WASHINGTON – The National Building Museum is usually known for its stunning architecture and lavish interior design but it’s also said to be the home of spirits who linger in the shadows. 

The historic home of the museum was built between 1882 and 1887 and was used for three purposes: as headquarters of the U.S. Pension Bureau, a grand space for Washington’s social and political functions, and to commemorate Union soldiers who fought in the Civil War.

With its history stretching back decades, there are stories below the building that date back centuries before it was converted into a museum in 1980.

“It’s not just the building. It’s the site itself,” Amanda Hodges, Director of Museum Services said. “So there were things on this site before, which we go into as we take you around on the tour, but it has a storied history. And it’s not just the history, but it’s what people experience in the building even today.”

In the latest episode of Historic Haunts, FOX 5’s Jacqueline Matter explores the stories of paranormal experiences that have been felt throughout the decades.

Old Town’s spooky past – and the spirits still lingering there today

“If you want to come here and experience something, nighttime is the best time. It is where we get all of our firsthand accounts of these sightings. They have come to us throughout many years, starting from the late 1800s, 1910s, 1970s, and even two years ago,” Hodges said. 

Numerous artifacts were found inside the walls of the building as it was being renovated and visitors have reported seeing figures and hearing sounds throughout the building at night. 

From unexplained footsteps and ghostly figures, it’s clear that the voices below the building are far from silent. 

“Part of the fun of being here at night is that your senses get heightened and you start to become aware of lights and movements and patterns and suggestions and you start to think you saw something, maybe you really did,” Hodges said.

For more information on the National Building Museum’s Spooky Tours, click here. 

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Uncover the eerie history behind the most haunted places in the DC metro area in FOX5’s latest mini-series, Historic Haunts. Hosted by Jacqueline Matter, this series dives into the most chilling supernatural tales of the region, guided by experts who know these locations best. Watch now on FOX Local.

Don’t have FOX Local? Here’s how to get it.

Washington DC’s Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) is the most convenient gateway to the US capital, only a quick metro ride away from downtown DC.

But unlike other major US airports, travelers rarely see new long-haul flight routes being added at DCA. That’s because the US Department of Transportation (DOT) prohibits airlines from flying from Reagan to destinations beyond 1,250 miles—unless they are granted something called a “beyond perimeter exemption.”

On October 16, however, the DOT tentatively approved the following five new long-distance flight routes from DCA, an agency spokesperson confirmed with Condé Nast Traveler:

• Alaska Airlines service to San Diego, California (SAN)
• American Airlines service to San Antonio, Texas (SAT)
• Delta Air Lines service to Seattle, Washington (SEA)
• Southwest Airlines service to Las Vegas, Nevada (LAS)
• United Airlines service to San Francisco, California (SFO).

The DCA slot exemptions were granted by the DOT as part of the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024. Congress required that the selected routes would either (1) provide nonstop service to beyond-perimeter airports that do not already have direct flights to DCA, or (2) have a positive impact on competition in markets with existing nonstop service to DCA.

But why does this DOT rule even exist? “The original perimeter rule was meant in part to shift long-haul flying to newly-opened Washington Dulles airport and also was supported by local groups who didn’t like the noise at the close-in airport,” explains Gary Leff, an aviation expert and Condé Nast Traveler travel specialist. “From 1966 to 1980 the limit was 650 miles. Then from 1981 to 1986 it was 1000 miles.”

Prior to this week’s decision, the federal government had approved three rounds of perimeter exemptions at DCA over the past 20 years. Today, DCA has 20 round-trip flights a day to destinations farther than 1250 miles from the airport, Leff says. This does not include the five new slots, which have yet to launch.

A trial is ongoing for the five girls who brutally beat 64-year-old Reggie Brown to death in Northwest D.C. last year.

Now, two of the five girls have pleaded guilty in Brown’s death, which happened along Georgia Avenue last October.

NBC Washington reporter and WTOP alum Paul Wagner joined WTOP’s Shawn Anderson and Anne Kramer to talk more about the developments in the case.

WTOP’s Shawn Anderson and Anne Kramer talk to Paul Wagner about the murder of Reggie Brown.

The transcript below has been lightly edited for clarity.

Anne Kramer: Paul, thanks for joining us. What happened in court, in regards to this case, and where are we in this trial?

Paul Wagner: So we’re almost at the end of the government’s case. There was a lot of arguments between lawyers over what evidence could come in. What we did learn is that there was a woman who was approached by detectives and asked if she could identify any of the five girls that were caught on camera that night, walking up Georgia Avenue. Because there are certain rules that reporters have to abide by, I can’t say where this woman worked, but it is an interesting connection and she was able to identify two of the girls.

The other thing we learned is that the brutal beating that was actually recorded by one of the girls that night was actually emailed to the detective a couple of weeks after the beating, and he testified that that video was emailed to him by a social worker. It looks like Thursday is going to be very interesting, where we’ve been told that there’ll be some Instagram messages that will be shown to the judge, and we’re anticipating that that could be quite interesting.

Shawn Anderson: Now, it was just yesterday that you told us we had compelling and chilling testimony from a 15-year-old girl who had pleaded guilty and is now testifying against a couple of her friends. She explained the teens went out and attacked this man because they were “bored.” Tell us more about that.

Wagner: Yeah, that was pretty shocking. I got to say, sitting there in the courtroom, I didn’t know what to expect from this 15-year-old. She is locked up and will be locked up for three years, but she testified under a grant of immunity, and yes, Shawn and Anne, she said that she and her friends were out looking for someone to beat up that night. And when the prosecutor said, ‘Well, why? Why were you doing that?’ And she said, ‘We were bored.’

Now, there’s another major aspect of this case, and there was a man that actually instigated all of this. The detectives call him “Blue Coat” because they don’t know who he is. But Wednesday, we saw a video of him taking Reggie Brown across Georgia Avenue by the collar and then throwing him up against a wall at the Domino’s Pizza there at Sheridan Street. And that’s how this all began. This 15-year-old, who testified Tuesday, said that they had walked up to Blue Coat and asked if they could join in. Could they beat him up too? And Blue Coat said, ‘Sure.’ There had been previous testimony that Blue Coat had threatened the girls with a gun and said that if they didn’t join in, that he would shoot them.

But this 15-year-old testified that that did not happen. That was not correct. He never threatened them.

One other thing we did learn, too, is that a second girl has now pled guilty. It’s unclear what she’s pled guilty to. It happened during a status hearing, and so that wasn’t open to reporters. Of the five girls that are charged in this case, two have now pled guilty. Two are now on trial, and one more will go on trial next year.

Kramer: Curious if it’s in any court documents, anything that you’ve seen or heard, or if there’s any kind of connection to an organized crime or a gang, or are they just all friends?

Wagner: No, the testimony was that these were all friends. They hung out at a rec center. That was the testimony Tuesday. That night, they had gone to a skate park, and they were just hanging out. Like she said, they were just bored. Just five girls that somehow, allegedly, joined in this beating of this 64-year-old disabled man. And I’ve got to tell you, the video, which the public will never see, because it’s going to be sealed in the juvenile matter, is one of the most brutal videos I’ve ever seen in my life.

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