D.C.'s first central library was born out of a chance encounter with the philanthropist whose name it bears.

Daredevil repair workers can worm their way out the access hatch, loop ropes over the apex and rappel down the monument.

This grand gothic brewery has been pumping out suds for over a hundred years.

The oldest building in the District of Columbia was preserved because of a mistaken connection to George Washington.

The fairy tale castle of the "fairy-tale king."

This abandoned mine offers a glimpse at what life was like for those who came to Alaska seeking Gold Rush riches.

These unusual rooms on wheels are holdovers from the 1960s.

The only remaining African American schoolhouse in northern Virginia is now a museum dedicated to formerly enslaved people.

The 72-foot giant escaped confinement in a large patch of mulch only to be reburied in the sandy shores of the Potomac River.

This medieval sanctuary's tree-framed door looks like a portal to a mythical realm.

This apartment is a true time capsule of local life in Bulgaria during the Soviet regime.

Two men built this castle on the Florida coast as an artistic “landscape sculpture.”

Nelson Mandela lived here with his family from 1946 until his arrest in 1962.

California's own medieval Italian castle, authentic down to the 300-year-old iron maiden in the dungeon.

California's own majestic geyser is powered by a subterranean volcano.

The fossilized remains of ancient California redwoods.

This historic California cemetery holds the bodies of veterans of both the Civil War and the Donner Party.

Pillars made of 700 pieces of luggage climb to the ceiling of Sacramento Airport's baggage claim.

One woman's Viking Castle on Lake Tahoe.

Home of the only civilian casualty at the Battle of Gettysburg.

Fake rail crossings mark the site of an influential doctor's demise.

Performers, intricate sets, and a real speakeasy tell the story of the 18th Amendment.

South Carolina's last remaining slavery auction house is now a museum devoted to its own tragic history.

Brace yourself for the slowest, scariest, most spectacular drive, down the Drakensberg Escarpment.