Places alisonhballard Wants to Go

Rainbow-hued local gem in Venice.

A castle that was built stone by stone by an eccentric journalist.

The private clubhouse for the members of the Academy of Magical Arts.

Behind this beachfront shop lies a spectacular, colorful sea cave with an equally colorful past.

A library of rare occult books in Los Angeles.

A walk-in working camera obscura produces 360-degree live images of the San Francisco coast.

A prohibition-style speakeasy takes up residence in the last Victorian residence in Hollywood.

A museum befitting the city responsible for supplying the majority of the world's LSD.

A hotel and restaurant serving as the mecca of kitsch.

A tiny theater hidden in an alley plays a constant stream of short silent films for anyone willing to peer through the peephole.

Hidden in the hills of Hollywood, this secluded Oz-themed garden is dotted with dozens of thrones.

A hospital closed seemingly in the middle of operations, leaving behind fodder for horror films and ghost hunters.

Venue for strange sideshow displays and musical acts.

There is no trying to fall in love with this Star Wars fountain, you just do or do not.

Shop selling 500 flavors of soda has something for everyone.

Giant Redwood-themed cafeteria operates under the golden rule, "Dine Free Unless Delighted."

This shop specializes in oddities and Victorian-inspired wonders.

The only theatre in the world constructed specifically for sound movement.

One man's homage to the sun continues to grow like a glass fractal.

America's most famous piece of self-built architecture.

A one-of-a-kind collection of a unique medium.

The abandoned zoo enclosures offer a perfect place to experience the other side of the bars.

The legendary building that needed ghostly approval before being built.

This iconic L.A. bookshop is housed in an abandoned bank—both symbolic and chic.