The seawater playground of gilded-era San Francisco burned to the ground in 1966.

A 1920s speakeasy that had rum runners racing up and down the shores of California.

This Oakland fairytale kingdom, fiercely devoted to childlike whimsy, was an early inspiration for Disneyland.

Neoclassical Revival mansion and set of horror cult classic Phantasm.

An extensive collection of ancient Egyptian artifacts and mummies.

A Roman-inspired temple once controlled half of San Francisco's waters.

The deepest lake in the United States, and once the site of epic destruction that lives on in legends.

The old Niles Canyon Aqueduct in the San Francisco Bay Area is a bemusing and secret trail through nature for wayward travelers.

Rodin's famous depiction of Dante's 'Inferno', amidst a sculpture garden of many of his other works.

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

These once-beautiful historic graveyards are set against the barren Virginia City hills.

Home to the "Circus" trees created by Axel Erlandson.

Standing in a state of "arrested decay," this ghost town allows for a detailed peek into Gold Rush life in an unusually harsh climate.