Known as the "Hobbit Houses," these storybook homes look like they're straight out of the Shire.

A modern day curiosity cabinet.

The remnants of a failed socialist commune can still be found just off a California highway.

A giant knight, sex education, date shakes, and Jesus coexist happily in this Coachella Valley desert oasis.

A meditative space out of a fantasy story.

A quirky collection of figurines backdropped by city views is hidden next to a popular restaurant in the Hollywood hills.

Instead of hoofing it up steep stairs, residents can hitch a ride on this private lift.

The private clubhouse for the members of the Academy of Magical Arts.

A giant desert bird that once swung music fans at Coachella now has a home in a nearby traffic circle.

This forgotten Frank Lloyd Wright house is an architectural marvel at the end of a sleepy residential street.

Hidden in the hills of Hollywood, this secluded Oz-themed garden is dotted with dozens of thrones.

Scores of vintage street lamps shine along L.A.’s Miracle Mile.

This collector's home is a constant work in progress.

These delicate buggers are some of the rarest fossils that have bubbled up from the Tar Pits.

This jagged colossus of a building is mostly held together by an enormous concrete exoskeleton.

A look into the Church of Scientology's deeply unfavorable view of psychiatry.

It should come as no surprise that the best view of the Hollywood sign is from Batman's lair.

Along a California highway is a kind of Jurassic Park made of metal.

Formerly Fire Station No. 27, the museum is a hidden gem in the heart of Hollywood.

On a barren hillside in the Yucca Valley, the recently restored Desert Christ Park has attracted pilgrims and kitsch hunters for over 50 years.

Once a place of peaceful repose, this sanitarium now faces an uncertain future.

This quirky UFO-shaped curiosity is often mistaken for the airport’s control tower.

Raised illegally, Reggie now lives at the Los Angeles Zoo after authorities spent years tracking him down.

The L.A. Zoo has a secret garden of rare bootleg cycads, a palm specimen dating back 280 million years.