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

The miraculous hydrant that saved the Mission District in 1906.

This private residence was the template for one of the most beloved television homes of all time.

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

Staircase winds down the side of Telegraph Hill through gardens, wild parrots flying overhead.

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

A huge musical instrument played by the ocean.

A hamlet full of permanent Christmas spirit holds one of the earliest theme parks in the United States.

Dozens of houses in the Adirondack Mountains are reminders of a literal "cottage industry" to cure people of a deadly disease.

It wouldn't be long after purchasing this farm, Brown would lead his siege on Harper's Ferry.

One of many reminders of Tesla's scientific contributions overlooks the falls which inspired him.

Toxic waste disaster that founded the Superfund program.

An allegedly haunted testament to a local businessman's desire for status, posterity, and charity.

This vessel is believed to be the oldest operating fireboat in the world.

This restored house is like a time capsule of the president's unconventional inauguration.

This former hub for crafty philosophers was founded by a writer who died aboard the infamous RMS Lusitania.

This Buffalo museum hides an Art Deco gas station designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.

The seat of Buffalo government is a gorgeous Art Deco palace.

The site of William McKinley's tragic assassination is only marked by an underwhelming boulder.

Buffalo's abandoned concrete grain elevators are getting a second life.

This unique crypt designed by Frank Lloyd Wright for his longtime friend was not completed in either man's lifetime.

One of Frank Lloyd Wright's greatest—and favorite—architectural masterpieces was almost lost.

Ruins of a once-prized railroad station in New York.

A beautifully designed asylum was resurrected as a hotel and art center with a ghost story or two.