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

A gap in the concrete has been transformed into a miniature playground for the mind.

An art collective teaching the more fiery, metal-y art forms.

A unique piece of graffiti offers a little slice of local history and mystery.

With statues of Nelson Mandela and Harvey Milk this monument has been called the Mount Rushmore of California.

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

Odd stone and concrete monuments in the "Poet of the Sierras" eclectic folly garden.

This mysterious series of teeny guerrilla installations sheds a whimsical light on street art in Oakland.

Collective dedicated to restoring steam engines.

A restored 1920s cascade stairway provides one of the best views of Oakland's Lake Merritt.

An abandoned car and strange wooden debris are among the scattered remains of the old sand and gravel quarry.

A creepy steel gremlin has protected the Bay Bridge since 1989.

A temple devoted to inner esoteric mysteries located in a California commercial strip.

The memorial to the victims of the Jonestown Massacre carries the names of 918 lost, including one name people wish wasn't there.

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

Dive bar built out of the remains of a whaling ship.

Spiral labyrinth hidden in the hills above Oakland, CA.

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

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

This restaurant offers the original California cuisine.

The Laureates here get something even more coveted than a Nobel Prize: free parking for life.

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

Check out a shovel along with your Shakespeare.

From buttons to beads, flounces to fripperies, this textile museum and shop honors the history of needlework.