CalmChimp's User Profile - Atlas Obscura
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Places visited in Grenoble, France
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Washington, D.C.

Summerhouse

A hidden gem on the lawn of the U.S. Capitol Building designed by landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted.
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.

Abandoned Drawbridge Control Room

The hidden offices underneath Memorial Bridge have been locked up since 1976.
Washington, D.C.

Watergate Steps

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

Braddock's Rock

The "Key of Keys" for Washington, D.C. and the apocryphal landing place for the military campaign that started George Washington's career is now at the bottom of a well.
Washington, D.C.

Potomac Park Flood Levee

This mysterious structure by the Washington Monument is a flood barrier designed to protect the White House against rising waters.
Washington, D.C.

The Lockkeeper's House

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

Organization of American States Building

The grand marble structure next to the White House is Andrew Carnegie's temple to Pan-American diplomacy.
Washington, D.C.

D.C.'s Underground Bald Cypress Fossils

Four bald cypress trees in Lafayette Square, across from the White House, mark the southern edge of a 100,000 year old cypress swamp.
Washington, D.C.

Old Post Office Tower

The National Park Service’s best-kept secret with views that rival any in D.C.
Washington, D.C.

Temperance Fountain

A much-maligned monument to teetotalism.
Washington, D.C.

Titanic Memorial

This lonely waterfront memorial to the men of the Titanic was erected by the "Women of America."
Washington, D.C.

Walter Johnson Statue

This statue of one of baseball’s greatest pitchers looks like something out of a sci-fi horror movie.
Washington, D.C.

Inside the Capitol Dome

The walls of the iconic dome are hollow and have a secret stairway.
Washington, D.C.

Philo Farnsworth Statue

This statue of the "father of television" stands prominently in the United States Capitol.
Washington, D.C.

The Portrait Monument

Rumor has it the uncarved lump behind the three famous suffragists is reserved for the first woman president.
Washington, D.C.

District of Columbia Center Point

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

Missing Capitol Building Cornerstone

A promising candidate for the lost rock laid by George Washington was unearthed, but the hunt is still on.
Washington, D.C.

International Spy Museum

Home to items never before seen by the public.
Washington, D.C.

Capitol Bollards

The 5.5-mile ring of steel posts around the Capitol Building is one of the largest (and most uniform) of its kind in the world.
Washington, D.C.

Holodomor Memorial

An easily overlooked memorial to a Ukrainian famine-genocide that killed over 4 million people.
Washington, D.C.

Roman Legionnaire Modesty Shields

Railroad officials in the early 1900s sought to spare travelers the sight of Roman soldiers’ private parts.
Washington, D.C.

Site of the Union Station Train Crash

A 1,100-ton train fell through the floor in 1953. Workers got it patched up in just 72 hours.
Washington, D.C.

Memorial to Japanese-American Patriotism in World War II

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