Faceless white figures loom over the city from the rooftop.

Machinery left over from California's once thriving mercury industry now attracts artists and explorers.

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

A UFO scrapyard in the California desert.

Once America’s most beautiful army base, this abandoned military fort on the coast of Monterey Bay has been left to the elements.

This desert oddity hides in plain sight thanks to a cartographic error and a desert explorer with a punny sense of humor.

Where the writer penned his famous story about a jumping frog.

The California capital city once stood 10 feet lower than it does today.

A masterpiece in Golden Gate Park by virtue of the artist’s debt.

California's oldest wind harp represents a historic piece of America's Danish history.

A surreal, Gaudi-inspired play space near an Anaheim community center.

Four hundred granite steps were built into this massive rock by the National Park Service.

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

This large collection of tiny things revels in the art of fine machinery well made.

The Empire Mine is "one of the oldest, largest, deepest, longest and richest gold mines in California."

An eccentric home stands out in an otherwise average neighborhood with mosaics, mini topiaries, and kinetic sculpture.

Once the gateway to the utopian dream-village of a Civil War embalmer.

An abandoned Cold War missile radar site.

The dramatic upward-curving roof is one of the most iconic examples of Googie architecture that still stands today.

Forgotten and then destroyed by fire, this was once one of the largest saltwater swimming pools in the world.

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

Haunting and beautiful trees, doomed to die.

A beloved carnival gets a modern makeover in Los Angeles.

The cobbled together compound of a deceased artist which now serves as a filming location.