The seawater playground of gilded-era San Francisco burned to the ground in 1966.

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

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

In all of the 29 years it was in operation, no prisoners ever escaped successfully... or so they claim.

This tribute to the 16th-century composer is now an unusual shrine to Michael Jackson.

Go surfing on this urban wave, "hacked" by local surfers.

Among the ostentatious rococo ornamentation of this church, an image of death cuts the life-thread.

Daily jousts and dancing barrel makers in Munich's mechanical clock.

The most confusing clock in New York.

There must be a pun in this haystack somewhere...

One of the most enjoyable bits of history at Coney Island and “the most romantic ride in the world.”

A bit of retro transportation flair preserved in the world's largest department store.

This sculpture by artist Fritz Keonig survived the 9/11 attacks and now stands as a monument to the victims.

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

Once the tallest building in the world and the site of "the highest dinner ever held in New York" this building now holds the most expensive penthouse in the city.

One of only two commuter aerial tramways in the United States.

Elevated freight railway turned wildly successful urban park.

The small first-floor apartment where the author wrote her Pulitzer Prize-winning book 'Gone with the Wind.'

Gift shop offering toe tags and chalk body beach towels tucked into a coroner's office.

An iconic location along the Los Angeles River where countless movie scenes are filmed.

An historic and oft-filmed spot for musclebound iron pumpers on the Pacific coast.

Legendary frontman of the Doors looms in this giant mural by famed Venice muralist, Rip Cronk.

Her final resting place was intended to be modest and private, but the power of her popularity continues to draw visitors.

After starting as a whimsical tourist attraction that eventually found its way to ruin, these renovated canals offer a lush and exotic locale on the Pacific Coast.