One of the few remaining casualties of the London Blitz, this destroyed church has become an enchanting public garden.

This ornate Victorian marketplace was the setting for Diagon Alley and the Leaky Cauldron in the Harry Potter films.

This churchyard arbor is surrounded by hundreds of gravestones placed there by author Thomas Hardy.

The townhouse where the English poet created some of his most influential work has been preserved in tribute.

A 90-acre park on former landfill that hosts an annual kite festival.

This subtle Berkeley paving stone actually marks off a lawless tube of air that extends into space.

Where the alchemists dream of transmuting base metal into gold was actually achieved.

One man's prolific, decade-long quest to turn trash into artistic treasure.

A celebration of once forgotten materials.

A pier that used to act as a busy ferry dock is now a decaying favorite of local fisherman and urban artists.

The only museum of sake in the United States is nestled in an unlikely California college town.

A private home built to resemble the shape of a microscopic creature.

An amazing collection of fantastic reptiles, amphibians, spiders, and insects.

Handmade treasures from around the world.

A playground built by the kids that is a child's wonderland, and a helicopter parent's nightmare.

Travelers exchange letters with woodland creatures at this mini post office.

A storybook European village in Berkeley.

An abandoned convention space that has been left to the homeless and the radical.

The newsstand that never closes its doors—well, almost never.

The Flatiron Building's storied West Coast cousin is a lot more into religion.

A hardware store Buddha statue installed to deter vandalism wound up attracting Vietnamese immigrants who came to pray.

An art collective teaching the more fiery, metal-y art forms.

With statues of Nelson Mandela and Harvey Milk this monument has been called the Mount Rushmore of California.

This mysterious series of teeny guerrilla installations sheds a whimsical light on street art in Oakland.