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

This surreptitious shop is only open five hours per week.

This shop specializes in oddities and Victorian-inspired wonders.

Nestled in the heart of San Francisco’s bustling Financial District stands a unique homage to the Mayan and Beaux Arts.

A historic hotel that made a cameo in Hitchcock's classic film has no intention of letting guests forget its fame.

Over 315,000 preserved amphibians and reptiles in jars.

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

Reverend Franzo Wayne King administers spiritual enlightenment through the music of the jazz legend.

Chevron maintains one “Standard” brand station per state so it doesn’t lose the trademark.

A collection of memorabilia from the Beat era in the back of a San Francisco bookstore.

Its buzzing collection honors vibrator history.

A free, public museum dedicated to the fascinating science of sight.

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

A store that sells all manner of bones, insects, and animal curiosities.

Big gun installations, built over a massive cemetery, now abandoned & hidden in trees.

A huge musical instrument played by the ocean.

Come for the records, stay for the retro pinball machines.

This rare example of a "tidefall" is a spectacular drop from the cliffs down onto the beach.

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

This historic California cemetery holds the bodies of veterans of both the Civil War and the Donner Party.

The haunting ruins of Jack London's dream house.

Home to an apple tree that can produce 25 different varieties of fruit.

Believe it or not, this is the final resting place of the man who created the Odditorium.

Eighteen miniature death-scene dioramas.