celestiaglory's User Profile - Atlas Obscura
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Oakland, California

Phap Duyen Tu: The Buddha Shrine of Oakland

A hardware store Buddha statue installed to deter vandalism wound up attracting Vietnamese immigrants who came to pray.
Milpitas, California

Great Mall of Milpitas

This giant shopping mall still holds signs of its automotive past.
Lake Havasu City, Arizona

Lake Havasu's London Bridge

This immigrant bridge once spanned the Thames but is now a fixture of an Arizona city.
Baker, California

Alien Fresh Jerky

Finally the worlds of UFO enthusiasts and beef jerky lovers have come together in this roadside shop.
Baker, California

World's Largest Thermometer

This giant temperature attraction created some giant electric bills.
San Bernardino County, California

Amboy Crater

This dormant volcanic crater has been converted from a roiling pit of magma to a pleasant hiking spot.
Tijuana, Mexico

La Mona

Giant nude woman of Tijuana is also the artist's home.
San Diego, California

Friendship Park

Every weekend, people gather here for a brief chance to see their loved ones on the other side of the United States–Mexico border.
Mecca, California

Salton Sea

The ghostly remains of an accidental sea.
Santa Monica, California

Church of Type

Somewhere between an art studio and a print shop, this artists storefront is a house of worship devoted to type.
Los Angeles, California

Ferndell Nature Museum

A common entry point to the Griffith Observatory trail holds its own wonders.
Los Angeles, California

Griffith Observatory's Tesla Coil

High on a hill overlooking Los Angeles lives a world famous, high power conical Tesla Coil.
Hawthorne, California

The Beach Boys Childhood Home

The Southern California pop sounds of surf and sand were born right here.
Pasadena, California

Vista del Arroyo Hotel

Pasadena glamour turned government issue.
Los Angeles, California

Chandelier Tree

Dozens of lights dangle from the branches of what may be the brightest tree in Los Angeles.
San Bernardino, California

Unofficial McDonald's Museum

This unlicensed collection of fast-food memorabilia sits on the site of the first ever McDonald's restaurant.
Hemet, California

Hemet Maze Stone

This mysterious petroglyph evokes the ancient swastika symbol but was later vandalized with the more troublesome Nazi one.
Riverside, California

The Parent Washington Navel Tree

This California tree is the single source of the state's entire orange industry.
Riverside, California

Tio's Tacos

Mexican food and folk art.
Cabazon, California

Cabazon Dinosaurs

The "world's biggest dinosaur" once housed a creationist museum in its abdomen.
Pasadena, California

Vroman's Bookstore

Colorado Boulevard’s historic bookstore, operating since the bustling city of Pasadena was merely some orange groves and a few ostrich farms.