Julia Morgan's Moorish-Gothic labyrinth of fountains, trees, natural light and Oakland's notable dead.

Chevron maintains one “Standard” brand station per state so it doesn’t lose the trademark.

This eatery transports diners to a place that no longer exists: East Germany.

Floating man-made island and upscale restaurant.

Furniture tries to escape an abandoned building in San Francisco.

This shop specializes in oddities and Victorian-inspired wonders.

A winding path built in secret on the edge of the continent.

The longest continuously operating Elk's Lodge in the country.

This museum explores the history of the book, from scrolls to mass-produced objects through tools, stories, and massive cast-iron binding machinery (some of it operational).

Once the fastest ship from San Francisco to Tahiti, the Galilee now lays in pieces in three different cities.

The neighborhood church casts a breast-shaped shadow that locals have come to call the “two o’clock titty.”

Shoot for par over the bodies of the dead on this cemetery-cum-golf course.

The oldest dim sum restaurant in the United States is a nostalgic jewel.

These subterranean storage areas hold emergency water reserves.

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

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

This grinning pup statue is all that's left of what was once a ubiquitous Bay Area diner chain.

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

An elaborate gift from Claus Spreckels is now a piece of San Francisco history.

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

The first AIDS memorial chapel in San Francisco and one of only a few in the U.S.

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

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

A pair of mutilated bronze octopuses slump at the base of the monument honoring California's admission to the U.S.