This plot of old-growth forest is the largest surviving remnant of New York City's original woodland.

A former seaside jewel built for the everyman is now simply a neglected art deco fortress.

A tiny museum housed in a New York freight elevator specializes in the "overlooked, dismissed, or ignored."

The oldest living tree in Manhattan comes shrouded in sinister legend.

Elevated freight railway turned wildly successful urban park.

The first piece of public art dedicated to LGBT rights.

Mysterious 500-year-old tapestries depict a unicorn hunt.

This centerpiece of the Hollywood & Highland shopping center is a recreation of a long-lost movie set.

The so-called "Statue of Liberty of Los Angeles" is on a one mutant mission to keep L.A. weird.

Gorgeous purple flowers drape from the world's largest blossoming plant.

This magnificent mausoleum is as much a work of art as it is a historic resting place.

Hiding amid the largest camellia collection in the country lies a charming children's maze, donated by a secret admirer.

Common all over Japan, kōbans are small community police boxes, and now one is guarding one of L.A.’s megamalls.

Scores of vintage street lamps shine along L.A.’s Miracle Mile.

A modern day curiosity cabinet.

The mysterious, untimely death of a Canned Heat band member still haunts this unfinished home.

In one Santa Monica parking lot a mushroom cloud made of chains heralds a message of peace.

This “living museum” at UCLA exhibits thousands of plant species from all over the world.

Every weekend, the parking lot of this Buddhist temple turns into a Thai street-food paradise.

"Prepare yourself! You are to become the voice of Interplanetary Parliament."

A few iconic structures are all that remain of America’s first outdoor shopping mall.

An expansive book store, art gallery, and curio shop with wares ranging from tarot cards to novelty socks.

Colorado Boulevard’s historic bookstore, operating since the bustling city of Pasadena was merely some orange groves and a few ostrich farms.

A stellar example of Art & Crafts architecture, and a movie set to boot.