Nestled in the heart of San Francisco’s bustling Financial District stands a unique homage to the Mayan and Beaux Arts.

The ruins of this long-abandoned unsuccessful gold mine can still be found.

These vibrant row houses are a unique example of Baltimore kitsch.

An almost life-sized elephant named Ms. Ellie greets visitors at this jumbo-themed museum.

What looks like a simple quaint estate in rural Pennsylvania was in the 18th century home to a small monastic community.

A 400-year-old live oak tree with a fictitiously morbid past.

Once seen as a bit of an eyesore, this sculpture has become a staple of downtown Houston.

A forgotten 1800s burial vault hides in plain sight beneath a busy downtown Houston bridge.

A shrine to the royal lord of all cacti.

Well-dressed pickle turned patriotic joint statue in old town Tomball.

Houston’s oldest continuously-operating Tex-Mex restaurant has been a community hub since 1941.

A little bit Wonkatania, a little bit pink elephant.

A historic, century-old house plopped along the perimeter of Houston's ballpark.

The largest underground pedestrian tunnel system in the U.S. mostly caters to the people working in the offices above, but provides a great, air-conditioned way to traverse the city.

Beer lover's can-covered house.

A taste of Middle Earth, in the middle of the Bayou City.

Conflicting markers on its floor tell a tale of two city centers in San Antonio.

The quirky gift from West Berlin for the 1968 World's Fair still stands in Hemisfair Park.

A seven-foot-tall cast concrete Native American Chief stands on the south railing of the historic Commerce Street Bridge, commissioned in 1914.

A colorful public mural in San Antonio's West Side encourages students to stay in school.

The 40-foot-tall votive candle is the largest of its kind.

This big empty pig is a nostalgic throwback to mid-20th-century Texas barbecue.

This sculpture of a bowler hat is complemented by a matching umbrella a few blocks away.

A "Texanic" (gigantic Texas) collection of Art Deco architecture at Dallas' historic Fair Park.