calicobearcat's User Profile - Atlas Obscura
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Washington, D.C.

Peirce Mill Spy Station

Cold War intelligence agents monitored communist embassies from an attic in a former pigeon coop.
Washington, D.C.

Ruins of the McMillan Sand Filtration Site

An Industrial Revolution-era public work that purified water using nothing but sand.
Washington, D.C.

Rockefeller Mansion in Rock Creek Park

This leafy estate is worth $18 million and is so grand it has two mailing addresses.
Gaithersburg, Maryland

Nike Missile Site W-92

Three abandoned missile silos are hiding in plain sight behind a suburban development in Maryland.
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.

Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens

A lovely aquatic park built by a one-armed Civil War veteran who made a fortune from lotuses.
Washington, D.C.

Mary's Garden

An overlooked oasis of quiet on the grounds of Washington's monumental basilica.
Washington, D.C.

Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception

Largest Roman Catholic church in North America.
Washington, D.C.

The Capitol Stones

Enormous piles of historically significant stones, dumped by Congress in a forest, and abandoned for 60 years.
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.

Catacombs of Washington, D.C.

Franciscan monks created a facsimile of the Holy Land for North Americans who couldn’t afford the trip overseas.
Colmar Manor, Maryland

Bladensburg Dueling Grounds

Politicians, bureaucrats, and military officers gathered in this field near the Capitol to settle their disputes with blood.
Chevy Chase, Maryland

Into the Woods

The wooded estate of the Forest Service employee responsible for D.C.’s cherry blossom trees.
Kensington, Maryland

Washington, D.C. Temple

The tallest The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints temple in the world soars above the Beltway.
Silver Spring, Maryland

National Museum of Health and Medicine

An astounding collection of medical specimens, including bits of President Lincoln.
Silver Spring, Maryland

National Park Seminary

A girls' boarding school inspired by the Chicago World's Fair, once abandoned, now restored to strange and scenic glory.
Rockville, Maryland

Museum of Outdated Technology

The shelves in the back of this thrift store are devoted to saving, not selling, retro tech.
Bowie, Maryland

National Capital Radio & Television Museum

The development and impact of electronic media showcased in a picturesque farmhouse in Maryland.
Silver Spring, Maryland

Wheaton Station Escalator

The longest escalator in the Western Hemisphere takes over three minutes to ride down.
Glenn Dale, Maryland

Glenn Dale Hospital

An FDR-era tuberculosis sanatorium has stood abandoned in the suburbs of the U.S. capital for over 30 years.
Greenbelt, Maryland

Greenbelt Historic District

A relic of FDR's brief foray into utopian urban planning.
Beltsville, Maryland

Smokey Bear Archive

The Forest Service's surprisingly sophisticated collection of wildfire prevention art features America's most beloved bear.
Ashton-Sandy Spring, Maryland

Underground Railroad Experience Trail

Walk a trail through a historic Quaker town that outlawed slavery in 1777 and was a major waypoint on the Underground Railroad.
Crownsville, Maryland

Crownsville Hospital Center

This former asylum for Black Americans is haunted by its history of violence and racism.