The surprising home of the iconic Santa Monica Pier Ferris Wheel.

A little stop along the Texas highway where Rock Hudson, Elizabeth Taylor, and James Dean stayed while shooting the 1955 film "Giant."

Legend has it the commander of the defenders drew a fateful line in the dirt with his sword just before the final battle.

Minimalist modern art on a repurposed military base in rural Texas.

An abandoned quicksilver mining town surrounded by the Big Bend parks.

This Arizona observatory is famous for investigations into Martian life, and as the place humans first spotted Pluto.

A rainbow-colored house promotes LGBTQ rights across the street from the Westboro Baptist Church.

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

A second generation sun-powered marvel lights up the night.

A sign at the end of the Santa Monica Pier marks the traditional end of the legendary American highway.

Every year, over 25,000 monarchs overwinter in Pacific Grove.

A hotel and restaurant serving as the mecca of kitsch.

The unbelievably opulent home built for an infamous newspaperman.

An alley covered with 20 years of bubble gum.

A chain of bells connect the California Missions and honor the legend of the "King’s Highway."

This stretch of beach along California's central coast is a busy highway for the largest seal in the northern hemisphere.

Steinbeck's old stomping grounds, immortalized in Cannery Row.

Scores of vintage street lamps shine along L.A.’s Miracle Mile.

Historic funicular railway, believed to be the shortest railroad in the world.

Hollywood's most famous landmark, the "temporary" sign that has stood for decades longer than intended.

The legendary building that needed ghostly approval before being built.

An historic and oft-filmed spot for musclebound iron pumpers on the Pacific coast.

After starting as a whimsical tourist attraction that eventually found its way to ruin, these renovated canals offer a lush and exotic locale on the Pacific Coast.

There are lots of hands and feet stamped in the cement in front of Grauman’s Chinese Theater, but Mel left behind something extra.