A Looff creation in Santa Monica best described as “a California-Byzantine-Moorish-style fantasy.”

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

Come crisp December nights, this fairly plain neighborhood becomes a holiday dream world.

A cow in the road might subvert the flow of traffic but this one's above it all, quite literally.

An Old West film set seen in countless TV shows and movies is open for the public to explore.

The show's fictional Korean medical camp was created in the Santa Monica hills.

Malibu's first beach home features an astonishing trove of ceramic tiles.

You don't want to get caught in this trap--or do you?

The mysterious, untimely death of a Canned Heat band member still haunts this unfinished home.

An unreal vintage shop that wears its dadaist influence on its zombie fish.

A "haunted" landmark on the coast of Southern California.

The decaying adobe remains of an old homestead are just off the beaten path in Joshua Tree National Park.

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

The "world's biggest dinosaur" once housed a creationist museum in its abdomen.

A hand-built folk art installation covered with messages of God's love.

Explore the largest pure gypsum deposit in the world, and go dune sledding while you're at it.

Giant, natural amphitheaters made of delicate geological formations called "hoodoos."

This hilltop park offers magnificent views and a Frank Lloyd Wright masterpiece.

This glamorous old building is said to have inspired the Tower of Terror.

This serene oasis in an affluent Los Angeles neighborhood holds some of Gandhi's ashes and got Elvis into Eastern Philosophy.

Medical and zoological curiosities for sale.

America's most famous piece of self-built architecture.

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

World War II-era Nazi compound nestled in the Santa Monica hills.