An extraordinarily ornate museum in San Diego holds wondrous anthropological treasures.

North America's largest accredited model railroad museum.

Swarms of butterflies cannot compare to the awe inspired by the publicly-funded nakedness once displayed in this sunken garden.

One of the largest trees of its kind in California.

One of the largest Buddhist communities in the West sits on the site of an old hospital.

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

A burnt orange monolithic dome structure perched on a hillside near Interstate 280.

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

A giant chess set, minus the psychedelic drug trip.

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

It took years to decode its mysterious messages.

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

Anyone can control this glittery light installation with just a phone call.

The oldest house in the capital of Silicon Valley.

A statue commemorate Tommie Smith and John Carlos's brave protest at the 1968 Olympics, a watershed moment for civil rights.

A plaque outside the San Jose airport commemorates the insect's arrival to the West Coast.

This giant shopping mall still holds signs of its automotive past.

The peaceful gravesite of a rugged wild west gunman echoes the touching story of his last days.

A vast city of the dead, where the deceased outnumber the living by more than a million.

The final resting place of the Emperor of the United States and Protector of Mexico.

A creepy steel gremlin has protected the Bay Bridge since 1989.

A modern frieze of ancient Grecian mythological figures playing a national pastime.

San Francisco's first World's Fair, dedicated to the wonders of California.

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