The first mural ever dedicated to the women of the Black Panther Party.

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

The newsstand that never closes its doors—well, almost never.

International delicatessen has been owned and operated by the same family for more than 110 years.

A nondescript building that's been functioning as a speakeasy for nearly a century and a half.

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

The Flatiron Building's storied West Coast cousin is a lot more into religion.

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

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

This mysterious series of teeny guerrilla installations sheds a whimsical light on street art in Oakland.

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

One of the best absinthe distilleries in the United States.

Dive bar built out of the remains of a whaling ship.

A shop full of natural curiosities, carnivorous plants, and costumed taxidermied mice.

An art collective teaching the more fiery, metal-y art forms.

A hardware store Buddha statue installed to deter vandalism wound up attracting Vietnamese immigrants who came to pray.

Antiques by the Bay.

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

More than 700 species live within this murky marvel of a swamp on California's coast.