This concrete tangle of square pipes has stood as a proud thorn in the city's side since the '70s.

A pier that used to act as a busy ferry dock is now a decaying favorite of local fisherman and urban artists.

A playground built by the kids that is a child's wonderland, and a helicopter parent's nightmare.

A celebration of once forgotten materials.

A private home built to resemble the shape of a microscopic creature.

The century-old bell and clock tower at UC Berkeley is the third-tallest in the world, and has fossils.

This subtle Berkeley paving stone actually marks off a lawless tube of air that extends into space.

Worker-owned cooperative and resource for those looking to lighten their ecological footprint.

A shape-shifting buy-sell-trade bookstore, born to Beatnik Era spirit.

A massive ultra-modern church presents a science-fiction view of Catholicism's inclusive future.

This Oakland fairytale kingdom, fiercely devoted to childlike whimsy, was an early inspiration for Disneyland.

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

Bonsai garden in Oakland is curated by the first non-Japanese female bonsai master in the United States.

An abandoned convention space that has been left to the homeless and the radical.

Oakland's beautiful monumental cemetery.

Thousands of crosses and markers for soldiers who lost their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan blanket a California hillside.

Neoclassical Revival mansion and set of horror cult classic Phantasm.

Every year, over 25,000 monarchs overwinter in Pacific Grove.

Hopeless romantics will swoon over the sweet story behind this bright and colorful home.

One of the most elaborate displays of Jellyfish is on display at the aquarium.

The trials and tribulations of marking Poe's grave.

The site where Poe "in great distress, and ... in need of immediate assistance" likely died.

This magnificent herd of stampeding elephants has been frozen in time for over a century.

Outstanding taxidermy dioramas showcase the grandeur of the continent's wildlife with spooky realism.