Most people think the Pentagon's famous five-sided shape represents military symbolism or strategic design. The real story is far more surprising: the world's most recognizable military building got its iconic shape because it had to fit around the property lines of an experimental farm in Arlington, Virginia. When architects had just one weekend in July 1941 to design the world's largest office building, they shaped it to match the boundaries created by old farm roads.
In 1979, Margaret Thatcher visited the United States for the first time to meet with President Jimmy Carter. Despite their differences, Thatcher's visit marked the beginning of a close and productive working relationship between the two leaders. Learn more about their "special relationship" here.
Did you know our greatest museum was funded by and named for an Englishman who never set foot in the United States? Read up on the origins of the Smithsonian and how it was born in our nation's capital.
Washington Monument under construction with U.S. Fish Commission hatching ponds in the foreground and Bureau of Engraving and Printing building in the background.
Career criminal Joseph Francis Fearon of Fairfax was the original ring leader of the “Beltway Bandits” of the late 1960s, robbing neighborhood homes neighboring the then-new Capital Beltway.
Take a trip down memory lane and explore real estate in Chevy Chase, D.C. in 1913. Back then, you could get a great home for $6,500, the equivalent of about $156,000 today. Now, these homes are easily worth a million dollars.
The story of Allen L. Adams, a soldier who dropped out of high school in 1965 to join the Army and was stationed at Ft. Myer in 1967. He disappeared one night, and it wasn't until 1996 that his body was found in an abandoned building. This unsolved mystery still remains.
Take a step back in time to 1881 Washington D.C. and Georgetown, where a smallpox patient was roaming the streets and spreading infection. Read the story of how it was dealt with in this article from The Washington Post.
Discover an incredible Civil War map of part of Virginia from Alexandria to the Potomac River above Washington, D.C. Click on the image for a much larger version. Source: Library of Congress.
Take a look into the history of the iconic Hay-Adams Hotel in Washington DC. Learn about the home of former Secretary of State John Hay and view rare photos from 1888 and 1898.
Discover the proposed design for the Smithsonian Castle from 1846. Learn about the Gothic design with three stories, a central tower/cupola, crenellated embattlements, and symmetrical wings from the Building Committee of the Board of Regents.
