In one Santa Monica parking lot a mushroom cloud made of chains heralds a message of peace.

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

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

Home to secret Eastern Bloc spy equipment and the largest stretch of the original Berlin Wall outside of Germany.

Named after a bandit and the star of several Hollywood prehistoric landscapes, these sandstone formations are a historical part of the Los Angeles natural landscape.

An expansive book store, art gallery, and curio shop with wares ranging from tarot cards to novelty socks.

The site of a classic series of Laurel and Hardy pratfalls.

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

"The only replacement for a DC-3 is another DC-3."

Storybook cottage in Beverly Hills was once the site of 1920s silent film studio, affectionately known as "The Witch's House."

Hollywood's most famous landmark, the "temporary" sign that has stood for decades longer than intended.

Though tiki culture has gone in and out of fashion, the Tonga Hut has always been flying the flag in Los Angeles.

Every weekend, the parking lot of this Buddhist temple turns into a Thai street-food paradise.

One of the richest places in the United States has a cursed street.

Ingenious bakery opens up the first Cupcake ATM at their flagship location in Beverly Hills.

The programmatic glory of LA's giant whiskey barrel building has become an upscale reminder of the city's kitschy roadside past.

A common entry point to the Griffith Observatory trail holds its own wonders.

The abandoned zoo enclosures offer a perfect place to experience the other side of the bars.

This nondescript tunnel has been featured in a number of iconic movies, from “Roger Rabbit” to “Back to the Future.”

Mexican food and folk art.

An extraordinary final resting place full of oversized art, amazing statues, and dead celebrities.

This Chase branch is an homage to Old Hollywood.

The decor of this Hollywood movie palace just barely predated the opening of King Tut's tomb.

Hollywood's oldest hotel is the site of the first Academy Awards, the birthplace of Marilyn Monroe's career, and the home of Montgomery Clift's ghost.