Housed in a memorial lighthouse, this museum relays the history of surfing, beginning with the antics of royal Hawaiian teenagers.

Every weekend, people gather here for a brief chance to see their loved ones on the other side of the United States–Mexico border.

This California tree is the single source of the state's entire orange industry.

A poignant memorial to a young boy whose death spurred a dramatic increase in organ donations in Italy—dubbed the "Nicholas Effect."

A lighthouse built to save lives that took quite a few with its treacherous location.

Built by one man in the '20s, this site is now a museum representing the Great Basin cultures.

A rare surviving example of a pre-WWII Japanese garden, restored after years of neglect.

The quirky salon doubles as a retro museum run by the world's leading "hairstorian."

Large but largely ignored, these 42 life-size Liberty Bell replicas were a peculiar, unexplained feature on the facade of a Macy's department store.

This "synagogue" is not what it seems to be.

A second generation sun-powered marvel lights up the night.

Once the largest winery in the world, this castle-like building now sits abandoned on the San Pablo/San Francisco Bay shore.

A Masterpiece with a Tragic History.

Museum dedicated to the preservation of surf culture.

A repository of Pasadena history.

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

With statues of Nelson Mandela and Harvey Milk this monument has been called the Mount Rushmore of California.

This strangely vacant Western amusement seems to be an empty tribute to residents of Lucerne Valley.

Everything you always wanted to know about borates is here.

Outposts of this restaurant chain were shaped like jaunty chapeaus.

Raised illegally, Reggie now lives at the Los Angeles Zoo after authorities spent years tracking him down.

The small family-run business has kept alive the fading art of creating beautiful handmade book covers.

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

The beauty and the beast of hydraulic mining is on full display at this California Historic State Park.