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

Tiki luxury on Nob Hill.

The mall's looks were inspired by the cowboy extras who used to meet up—and cause real trouble—at this Hollywood hub.

A few iconic structures are all that remain of America’s first outdoor shopping mall.

The real faces of Venice beach captured on Romanesque columns.

This centerpiece of the Hollywood & Highland shopping center is a recreation of a long-lost movie set.

The decor of this Hollywood movie palace just barely predated the opening of King Tut's tomb.

Raised illegally, Reggie now lives at the Los Angeles Zoo after authorities spent years tracking him down.

Wild West history in Hollywood style.

This quirky UFO-shaped curiosity is often mistaken for the airport’s control tower.

From sax to spuds, get 'em all at this landmark music establishment.

The space-age building is home to one of the few remaining rotating restaurants in America, and the only one that inspired a 1980s sitcom.

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

Friendships have been forged over ham and eggs every Wednesday morning for nearly a century.

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

Church and home-museum of a 1920s female revivalist preacher with a very sordid past.

This rare tortoise skeleton has been hanging around the downtown Los Angeles museum for over a century.

This symbol of peace is appropriately positioned overlooking the Pacific Ocean.

This opulent hotel has been visited by Spider-Man, Charlie's Angels, and the Ghostbusters.

Though tiki culture has gone in and out of fashion, the Tonga Hut has always been flying the flag in Los Angeles.

The L.A. Zoo has a secret garden of rare bootleg cycads, a palm specimen dating back 280 million years.

The programmatic glory of LA's giant whiskey barrel building has become an upscale reminder of the city's kitschy roadside past.

Magical-looking cottages that inspired one of the most famous animated films ever.

Historic funicular railway, believed to be the shortest railroad in the world.