Once the site of speeding horses, now home to picnickers and public concerts.

An artsy hidden staircase leads to breathtaking views of San Francisco.

An elaborate gift from Claus Spreckels is now a piece of San Francisco history.

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

Inside this museum, the history of the Walt Disney Family empire is on full display.

Since 1973, this block has been home to the most concentrated collection of murals in San Francisco.

This one-block alleyway is stuffed with street art that is colorful, cultural, and intensely political.

Half of a house.

Chevron maintains one “Standard” brand station per state so it doesn’t lose the trademark.

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

Created in 1972, the famous sculptor's intricately detailed monument to San Francisco is overflowing with city landmarks.

One of the oldest producers of hand-folded fortune cookies still uses its original secret recipe.

One of the last remnants of the city's Chinese nightclub scene is now a dive bar selling killer mai tais.

San Francisco's newly reopened hands-on science museum.

Where the alchemists dream of transmuting base metal into gold was actually achieved.

The century-old bell and clock tower at UC Berkeley is the third-tallest in the world, and has fossils.

A man-made island in scenic San Francisco Bay.

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

A shape-shifting buy-sell-trade bookstore, born to Beatnik Era spirit.

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

This subtle Berkeley paving stone actually marks off a lawless tube of air that extends into space.

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