National Archives

The National Archives is a pre-war building that houses an agency that was charged with preserving and documenting government and historical records. The building is relatively undamaged, but the documents and records have mostly been destroyed or ruined. It has also become home to a patrol of super mutants, centaurs and robots, some of which have personalities. The patrol of Super Mutants have placed many traps around to keep out unwanted visitors.

It also houses the Declaration of Independence, the Magna Carta and the Bill of Rights. The Declaration of Independence is in a small room behind a robot who claims to be the second signatory of the Declaration.

Location
The National Archives are in the northeast part of The Mall. It's east of Museum of History and north of Museum of Technology (and their corresponding Museum Station exits), across the Mall battlefield.

The Mall Northeast station is across the street from the back door of the National Archives. You can get in that way, but you will not get credit for having "discovered" it and thus will not be able to fast travel back to it, so it is probably best to walk around to the front door.


 * The Mall Northeast station is just across the underground platform from the Penn. Ave South station entrance. Penn. Ave South, which in turn is a short walk from the Metro Central station. Metro Central is part of the all-underground route which extends from Collapsed Car Tunnel (at the back of the GNR Building) to the Anacostia Crossing Station (at Rivet City). If you haven't been to GNR yet, the Collapsed Car Tunnel is a short walk from the Dupont Circle station which comes from Chevy Chase East, which can be reached above ground from the Farragut West Station. after you exit the Anacostia crossing station, if you look to the left you will see a building that looks a little less damaged than the rest of them. there should be two super mutants around that building. the national archives is behind that building

The Building
Upon entering the building, there is a terminal mounted on the wall facing the Rotunda labeled as National Archives Guess and Win! featuring a mini-game related to American history. The mini-game consists of 8 questions. Answering all 8 questions correctly awards you an Archives Prize Voucher, which may be redeemed at the Prize Redemption Terminal mounted on the same wall. For promotional reasons, your choice of prize involves 3 unique Mentats: Glamorously Grape, Brilliantly Berry, and Observantly Orange. Answering a question incorrectly will reset all questions, but you may reattempt with no apparent penalty. When reattempting the mini-game, previously selected answers will appear highlighted. The correct answers, in order, are: The Second Continental Congress, Thirteen, John Hancock, 56, Ratification, King George III, Happiness, and Thomas Jefferson. There are also 5 Archives Prize Voucher in a locked Safe (Average) in the Archives Administrators Office.

Opposite the previously mentioned terminals is the Rotunda. Sydney, a relic-hunter, will be waiting in the Rotunda, surrounded by many Frag Mines. She hails you down for help in fighting off a variety of Super Mutants, and to avoid the many Frag Mines. Upon reaching her location, Super Mutants will spawn outside the Rotunda, and begin their assault. After exterminating the first group of Super Mutants, another group will appear possibly wielding Miniguns or Missile Launchers. If Sydney is killed during the assault, you are able to loot Sydney's 10mm "Ultra" SMG, a unique 10mm Submachine Gun. You will also have to manually open the secret elevator manually by accessing Sydney's remote uplink (computer terminal) which should be somewhere close by.

After the assault, you may be able to join up with Sydney to find the Declaration of Independence. She will then open up a secret elevator shaft that allows you to skip a section filled with Super Mutants. If you get the Declaration of Independence without her, she will disappear and you will not be able to purchase items from her in Underworld. If you don't want her getting in the way while you clear it of enemies, make sure you talk to her before you enter the Archival Stronghold.

Traps
In the ladies restroom on the ground floor of the West wing, a burned corpse is face-down in a toilet with a battery and wires attached to it, apparently electrocuted. If you attempt to activate (drink) the toilet, the character will be shocked and take 25 points of damage. You may retrieve 35 Microfusion Cells without taking any harm if your repair skill is 20 or higher. The trap itself is fitted inside the toilet tank; walk right up to the tank and activate the MF cells.

In the room with the door to the Archival Strongroom, there is a terminal that has been rigged with a grenade. It's very easy to see since the back is pried off and there is an antenna sticking out of the top.

There are also numerous physical traps with swinging engines, battering rams, and lumps of meat. These traps are also sometimes combined with explosives, particularly on staircases. A particularly nasty one is on the East stairs up from the lower level, especially if you have Light Step and are trying to keep Sydney alive. First, when you go up the stairs, you will release a swinging bull's head which will hit Sydney, then if you get by that, when Sydney starts up the stairs, she sets off a Grenade Bouquet which is above the stairs beyond the next landing. (The tripwire for this is located at the base of the stairs and can be trigger by Dogmeat). You can have Sydney wait while you move ahead and disarm them (again, assuming you have Light Step). If you approach these stairs by going East from the entry lobby, they are probably easier to disarm.

Mines are littered throughout the site and are worth collecting either to sell or to use to defend Sydney by placing them in the entrance way before walking up to her.

The National Archives

 * One Duck and Cover! is located in the northwest corner of the northwest room downstairs. The Skill Book is laying atop a desk near several Missiles. The room contains plenty of empty bookshelves and Frag Mines.
 * Four Pre-War Books are located in the middle of the northwest room downstairs. They will be on the top shelf of a fairly empty bookshelf, or may have fallen on the floor if a Frag Mine has been detonated.
 * Five Archives Prize Vouchers are located in a locked Safe (Average) of the upstairs room. The locked Safe (Average) may be unlocked by accessing the Terminal.
 * A Pre-War Book - From the entry room, go through the west door then through the hole in the wall. It is by itself on the top shelf of the last wooden bookcase to the south, on the opposite side of the room from the Nuka-Cola machine, near a desk, filing cabinet and stairwell.
 * A Combat Shotgun and ammo on the 2nd floor, in the center of the west section, on a shelf at the top of the stairs.

Archives Sub-Basement

 * Duck and Cover!, Metal Armor, Metal Helmet, Mini Nuke, and a Stealth Boy at the broken generator behind a Very Hard locked gate in the Sub-Basement. It is located immediately before you enter the Archives Secure Wing East.
 * If you do not have a lock pick skill of 100, you can simply shoot Duck and Cover! with a pistol until it gets close enough to grab through the fence, another option is to chuck grenades at it getting you the mini nuke as well (save before you do either of these).
 * Sheet Music Book in the first room after you come down the stairs to the Sub-Basement. It is on the bottom shelf of a rack on the west wall, second in from the corner.

Archival Secure Wing East

 * You can give yourself a huge break by using repair skill on the "turret generator" which will disable all turrets in the next part of the level. Heading north from the secret elevator, it's in the second room on the east wall, flanked by metal partitions, and it's making noise.  This is the same room with the metal stairs heading down to the goodies below...
 * The Bill of Rights inside a safe, located inside the first vault protected by two turrets to the west. It is protected by two average locked doors.
 * Lying, Congressional Style next to the safe with the Bill of Rights in it.
 * Magna Carta inside a second vault protected by two turrets to the East. It is behind one average locked door.

Note: after completing your business with Button, you can proceed to a room with eight Protectron pods. The last one on the right can be activated, but instead of talking it plays the Galaxy News Radio station. A terminal that is accessed earlier in The National Archives refers to an employee replacing the Protectron's voice box as a prank.

Archival Strongroom

 * Declaration of Independence located behind Button Gwinnett. The door can only be unlocked from a computer terminal in the same room.
 * Tales of a Junktown Jerky Vendor located in the same room as the Declaration of Independence.
 * Button's Wig on a small desk in the same room as the eponymous robot.