This industrial area was the dumping ground for massive amounts of trash, some of which washes up as tiny bits of sea glass.

The only royal palace on U.S. soil has been a territorial capitol, a military headquarters, and a prison for a queen.

This sprawling collection of saintly relics includes such fascinations as wood from the Cross of Jesus and threads from Mary's veil.

Launchpad for the US military’s dead mouse operation to battle millions of snakes.

Settled in 1696, abandoned after the Revolutionary War.

This recently rediscovered Civil War-era submarine was the first to ever sink an enemy ship.

An unassuming secret door once led to a legendary watering hole.

A quiet marker in memory of local men and women lost in WWI.

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

This turn of the century masterpiece has a mysterious goaty interloper.

Mexican food and folk art.

The fossilized remains of ancient California redwoods.

A still functioning vaudeville carousel that has operated for over a century boasts a colorful menagerie and past.

Commonly referred to as the most photographed Victorian home in the United States.

An "anarchical" no man's land, complete with garbage sculptures and a hobo-run "Landfillian Library."

Megachurch turned Catholic church comprised of 10,000 glass panes.

The restored and active Victorian-era final resting place of San Francisco.

A world-class observatory in the California desert.

A pair of slides and a tree-lined stair corridor have been an urban oasis for nearly 40 years.

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

A collection of 20th-century automata, penny arcade games, and musical contraptions.

A historic hotel in an old California railroad town with a rowdy reputation.

The former Naval shipyard is open for exploring - mostly.

An old church full of restored Catholic statues is a makeup artist's labor of love.