A monthly street "service" of handmade puppets and live original puppets, whose devotees profess has the power to change lives.

A free library to stumble across, one of many placed worldwide if you know where to look.

This “living museum” at UCLA exhibits thousands of plant species from all over the world.

The space-age building is home to one of the few remaining rotating restaurants in America, and the only one that inspired a 1980s sitcom.

There are lots of hands and feet stamped in the cement in front of Grauman’s Chinese Theater, but Mel left behind something extra.

This stockpile of junked electronic and mechanical gadgets is a favorite among Hollywood prop masters.

An academy where anyone can train in the exciting acrobatic sports of parkour and freerunning.

Space program, pneumatics and more, bits and pieces, for movie sets or the common man.

This rare tortoise skeleton has been hanging around the downtown Los Angeles museum for over a century.

An L.A. traffic island where the faces of locals have been carved into massive granite eggs.

This symbol of peace is appropriately positioned overlooking the Pacific Ocean.

A beloved carnival gets a modern makeover in Los Angeles.

This collector's home is a constant work in progress.

The house where Good Will Hunting was written is a surreal fairytale abode.

The illuminating collection of L.A. street lights is run by the city and only opens one day per month.

A fashion designer's dazzling world of Japanese collectibles is hidden in a warehouse downtown.

L.A.'s oldest operating bowling alley is a beautifully restored homage to its speakeasy days.

This forgotten Frank Lloyd Wright house is an architectural marvel at the end of a sleepy residential street.

What began with a single, 357-pound chunk of the Canyon Diablo meteorite grew to be an impressive collection. 

A carousel trades in its classic horses and calliope for endangered species, native flora and fauna, and a modern soundtrack.

Two men, two visionaries of Venice Beach, one little hotel that smells like cookies.

One of the world's largest collections of rare and magnificent bird specimens.

Come crisp December nights, this fairly plain neighborhood becomes a holiday dream world.

A quirky collection of figurines backdropped by city views is hidden next to a popular restaurant in the Hollywood hills.