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

An vast warehouse of everyday treasures in Berkeley, CA.

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

Check out a shovel along with your Shakespeare.

A unique market that brings together various goods and cultures.

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

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

The Flatiron Building's storied West Coast cousin is a lot more into religion.

The newsstand that never closes its doors—well, almost never.

International delicatessen has been owned and operated by the same family for more than 110 years.

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

Deco Modern sculptures of the people of the Pacific, cast for the 1939 Golden Gate International Exposition.

An enormous illuminated figure dances on the Las Vegas strip.

A man-made island in scenic San Francisco Bay.

A 1914 beaux arts auditorium that sat shuttered for 20 years, restored and reopened in 2026

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

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

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

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

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