As a show of peace, a Japanese naval pilot gifted his 400-year-old Samurai sword to the Oregon town he bombed.

George Lucas donated this park to honor the birthplace of his two biggest movie franchises.

This infamous prison has a store where you can buy goods crafted by incarcerated people.

A giant chess set, minus the psychedelic drug trip.

Housed in a memorial lighthouse, this museum relays the history of surfing, beginning with the antics of royal Hawaiian teenagers.

It's not your typical library, memorial, or book store.

A Mysterious Masonic tomb in San Luis Obispo.

Colorful Native American paintings are hidden within this small cavern.

The stone walls of a home built to withstand a California wildfire still stand after more than a century.

Come crisp December nights, this fairly plain neighborhood becomes a holiday dream world.

An ultra-modern vista that has been featured in so many films the house is a celebrity in its own right.

Outposts of this restaurant chain were shaped like jaunty chapeaus.

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

Instead of hoofing it up steep stairs, residents can hitch a ride on this private lift.

Hollywood's oldest hotel is the site of the first Academy Awards, the birthplace of Marilyn Monroe's career, and the home of Montgomery Clift's ghost.

This forgotten Frank Lloyd Wright house is an architectural marvel at the end of a sleepy residential street.

A quirky collection of figurines backdropped by city views is hidden next to a popular restaurant in the Hollywood hills.

Known as the "Hobbit Houses," these storybook homes look like they're straight out of the Shire.

Home to secret Eastern Bloc spy equipment and the largest stretch of the original Berlin Wall outside of Germany.

Sister store to the Echo Park Time Travel Store.

Legendary prop shop filled with one man's collection of scientific curiosities.

Santa Monica's oldest restaurant, decorated with set pieces from the Mutiny on the Bounty.

A treasure hunter's tiny bar, harboring celebrities since 1959.

This well-traveled chess park offers scenic views of the pacific and a colorful, eclectic clientele.