A pair of slides and a tree-lined stair corridor have been an urban oasis for nearly 40 years.

A whimsical antique shop with a strong air of mystery, filled with items from ages, and what feels like worlds, past.

Staircase winds down the side of Telegraph Hill through gardens, wild parrots flying overhead.

Its buzzing collection honors vibrator history.

America's oldest Italian restaurant is a San Francisco institution.

A speck of nature and art in one of San Francisco’s most notorious neighborhoods.

A winding path built in secret on the edge of the continent.

Bring your own cardboard to the slippery slopes of concrete hidden in a neighborhood park.

An artsy hidden staircase leads to breathtaking views of San Francisco.

A huge musical instrument played by the ocean.

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

Reverend Franzo Wayne King administers spiritual enlightenment through the music of the jazz legend.

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

The grand, column-fronted, sculpture-adorned home of the ambitious digital library.

This 19th-century church is now a popular roller rink.

The giant pair of sexy legs sticking out the window of this costume store have become its main draw.

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

A veteran Disney animator turned his gift for storytelling to a museum devoted to his love of a California city.

A tiny theater hidden in an alley plays a constant stream of short silent films for anyone willing to peer through the peephole.

A living time capsule of the 1960s Richardson Bay water-front.

A working model of the entire San Francisco Bay and much of the Sacramento River Delta, complete with regular tides that change every 14 minutes.

The seawater playground of gilded-era San Francisco burned to the ground in 1966.

Across Ring Mountain is a vast collection of Native American petroglyphs unique to the region.

George Lucas donated this park to honor the birthplace of his two biggest movie franchises.