This serene oasis in an affluent Los Angeles neighborhood holds some of Gandhi's ashes and got Elvis into Eastern Philosophy.

This Los Angeles animation studio is keeping the wonder of stop motion puppetry alive.

One man's vast collection of artifacts and ephemera from matchbooks and postcards to vintage neon signs and cars.

Established in the '60s, a family-owned tropical drink bar founded by Ray Buhen, bartender to the stars.

A library of rare occult books in Los Angeles.

All of the Malaysian sweets at this shop are made daily with a whole lot of love.

Cooks at this tiny takeout spot grind their rice flour in a stone mill each morning for perfect cheung fun.

The impeccably spiced roast pork buns at this bakery are worth the wait.

The one-time epicenter of American songwriting is now a little remembered Manhattan commercial block.

Harlem park dedicated to compulsive hoarders killed by their own junk.

Cheap pizza and all of your naughty bedroom needs housed in a stunning example of Art Nouveau architecture.

A Ukrainian church canteen doles out hearty fare in an East Village basement.

This former crime corner has been turned into an eclectic community center.

In the back of a nondescript sports bar is a museum-worthy mural by legendary cartoonists.

A notorious punk house turned co-op.

Come for the waffles, stay for more waffles.

This abandoned caretaker's apartment is one of 13 left in the New York Public Library system.

A good place to research the Freemasons, esoterica, occultism, and hermeticism.

This speakeasy continues the Prohibition-era legacy of Harlem's jazzy Swing Street.

Salute the leader of the proletariat.

In its day this historic fort held 100 cannons pointed in almost every direction to protect New York.

This lavish room at NYC's French Embassy is a rare relic from the end of the Gilded Age.

A staggering collection of photographs depicting medical, social, and historical change.

The first museum in the United States dedicated entirely to posters.