Condemned US Navy seaplane control tower turned officers’ club sits atop Yerba Buena Island.

A creepy steel gremlin has protected the Bay Bridge since 1989.

Once the gateway to the utopian dream-village of a Civil War embalmer.

A playground built by the kids that is a child's wonderland, and a helicopter parent's nightmare.

A store that sells all manner of bones, insects, and animal curiosities.

9,000 square feet of vintage and modern mechanical toys, dioramas & sideshow curiosities.

A decommissioned Naval base now rents itself out for people who want to blow stuff up.

Playable, historic pinball machines fill this Alameda museum.

Julia Morgan's Moorish-Gothic labyrinth of fountains, trees, natural light and Oakland's notable dead.

Bonsai garden in Oakland is curated by the first non-Japanese female bonsai master in the United States.

A crumbling Beaux Arts monument to the Bay Area's age of rail.

The former Naval shipyard is open for exploring - mostly.

Where the polar bear watches over everything, and every drink is a double.

The huge granite obelisk that towers over a small California town.

A popular tourist cave with a dark past.

340 bicycles, 65 feet high.

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

The fossilized remains of ancient California redwoods.

The largest drain hole in the world.

A ruined hotel with an unlucky history and an eerie present.

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

Successful artist residence program has filled this ranch with dozens of sculptures over the years.

This quaint archive of the silent era preserves and pays homage to a seminal moment in film history.

Discover for yourself what Herb Caen referred to as "the best kept secret in the Bay Area."