A giant donut stands as a popular symbol of Los Angeles iconography.

A large instrument played by the wind.

A sign at the end of the Santa Monica Pier marks the traditional end of the legendary American highway.

This 19th-century church is now a popular roller rink.

Not merely a museum – but a whirring powerhouse that offers a subterranean peek into the heart and soul of cable car operations.

This partially buried wreck is one of the most complete of its kind but is only revealed when the sea allows.

The giant pair of sexy legs sticking out the window of this costume store have become its main draw.

Rodin's famous depiction of Dante's 'Inferno', amidst a sculpture garden of many of his other works.

This turn of the century masterpiece has a mysterious goaty interloper.

An extensive collection of ancient Egyptian artifacts and mummies.

A modern day curiosity cabinet.

Golden Gate Park's historic collection of plants.

This private residence was the template for one of the most beloved television homes of all time.

Lucha Libre (Mexican Wrestling) themed taco shop.

San Francisco Bay's ghost town.

This concrete tangle of square pipes has stood as a proud thorn in the city's side since the '70s.

An extraordinarily ornate museum in San Diego holds wondrous anthropological treasures.

An inconspicuous footbridge beloved by San Diego locals.

The last remaining relic of San Francisco's glittering 1915 Panama Pacific Exposition.

The one-time watch house for incoming ships at the Golden Gate now stands abandoned and hidden in trees.

After starting as a whimsical tourist attraction that eventually found its way to ruin, these renovated canals offer a lush and exotic locale on the Pacific Coast.

Staircase winds down the side of Telegraph Hill through gardens, wild parrots flying overhead.

Quite simply the largest tree in the world (by volume).

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