The rustic cabin-like decor of this Arts and Crafts-style church reflects the love of nature central to its little-known theology.

One of the most elaborate displays of Jellyfish is on display at the aquarium.

Once the largest windmill outside of Holland, with enormous 114 foot sails.

One of the last remnants of the city's Chinese nightclub scene is now a dive bar selling killer mai tais.

A pier that used to act as a busy ferry dock is now a decaying favorite of local fisherman and urban artists.

The taxidermied remains of the "last wild grizzly bear in California" and of the symbol of the state of California.

A masterpiece in Golden Gate Park by virtue of the artist’s debt.

A garden oasis filled with flowers mentioned in the works of William Shakespeare.

This one-block alleyway is stuffed with street art that is colorful, cultural, and intensely political.

An elaborate gift from Claus Spreckels is now a piece of San Francisco history.

An art supply shop holds the secrets of this quiet neighborhood's raucous Barbary Coast past.

Faceless white figures loom over the city from the rooftop.

One of the oldest producers of hand-folded fortune cookies still uses its original secret recipe.

The key to turning shifting dunes into the green oasis of Golden Gate Park.

Recovered from the brink of extinction, at home in the Financial District.

The most beautiful Taco Bell in the world even has surfboard parking.

Forgotten and then destroyed by fire, this was once one of the largest saltwater swimming pools in the world.

A pair of mutilated bronze octopuses slump at the base of the monument honoring California's admission to the U.S.

One of few lasting examples of the brief octagon craze that developed into folly.

Barely visible foundations remain where Stow Lake’s “observatory” once welcomed visitors.

A shape-shifting buy-sell-trade bookstore, born to Beatnik Era spirit.

Gold Rush ship-turned-hotel buried underneath San Francisco's financial district.

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

The graffiti-covered remnants of a former triangulation station are balanced precariously on this California peak.