Two groundbreaking brothers from Pasadena.

One of Hollywood’s favorite government buildings.

"The Star Factory" cranked out Hollywood stars like nobody's business.

The simple auditorium that launched a pop icon's career into the stratosphere.

Former 1954 Del Mar Train Station now serves signature cocktails and delightful culinary treats, and still operates as a Metro stop.

Where the rich wintered in Pasadena.

A castle that was built stone by stone by an eccentric journalist.

Once the central jail for Los Angeles, this building housed inmates like Al Capone, those arrested from the Zoot Suit and Watts Riots, and individuals imprisoned for their sexuality.

First LEED-certified gas station in the United States.

These delicate buggers are some of the rarest fossils that have bubbled up from the Tar Pits.

Scores of vintage street lamps shine along L.A.’s Miracle Mile.

The L.A. Zoo has a secret garden of rare bootleg cycads, a palm specimen dating back 280 million years.

Bug-devouring flora are the stars of a special wing of the glass conservatory.

The most iconic structure in Scotland has been home to bishops, colonels, and Sean Connery characters.

Looking strangely like Rome's Colosseum, this unfinished tower has dominated the skyline for over 100 years.

A solemn memorial in a majestic setting that honors a 1692 tragedy.

The 20th-century chapel’s intricate woodwork includes amazing details, most notably angels playing bagpipes.

A sweet symbol marks the place where torturous executions were once carried out.

Touching this 18th-century Scottish philosopher’s toe allegedly conjures good fortune.

A six-ton wedding present for the King of the Scots.

The final resting place of soldiers' loyal canine companions.

Ruined 11th century abbey built by King David I in Edinburgh, Scotland.

This picturesque view of the Scottish Borders was beloved by Sir Walter Scott.

The highest peak in the United Kingdom has a history of physics, specters, and a pilgrimage of strange objects.