Grab a latte at the birthplace of modern American skateboarding.

A sign at the end of the Santa Monica Pier marks the traditional end of the legendary American highway.

Crumbling pink walls and murder memorials preserve the pioneer history of Joshua Tree.

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

Life in this isolated, hilltop lighthouse was lonely, but it sure was lovely.

Dentist's hated concrete colossi are now beloved icons of the community.

Established in 1853, this crumbling cemetery sits forgotten on the corner of Church and Chapel in Gold Country.

Built in 1895, this bed and breakfast was once a hospital that served an early 1900s Gold Rush boomtown.

The oldest continuously operating Catholic school west of the Mississippi.

A middle school sports field that many believe was the true location of the first successful powered flight - and not by the Wright Brothers.

An abandoned lot littered with concrete debris was once the home of the world's first female railroad president.

California's oldest existing theater building hosted an impressive cast of celebrities, including hosting Mark Twain's first lecture.

Hidden in a hotel parking lot is a strange historical plaque erected by an obscure fraternal society.

This fully intact Neoclassical-Greek Revival style firehouse operated until 1938.

A watering hole where the options for seating include a bar, patio, or subterranean cave.

The first U.S. town to secede from the Union, only to vote themselves right back in.

The Empire Mine is "one of the oldest, largest, deepest, longest and richest gold mines in California."

The modest home of the very immodest dancer who cost a king his crown.

A fine mixture of the old and the new topped with an art deco neon spire.

Bits and pieces from the ill-fated Donner Party's winter cabins.

Pillars made of 700 pieces of luggage climb to the ceiling of Sacramento Airport's baggage claim.

Inside the Bangor International Airport is a collection of military challenge coins.

Millions of years of oxidation make a drive down this winding Death Valley road surprisingly colorful.

The lowest point in North America is home to an undrinkable pool surrounded by fields of geometric salt flats.