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

Faceless white figures loom over the city from the rooftop.

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

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

In all of the 29 years it was in operation, no prisoners ever escaped successfully... or so they claim.

The last remaining relic of San Francisco's glittering 1915 Panama Pacific Exposition.

The seawater playground of gilded-era San Francisco burned to the ground in 1966.

A walk-in working camera obscura produces 360-degree live images of the San Francisco coast.

San Francisco's urban bison herd has persisted in the face of extinction, development, and disease.

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

Relics of the 1894 Midwinter Exposition continue to delight visitors today.

This shop specializes in oddities and Victorian-inspired wonders.

This Hungarian castle was built out of cardboard and wood until it proved so popular that it got upgraded to stone.

Some North Carolina Cherokee have been keeping their history alive for decades with a single play.

The twin towers in this Chicago fountain use 50 foot tall video screens to spit on people.

One of Antoni Gaudí's most classic buildings is well-known for its "dragon-back" design.

The famous author's birthplace is preserved in a town that he once described as narrow-minded.

The body of one of the world's most famous outlaws is covered in cement and iron to prevent it from being stolen.

A chilling disappearance (and rescue) of a child uncovers a geological mystery.

The trials and tribulations of marking Poe's grave.

An idyllic swimming pool tells the tale of Hemingway's trouble with women.

The famous boat that once ferried Bogart and Hepburn still floats in Key Largo after being abandoned for years.

Around 100,000 bodies are buried below the medieval headstones, many of which mark graves with multiple bodies stacked up to 12 deep.

The birthplace of American international flight service has been turned into a celebrity's microbrewery.