A Masterpiece with a Tragic History.

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

An extraordinarily ornate museum in San Diego holds wondrous anthropological treasures.

Now abandoned, the first public health hospital in the U.S. saw more than one million immigrants from around the world.

Concrete strongholds stand guard over the Golden Gate.

Only hotel where you can legally launder money.

The granddaddy of all tourist traps, built on ice water, jackalopes, and a giant dinosaur.

Home to the deepest rift anywhere on Earth.

The southernmost outpost of the Russian Empire in colonial America.

The lighthouse central to the 1980s horror classic "The Fog" is, in fact, located in one of the foggiest areas of the Pacific Coast.

More than 700 species live within this murky marvel of a swamp on California's coast.

The oldest U.S. Government building in California, and it's State Historic Landmark #1.

A massive volcanic plug is now a protected area that hosts a number of bird species.

This concrete ship has had four careers - World War I tanker, floating amusement park, fishing pier, and artificial reef.

A classically inspired temple in Redwood City.

Haunting and beautiful trees, doomed to die.

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

A hotel and restaurant serving as the mecca of kitsch.

Giant jewel-toned statues fill the grounds of this Cambodian Buddhist temple in California.

This ultra-modern California span is actually a titanic solar clock in disguise built by famed architect Santiago Calatrava.

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

The awe-inspiring ship from the golden era of cruising has an incomparable history and a reputation as one of the world’s most haunted places.

Along a California highway is a kind of Jurassic Park made of metal.

Carnivorous plants, medieval aphrodisiacs, and the largest original wood structure glass conservatory in the western hemisphere.