This fully intact Neoclassical-Greek Revival style firehouse operated until 1938.

California's oldest existing theater building hosted an impressive cast of celebrities, including hosting Mark Twain's first lecture.

Built in 1895, this bed and breakfast was once a hospital that served an early 1900s Gold Rush boomtown.

The first U.S. town to secede from the Union, only to vote themselves right back in.

California's own medieval Italian castle, authentic down to the 300-year-old iron maiden in the dungeon.

Over 300 taxidermied animals in a Californian restaurant make for a taxidermist's dream and an animal lover's nightmare.

A fine mixture of the old and the new topped with an art deco neon spire.

The Empire Mine is "one of the oldest, largest, deepest, longest and richest gold mines in California."

The beauty and the beast of hydraulic mining is on full display at this California Historic State Park.

A popular tourist cave with a dark past.

One woman's Viking Castle on Lake Tahoe.

Aqueducts have dramatically changed this old lake, now home to tufa towers and its very own species of tiny brine shrimp.

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

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

The ancient dwellings of the Puebloans, located in the cliffs of majestic mesas.

A grove of colossal man-made flowers built to collect the sun's rays.

A small metropolis of Pueblo cave dwellings have been carved right into the hillside of this national monument.

A sprawling collection of over 106,000 toys from around the world.

Only hotel where you can legally launder money.

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

A man-made island in scenic San Francisco Bay.

This turn of the century masterpiece has a mysterious goaty interloper.

The last remaining relic of San Francisco's glittering 1915 Panama Pacific Exposition.

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