A modest reminder of treacherous waters at the Golden Gate.

Created in 1972, the famous sculptor's intricately detailed monument to San Francisco is overflowing with city landmarks.

An art supply shop holds the secrets of this quiet neighborhood's raucous Barbary Coast past.

Only hotel where you can legally launder money.

A shining, cold, black organ lies in San Francisco's financial district.

San Francisco's first World's Fair, dedicated to the wonders of California.

A monumental cross hides in the trees in Golden Gate Park.

27-room home built with the fortune of a sugar magnate.

Once the largest windmill outside of Holland, with enormous 114 foot sails.

Noble beasts perhaps, but not the Emperor's dogs.

Thirteen trees representing the original thirteen colonies were planted with soil from historic Revolutionary battlefields.

Guns that have been defending San Francisco since 1904.

The largest whiskey stash on the West Coast survived the 1906 fires--but not without heroic effort.

Faceless white figures loom over the city from the rooftop.

The key to turning shifting dunes into the green oasis of Golden Gate Park.

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

A mysterious painting of the self-declared Emperor of the United States watches over a local hof-brau.

Recovered from the brink of extinction, at home in the Financial District.

A brooding mansion of clinker brick stands out among the Victorian houses of Pacific Heights.

One of few lasting examples of the brief octagon craze that developed into folly.

San Francisco's oldest operating hotel, with a Victorian atmosphere and a "haunted" fourth floor.

A man-made island in scenic San Francisco Bay.

Alleyway plaque commemorating the death of a fictional character in The Maltese Falcon, not far from the author's home.

Longtime headquarters of controversial boys' club for the world's wealthiest and most powerful.