Haunting and beautiful trees, doomed to die.

The unbelievably opulent home built for an infamous newspaperman.

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

An unreal vintage shop that wears its dadaist influence on its zombie fish.

Sports history, made in the Arroyo Seco.

World-famous, Pink's still manages to keep its prized cult fetish status.

This iconic L.A. bookshop is housed in an abandoned bank—both symbolic and chic.

There are lots of hands and feet stamped in the cement in front of Grauman’s Chinese Theater, but Mel left behind something extra.

These delicate buggers are some of the rarest fossils that have bubbled up from the Tar Pits.

A second generation sun-powered marvel lights up the night.

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

An offbeat angle on the ocean viewed through an antiquated lens.

One of the first skyscrapers in Santa Monica, and a famous getaway for the Hollywood elite of then and now.

An historic and oft-filmed spot for musclebound iron pumpers on the Pacific coast.

After starting as a whimsical tourist attraction that eventually found its way to ruin, these renovated canals offer a lush and exotic locale on the Pacific Coast.

A ghost town at the airport is now a refuge for blue butterflies.

A sculpture of the famous photograph stands on San Diego's "Greatest Generation Walk."

One of the few remaining carousels built by master amusement park carver Charles I.D. Looff.

A devastated ruin in the south of Belize where British explorers claimed to unearth the Mitchell-Hedges Crystal Skull.

Once a black market electronics marketplace, now an otaku shopper's paradise.

The largest volcanic caldera in Japan holds an entire city in its maw.

The world's longest outdoor covered escalator system transports commuters through Hong Kong's hilly terrain.

Teeming with illegal goods and services, this towering maze of vice is also a popular tourist accommodation.

Climb to the top of the world's largest seated bronze Buddha.