This concrete tangle of square pipes has stood as a proud thorn in the city's side since the '70s.

Only hotel where you can legally launder money.

Early prototype for Frank Lloyd Wright's Guggenheim.

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

This controversial depiction of the "Founder of California" looks as though it was sculpted from mashed potatoes.

Housed in a memorial lighthouse, this museum relays the history of surfing, beginning with the antics of royal Hawaiian teenagers.

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

This concrete ship has had four careers - World War I tanker, floating amusement park, fishing pier, and artificial reef.

Once close to extinction, there is no shortage of elephant seals on the beaches of Año Nuevo State Park.

The world's first permanently occupied mountain-top observatory continues to report on the stars.

A "gravitational anomaly" located in the redwood forests just outside of Santa Cruz, California.

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

San Francisco Bay's ghost town.

From the Difference Engine to the Cray-1, all under one roof.

One of the largest free-standing structures ever built, this dirigible hangar is now simply a giant skeleton.

A pair of pure white felines guard the entrance to a spot of California real estate established as an artist's haven.

This giant shopping mall still holds signs of its automotive past.

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

An extensive collection of ancient Egyptian artifacts and mummies.

The headquarters of a secretive order is also a beautifully-designed park.