This life-size bronze statue remembers the tallest recorded human in his Illinois hometown.

Oldest building in California still in use.

A man-made island in scenic San Francisco Bay.

A 90-acre park on former landfill that hosts an annual kite festival.

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

A private home built to resemble the shape of a microscopic creature.

The century-old bell and clock tower at UC Berkeley is the third-tallest in the world, and has fossils.

A Masterpiece with a Tragic History.

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

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

Once one of the world's great cities, Cahokia was a place of religious worship, trade and mass human sacrifice before being mysteriously abandoned.

World's second largest particle accelerator, where nature reveals its secrets.

This Big Sur waterfall drops 80 feet directly into the Pacific Ocean, and inspired the hillside house up top.

A remote crossroads honoring a fallen talent.

A house built from trash known as the poor man's Hearst Castle.

Coastal dunes, site of buried Egyptian movie set and former utopian colony.

A massive volcanic plug is now a protected area that hosts a number of bird species.

A Mysterious Masonic tomb in San Luis Obispo.

An alley covered with 20 years of bubble gum.

An "anarchical" no man's land, complete with garbage sculptures and a hobo-run "Landfillian Library."

A hotel and restaurant serving as the mecca of kitsch.