A rough granite monument marks the spot where Europeans first caught sight of the San Francisco Bay.

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

An inconspicuous suburban street corner is the site of San Diego's worst air disaster.

The world's largest outdoor organ is played weekly by one of just two civic organists in the U.S.

One of the largest trees of its kind in California.

One of the few remaining carousels built by master amusement park carver Charles I.D. Looff.

Lucha Libre (Mexican Wrestling) themed taco shop.

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

The world's largest frame offers spectacular views of the city's past and present.

A preposterously luxurious hotel with gold-plated iPads, Rolls Royce chauffeurs, and a staff that trains by watching "Downton Abbey."

On any given day this sprawling market houses literally tons of government-regulated gold, gems, and precious metals.

This artificial archipelago was supposed to resemble a map of the world.

No two pieces are exactly the same at Portland's hippo-themed hardware store.

World's only nuclear reactor operated by liberal arts undergraduates.

The magic's in the hole!

Once a year, thousands of naked cyclists flood the streets of a Seattle neighborhood.

Granting the right of way to ships over surface traffic since 1917.

Statue of Lenin, from Cold War era Czechoslovakia, now in a neighborhood of Seattle.

Activists are fighting to preserve these unfinished highway ramps as a tribute to the citizen revolt that halted their construction decades ago.

Allowing humans and fish alike to migrate from freshwater to saltwater and back again.

A sliver of nostalgia in Seattle's Viretta Park.

Though strikingly beautiful, Seattle's other railway station is now largely forgotten.

From a neon Rapunzel to a bike traffic meter to a street fair color scheme, the most opened drawbridge in the US is a veritable art gallery.

Old submarine parts have been converted into faux whale fins.