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

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

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

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

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

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

An ominous concrete cube cuts a dystopian silhouette atop this California mountain.

Guarded by the Angel of Grief, the Stanford family tomb attracts an odd mix of halloween revelry and somber contemplation.

A hidden world of exotic succulents and cacti.

The world’s first stop-motion film was created on the racetrack outside this building.

This concrete ship has had four careers - World War I tanker, floating amusement park, fishing pier, and artificial reef.

Housed in a memorial lighthouse, this museum relays the history of surfing, beginning with the antics of royal Hawaiian teenagers.

A "gravitational anomaly" located in the redwood forests just outside of Santa Cruz, California.

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

A giant chess set, minus the psychedelic drug trip.

The headquarters of a secretive order is also a beautifully-designed park.

An extensive collection of ancient Egyptian artifacts and mummies.

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