A modern day curiosity cabinet.

A "gravitational anomaly" located in the redwood forests just outside of Santa Cruz, California.

This Oakland fairytale kingdom, fiercely devoted to childlike whimsy, was an early inspiration for Disneyland.

This municipal playground was co-created by the father of one of the most playful characters ever.

This remarkably simple jail went over a century without an escape.

From the Difference Engine to the Cray-1, all under one roof.

One of the largest free-standing structures ever built, this dirigible hangar is now simply a giant skeleton.

Honoring the famed folktale author, this California museum looks like it belongs in the Black Forest.

It is locally loved and ridiculed for literally looking like poop.

Historical trolley restoration and operation at History San Jose, Kelly Park.

The headquarters of a secretive order is also a beautifully-designed park.

A giant chess set, minus the psychedelic drug trip.

A statue commemorate Tommie Smith and John Carlos's brave protest at the 1968 Olympics, a watershed moment for civil rights.

An extensive collection of ancient Egyptian artifacts and mummies.

The largest permanent Monopoly board makes one of the longest games even bigger.

Scores of vintage street lamps shine along L.A.’s Miracle Mile.

The abandoned zoo enclosures offer a perfect place to experience the other side of the bars.

Medical and zoological curiosities for sale.

The final resting place of a space program monolith.

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.

This iconic L.A. bookshop is housed in an abandoned bank—both symbolic and chic.

An "anarchical" no man's land, complete with garbage sculptures and a hobo-run "Landfillian Library."

Worker-owned cooperative and resource for those looking to lighten their ecological footprint.

The only museum of sake in the United States is nestled in an unlikely California college town.