A three-story tower of books about Abraham Lincoln is one of the more unusual monuments to the president.

The most decorated dog of World War I is preserved in the Smithsonian.

Only hotel where you can legally launder money.

A shining, cold, black organ lies in San Francisco's financial district.

The last remaining relic of San Francisco's glittering 1915 Panama Pacific Exposition.

Tiki luxury on Nob Hill.

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

San Francisco's newly reopened hands-on science museum.

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

Dublin's "Dead Zoo" serves as a window to Victorian museum design.

One of Ireland's most infamous prisons for rebels including men, women and children.

Northern Ireland's Brobdingnagian stepping stones.

An immersive environment that is part haunted house, part choose-your-own-adventure, and part jungle gym.

An abandoned convention space that has been left to the homeless and the radical.

A restored 1920s cascade stairway provides one of the best views of Oakland's Lake Merritt.

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

This Oakland fairytale kingdom, fiercely devoted to childlike whimsy, was an early inspiration for Disneyland.

Dive bar built out of the remains of a whaling ship.

San Francisco Bay's ghost town.

The old Niles Canyon Aqueduct in the San Francisco Bay Area is a bemusing and secret trail through nature for wayward travelers.

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

This distinctive Crescent City tradition dates back to the days of horse-drawn carriages.

A small park on Bourbon Street features life-size bronze statues of New Orleans musicians.

Formerly known as National D-Day Museum, this collection commemorates the battles of Normandy and WWII.