It is locally loved and ridiculed for literally looking like poop.

One of the largest Marian shrines on the West Coast stands rather unexpectedly in Silicon Valley.

A giant can of fruit cocktail is all that remains of what was once the world's largest cannery.

One of the largest free-standing structures ever built, this dirigible hangar is now simply a giant skeleton.

From the sky, a kaleidoscope of color brightens the grey landscape of the San Francisco Bay.

Where the polar bear watches over everything, and every drink is a double.

This controversial depiction of the "Founder of California" looks as though it was sculpted from mashed potatoes.

This infamous prison has a store where you can buy goods crafted by incarcerated people.

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

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

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

The seawater playground of gilded-era San Francisco burned to the ground in 1966.

The key to turning shifting dunes into the green oasis of Golden Gate Park.

An ever-growing literary collection housed in the apartment where the Russian author penned his final novel.

Moscow's other, lesser known kremlin is a fairytale-like cultural complex modeled after Old Russia.

The gorgeous entrances into the city's underbelly look more like grand halls than subway stops.

One of the world's tallest statues is also one of its most hated.

The avant-garde design was able to bypass strict Soviet regulations on architecture.

Stairs often replace streets on the steep slopes of this old mining town.

Collection of vintage trailers double as hotel rooms.

A living snapshot of a different time in America is preserved and maintained by a community of volunteers.

After a short-lived attempt to bring America in line with the rest of the world, this road was left in metric.

An old saloon in the West filled with history, and according to some, a few dozen ghosts.

A wild west cemetery in Tombstone, Arizona, provides a window into the Old West.