One of few lasting examples of the brief octagon craze that developed into folly.

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

San Francisco's oldest operating hotel, with a Victorian atmosphere and a "haunted" fourth floor.

A man-made island in scenic San Francisco Bay.

Golden Gate Park's historic collection of plants.

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

San Francisco's urban bison herd has persisted in the face of extinction, development, and disease.

San Francisco's oldest surviving monument and meeting place for 1906 survivors.

The oldest burial ground in the city, final resting place of city founders, Ohlone natives and murderers alike.

A still functioning vaudeville carousel that has operated for over a century boasts a colorful menagerie and past.

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

Tiki luxury on Nob Hill.

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

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

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

Get lost in this haunting fairytale art walk through a man-made eucalyptus grove.

A collection of 20th-century automata, penny arcade games, and musical contraptions.

San Francisco's newly reopened hands-on science museum.

Carnivorous plants, medieval aphrodisiacs, and the largest original wood structure glass conservatory in the western hemisphere.

A walk-in working camera obscura produces 360-degree live images of the San Francisco coast.

There is no trying to fall in love with this Star Wars fountain, you just do or do not.

In all of the 29 years it was in operation, no prisoners ever escaped successfully... or so they claim.

A huge musical instrument played by the ocean.

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