A 1940s nuclear reactor built to produce plutonium for the Manhattan Project.

This rare, carefully curated collection showcases the history of neon inside a grandiose Elks lodge.

A strange house built only at night, with rumored mystic inspiration.

Here, visitors can swing with the waves of the Pacific Ocean.

A New England-style lighthouse along California's beautiful Highway 1 gets a re-do.

A peculiar mansion built by the troubled heir to the Winchester Rifle Company fortune.

Concrete strongholds stand guard over the Golden Gate.

A living time capsule of the 1960s Richardson Bay water-front.

Relics of the 1894 Midwinter Exposition continue to delight visitors today.

Golden Gate Park's historic collection of plants.

Beneath the southern end of the Golden Gate Bridge is the “Gibraltar of the West Coast,” a fort built to protect the San Francisco Bay from naval attack.

In all of the 29 years it was in operation, no prisoners ever escaped successfully... or so they claim.

A man-made island in scenic San Francisco Bay.

Deco Modern sculptures of the people of the Pacific, cast for the 1939 Golden Gate International Exposition.

An enormous artwork that colorfully celebrates over 150 years of US military achievements.

Antiques by the Bay.

An "anarchical" no man's land, complete with garbage sculptures and a hobo-run "Landfillian Library."

A 90-acre park on former landfill that hosts an annual kite festival.

An vast warehouse of everyday treasures in Berkeley, CA.

A private home built to resemble the shape of a microscopic creature.

The Laureates here get something even more coveted than a Nobel Prize: free parking for life.

The century-old bell and clock tower at UC Berkeley is the third-tallest in the world, and has fossils.

This subtle Berkeley paving stone actually marks off a lawless tube of air that extends into space.

Handmade treasures from around the world.