What if the nation’s capitol had been built with a giant bronze chicken on top of it? What if the Washington Monument had been built with a giant statue of the first president standing atop? How about a Lincoln Memorial built as a giant pyramid?

This week’s Highlighted Site of the Week is the National Building Museum’s Unbuilt Washington, the official site for the exhibit that shows you “what might have been” in our nation’s capital.

According to the site: “Unbuilt Washington reveals the Washington that could have been by presenting architectural and urban design projects that were proposed but, for widely varied reasons, never executed. … The physical character of Washington, D.C., that we take for granted today is the unique result of countless decisions, debates, successes, failures, reconsiderations, missed opportunities, and lucky breaks. To tourists and residents alike, the city’s greatest landmarks may seem so appropriate, so correct—it is hard to imagine that they could have turned out completely differently. But nothing in the built environment of Washington [or in any other city, for that matter] is predestined.”

You will find an interactive Google map for the sites of the would-be sites and memorials described in Unbuilt Washington.

Don’t miss the exhibit, which runs from November 19, 2011 – May 28, 2012.  Here is the National Building Museum’s Twitter feed and Facebook.

You may enjoy this video about the exhibit courtesy of ABC 7 News.

Here is a video with the curator describing models in the exhibit:

Have a terrific weekend!