A shape-shifting buy-sell-trade bookstore, born to Beatnik Era spirit.

An vast warehouse of everyday treasures in Berkeley, CA.

Worker-owned cooperative and resource for those looking to lighten their ecological footprint.

Dive bar built out of the remains of a whaling ship.

International delicatessen has been owned and operated by the same family for more than 110 years.

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

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

A 1914 beaux arts auditorium that sat shuttered for 20 years, restored and reopened in 2026

This mysterious series of teeny guerrilla installations sheds a whimsical light on street art in Oakland.

Oakland's beautiful monumental cemetery.

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

Bonsai garden in Oakland is curated by the first non-Japanese female bonsai master in the United States.

The oldest lawn bowling club in the United States.

San Francisco’s century-old Christmas Tree.

These WWII-era murals were initially booed as a libelous portrayal of the American dream but have survived multiple attempts to have them destroyed.

Only hotel where you can legally launder money.

Prone to disastrous fires, the city of San Francisco has the Guardian, a fireboat gifted by residents, to watch over them from the bay.

An elaborate gift from Claus Spreckels is now a piece of San Francisco history.

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

These subterranean storage areas hold emergency water reserves.

Art in the form of a winding, man made crack in stone.

This private residence was the template for one of the most beloved television homes of all time.

San Francisco's urban bison herd has persisted in the face of extinction, development, and disease.

This concrete tangle of square pipes has stood as a proud thorn in the city's side since the '70s.