World's first "penitentiary," meant to be humane, drove men insane.

Bring your own cardboard to the slippery slopes of concrete hidden in a neighborhood park.

America's most famous museum of medical oddities is home to the remains of Albert Einstein's brain.

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

A peculiar mansion built by the troubled heir to the Winchester Rifle Company fortune.

World's largest collection of serial killer artwork and other macabre exhibits.

A psychedelic labyrinth on the San Francisco bay.

Become a prohibition rebel.

A DIY art gallery/music venue/lecture hall dedicated to video game culture.

New York City's smallest piece of private property.

Under a glass sidewalk lie the remains of some of Manhattan's oldest buildings.

Order scoops of pandan, lychee, and black sesame at this family-run institution.

This lower Manhattan bar is set up in an old bank vault that rests beneath a skyscraper that hides even more historic splendor.

A semi-scholarly approach to sex.

The oldest family-run luncheonette in New York, last renovated in 1948, still serves food and drinks the old-fashioned way.

Try not to get slimed in Tribeca.

Manhattan’s Battery Park has a whimsical carousel full of spinning, glowing fish.

Dodge prohibitionists and slide through the telephone booth in Crif Dogs.

This beautiful building in the heart of Manhattan's Financial District was empty for decades.

Tucked in the back of this amazing antique store is an important piece of medical history.

A crumbling hospital from the 1850s on Roosevelt Island.

A terrific purveyor of natural history objects and curios.

The oldest pastificio in Queens offers visitors fresh noodles and a peek inside the macaroni-making magic.

Here, exhibits come with a side of edible history.