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

The only visible piece of San Francisco's most famous shipwreck.

This shop specializes in oddities and Victorian-inspired wonders.

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

This concrete tangle of square pipes has stood as a proud thorn in the city's side since the '70s.

A Barbary Coast watering hole built into a Gold Rush shipwreck.

The giant pair of sexy legs sticking out the window of this costume store have become its main draw.

The miraculous hydrant that saved the Mission District in 1906.

Recovered from the brink of extinction, at home in the Financial District.

The largest whiskey stash on the West Coast survived the 1906 fires--but not without heroic effort.

Gold Rush-era tombstones line the park's paths.

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

Noble beasts perhaps, but not the Emperor's dogs.

An essential stop before plundering, BYO Cutlass.

A shop full of natural curiosities, carnivorous plants, and costumed taxidermied mice.

One of few lasting examples of the brief octagon craze that developed into folly.

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

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

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

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

27-room home built with the fortune of a sugar magnate.

Nestled in the heart of San Francisco’s bustling Financial District stands a unique homage to the Mayan and Beaux Arts.

Only hotel where you can legally launder money.

The tea room that pushed the boundaries of adorable straight into...we can't find the words.