Places fnc122431 Wants to Go

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

The artwork that Italians felt California didn't deserve.

A giant knight, sex education, date shakes, and Jesus coexist happily in this Coachella Valley desert oasis.

A pier that used to act as a busy ferry dock is now a decaying favorite of local fisherman and urban artists.

George Lucas donated this park to honor the birthplace of his two biggest movie franchises.

A miniature view of the park, caught in time.

This whimsical seashell-shaped place of worship was designed to blend into its surroundings.

The long, arduous journey of the stones of the Abbey of New Clairvaux.

A wild west scene starring life-sized wooden statues hides in the trees behind Pierce College.

Every weekend, people gather here for a brief chance to see their loved ones on the other side of the United States–Mexico border.

A ghost town originally established and governed solely by Black Americans seeking a place of their own, free from discrimination.

The rustic cabin-like decor of this Arts and Crafts-style church reflects the love of nature central to its little-known theology.

Reverend Franzo Wayne King administers spiritual enlightenment through the music of the jazz legend.

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

This temple, built by an eccentric religious leader before his death, sits guarded and in ruins.

Machinery left over from California's once thriving mercury industry now attracts artists and explorers.

A surreal, Gaudi-inspired play space near an Anaheim community center.

The oldest continuously operating church in California.

A watering hole where the options for seating include a bar, patio, or subterranean cave.

A rare surviving example of a pre-WWII Japanese garden, restored after years of neglect.

The Empire Mine is "one of the oldest, largest, deepest, longest and richest gold mines in California."

Law-protected wreckage serves as a peculiar memorial for an almost forgotten World War II tragedy.

The first AIDS memorial chapel in San Francisco and one of only a few in the U.S.

Bug-devouring flora are the stars of a special wing of the glass conservatory.