The key to turning shifting dunes into the green oasis of Golden Gate Park.

The oldest lawn bowling club in the United States.

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

San Francisco’s century-old Christmas Tree.

This turn of the century masterpiece has a mysterious goaty interloper.

Staircase winds down the side of Telegraph Hill through gardens, wild parrots flying overhead.

A man-made island in scenic San Francisco Bay.

An overlooked and unassuming engineering marvel.

Not merely a museum – but a whirring powerhouse that offers a subterranean peek into the heart and soul of cable car operations.

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

The giant pair of sexy legs sticking out the window of this costume store have become its main draw.

This concrete tangle of square pipes has stood as a proud thorn in the city's side since the '70s.

Only hotel where you can legally launder money.

San Francisco's oldest surviving monument and meeting place for 1906 survivors.

The second building of its name to occupy this location might be the finest flatiron building in San Francisco.

Deco Modern sculptures of the people of the Pacific, cast for the 1939 Golden Gate International Exposition.

Prone to disastrous fires, the city of San Francisco has the Guardian, a fireboat gifted by residents, to watch over them from the bay.

A still functioning vaudeville carousel that has operated for over a century boasts a colorful menagerie and past.

The oldest burial ground in the city, final resting place of city founders, Ohlone natives and murderers alike.

The miraculous hydrant that saved the Mission District in 1906.

Furniture tries to escape an abandoned building in San Francisco.

A decommissioned Naval base now rents itself out for people who want to blow stuff up.

One of the largest free-standing structures ever built, this dirigible hangar is now simply a giant skeleton.

A promotional sun clock on the site of San Francisco's great raceway.