The largest whiskey stash on the West Coast survived the 1906 fires--but not without heroic effort.

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

A miniature view of the park, caught in time.

America's oldest Italian restaurant is a San Francisco institution.

This giant head is all that remains of a once proud statue that survived an earthquake but not a fall off of a wagon.

The rustic cabin-like decor of this Arts and Crafts-style church reflects the love of nature central to its little-known theology.

A masterpiece in Golden Gate Park by virtue of the artist’s debt.

Reverend Franzo Wayne King administers spiritual enlightenment through the music of the jazz legend.

The taxidermied remains of the "last wild grizzly bear in California" and of the symbol of the state of California.

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 only visible piece of San Francisco's most famous shipwreck.

Recovered from the brink of extinction, at home in the Financial District.

Forgotten and then destroyed by fire, this was once one of the largest saltwater swimming pools in the world.

Faceless white figures loom over the city from the rooftop.

An art supply shop holds the secrets of this quiet neighborhood's raucous Barbary Coast past.

Appropriation-friendly collection of books, periodicals, and more.

One of few lasting examples of the brief octagon craze that developed into folly.

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.

Radioactivity still cause for concern at this urban explorer's paradise.

Gold Rush ship-turned-hotel buried underneath San Francisco's financial district.

Barely visible foundations remain where Stow Lake’s “observatory” once welcomed visitors.

A garden oasis filled with flowers mentioned in the works of William Shakespeare.