A trail of iron footwear stands as a monument to the thousands executed along this riverbank during WWII.

A 19th century artistocrat's mansion, turned into a library, hidden in a modern library.

Get up close to emus and ostriches, or buy their tasty meat.

Home to the largest urban bat colony in North America, estimated at 1.5 million bats.

This abandoned boat was left in place thanks to its rotting beauty.

Once close to extinction, there is no shortage of elephant seals on the beaches of Año Nuevo State Park.

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

A pair of pure white felines guard the entrance to a spot of California real estate established as an artist's haven.

It is locally loved and ridiculed for literally looking like poop.

One of the largest Marian shrines on the West Coast stands rather unexpectedly in Silicon Valley.

A giant can of fruit cocktail is all that remains of what was once the world's largest cannery.

One of the largest free-standing structures ever built, this dirigible hangar is now simply a giant skeleton.

From the sky, a kaleidoscope of color brightens the grey landscape of the San Francisco Bay.

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

This controversial depiction of the "Founder of California" looks as though it was sculpted from mashed potatoes.

This infamous prison has a store where you can buy goods crafted by incarcerated people.

A massive ultra-modern church presents a science-fiction view of Catholicism's inclusive future.

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

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

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

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

An ever-growing literary collection housed in the apartment where the Russian author penned his final novel.

Moscow's other, lesser known kremlin is a fairytale-like cultural complex modeled after Old Russia.

The gorgeous entrances into the city's underbelly look more like grand halls than subway stops.