During the 19th century, you could pay for violence off a prix fixe menu on this Manhattan street.

Avoid gangster interaction while window-shopping.

The oldest lawn bowling club in the United States.

This once-grand marvel of engineering is now 41 miles of scenic hiking trail.

This mosaic dedicated to John Lennon was tended for years by a Beatles super-fan.

A grand New York post office that is home to mailman Santas, scraps of postal history, and a pneumatic mail system.

The most confusing clock in New York.

This private residence was the template for one of the most beloved television homes of all time.

A rococo retro-futurist future-rustic vernacular between yesterday’s tomorrow and the future that never was.

Prone to disastrous fires, the city of San Francisco has the Guardian, a fireboat gifted by residents, to watch over them from the bay.

A collection of 20th-century automata, penny arcade games, and musical contraptions.

Relics of the 1894 Midwinter Exposition continue to delight visitors today.

The remains of a ruined mansion memorialize the 1906 earthquake.

The key to turning shifting dunes into the green oasis of Golden Gate Park.

A miniature view of the park, caught in time.

Depicting scenes of everyday life - and specific individuals - in Great Depression era San Francisco.

A walk-in working camera obscura produces 360-degree live images of the San Francisco coast.

Concrete strongholds stand guard over the Golden Gate.

Possibly the most beautiful carillon in the world, set atop Iron Mountain in Florida.

Like Mardi Gras, only everyone's a pirate.

Electrical pylon in the shape of Disney's beloved mouse.

Island ghost town detailing Flagler's folly in building the Overseas Railroad.

This lush Florida island is home to the ruins of a crooked ship breaker's tiny empire.

A building so large that it has its own weather.