Appropriation-friendly collection of books, periodicals, and more.

Alleyway plaque commemorating the death of a fictional character in The Maltese Falcon, not far from the author's home.

A brooding mansion of clinker brick stands out among the Victorian houses of Pacific Heights.

A pair of mutilated bronze octopuses slump at the base of the monument honoring California's admission to the U.S.

Radioactivity still cause for concern at this urban explorer's paradise.

Gold Rush ship-turned-hotel buried underneath San Francisco's financial district.

Barely visible foundations remain where Stow Lake’s “observatory” once welcomed visitors.

Amazing meticulous gardens of personal wood carvings, Hydrangea, Canna, and many other flowers.

A famous alternative culture epicenter and where Joplin serenaded young hippies.

Over 315,000 preserved amphibians and reptiles in jars.

A library built during San Francisco's pioneer times is a student's retreat, bibliophile's sanctuary, and chess player's delight.

A free, public museum dedicated to the fascinating science of sight.

Fonts are born and bred here at the oldest letterpress type foundry in the United States.

One of the last remnants of the city's Chinese nightclub scene is now a dive bar selling killer mai tais.

A walk down memory lane in the heart of one of San Francisco's most notorious neighborhoods.

The grand, column-fronted, sculpture-adorned home of the ambitious digital library.

Early prototype for Frank Lloyd Wright's Guggenheim.

Adolph Sutro's little-known, geographically inaccurate, deprecated monument.

San Francisco's most expensive hotel suite includes a secret passageway rumored to have been used by JFK.

Longtime headquarters of controversial boys' club for the world's wealthiest and most powerful.

The miraculous hydrant that saved the Mission District in 1906.

One of the oldest producers of hand-folded fortune cookies still uses its original secret recipe.

The remains of a 12th-century chapter house in Golden Gate Park.

Half of a house.