An urban laboratory.

Ninety feet off the valley floor is an ancient dwelling put under protection of the U.S. government by Teddy Roosevelt.

The only visible piece of San Francisco's most famous shipwreck.

A library built during San Francisco's pioneer times is a student's retreat, bibliophile's sanctuary, and chess player's delight.

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

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

Historical trolley restoration and operation at History San Jose, Kelly Park.

San Francisco Bay's ghost town.

This massive mall has hundreds of shops, an amusement park, and a history of deadly amusement attractions.

This concrete ship has had four careers - World War I tanker, floating amusement park, fishing pier, and artificial reef.

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

This is why we can't have nice things on the Incan Trail.

The United States’s oldest funicular railway glides up and down a steep Pittsburgh street.

Honoring the famed folktale author, this California museum looks like it belongs in the Black Forest.

Offering commanding views of the California coastline, this restaurant was a hub for the artists and bohemians of Big Sur.

Berthed at the Charlestown Navy Yard in Boston, "Old Ironsides" is the oldest commissioned warship still afloat.

This quaint archive of the silent era preserves and pays homage to a seminal moment in film history.

Where the polar bear watches over everything, and every drink is a double.

The rusting remains of the largest assembled WWII fleet on the West Coast.

This metallic stampede sits frozen on a Washington ridge yet the artist's vision is still incomplete.

This inanimate goat created by the "welding nun" has been helping to clean up the city of Spokane for more than 40 years.

One small town in the Pacific Northwest transformed itself into a Bavarian-themed tourist destination.

Plundered and left asunder by grave robbers, this ancient necropolis has been painstakingly pieced back together.

Where a staggering 747 ships were constructed during World War II.