Places Edited by Erin Johnson

Rainbow-hued local gem in Venice.

The Hopi-style structure was built by the man who discovered Desert Hot Springs' famous mineral water.

A stunning two-story timepiece within a medieval Brick Gothic church.

A meditative space out of a fantasy story.

A regular looking rock with an unbelievable history.

One man's vast collection of artifacts and ephemera from matchbooks and postcards to vintage neon signs and cars.

Hand-crafted tributes to a stray cat named "Room 8" now cover this LA elementary school.

All of Chicago's wood-paved streets are long gone but two alleys remain.

The remnants of a failed socialist commune can still be found just off a California highway.

Remnants of an exploded schooner and wrecked submarines form a breakwater.

An extraordinary "City of Caves" carved from solid stone.

This former stomping grounds of the most eminent astronomers of the early 20th century.

Each year these high desert hills are absolutely covered with poppy flowers in a surreal show of nature.

"Prepare yourself! You are to become the voice of Interplanetary Parliament."

An unreal vintage shop that wears its dadaist influence on its zombie fish.

An outdoor sculpture park of giant pink robots and post-apocalyptic Christmas scenes.

The cobbled together compound of a deceased artist which now serves as a filming location.

An unfortunate geological resemblance to Satan has labeled this Pasadena gorge as a passage to the underworld.

The Los Angeles flood disaster that took 400 lives and ended the career of William Mulholland.

A tiny museum housed in a New York freight elevator specializes in the "overlooked, dismissed, or ignored."

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

One of the world's largest collections of rare and magnificent bird specimens.

Established in the '60s, a family-owned tropical drink bar founded by Ray Buhen, bartender to the stars.

Dioramas and animatronics lead you through the story of Bhagavad-gita, the Indian literary classic.