothecary Shop

This war hero's old shop remembers the fine line between medicine and quackery during the Revolutionary War.
Fredericksburg, Virginia

Abandoned National Slavery Museum

An overgrown garden stands as a grim marker of an unrealized dream.
Washington, D.C.

Capitol Building Tunnel System

Members of Congress have traveled between the buildings on Capitol Hill for a century hidden from tourists, press, and storm clouds.
Washington, D.C.

Rayburn House Office Building

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

Legislative Bell System

An ear-piercing buzzer calls lawmakers to a vote with a series of long and short rings to form coded messages.
Washington, D.C.

Capitol Air Conditioning Towers

"Congress may voluntarily remain in session throughout the summer, in order that our Congressmen may be protected from the intolerable discomforts and dangers of the ordinary outdoor weather!”
Washington, D.C.

The Unabomber's Cabin

It was once the base for a series of domestic terror attacks.
Washington, D.C.

Knife Edge

Architecture lovers won’t stop touching the National Gallery's 19.5 degree marble prow.
Washington, D.C.

Mitsitam Native Foods Cafe

A museum cafe showcases Native American dishes and indigenous ingredients from across the Western Hemisphere.
Washington, D.C.

NASA Full Scale Wind Tunnel Propeller

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

Amelia Earhart's Lockheed Vega

The "lovely red Vega" of the legendary record-settling pilot.
Washington, D.C.

Starship Enterprise NCC-1701

The actual model from the original "Star Trek" series is now on display at the National Air and Space Museum.
Washington, D.C.

National Archives Vault

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

D.C. War Memorial

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

Albert Einstein Bronze Statue

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

Glen Echo Amusement Park

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

Theodore Roosevelt Island

The national park was once a plantation estate.
Washington, D.C.

Georgetown Waterfront

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

The Exorcist Stairs

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

Capital Transit Co. Streetcar Barn

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

Washington Aqueduct Emergency Pumping Station

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

Washington Aqueduct Chemical Tower

Every drop of D.C. tap water flows through this old waterworks.