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

This well-traveled chess park offers scenic views of the pacific and a colorful, eclectic clientele.

Legendary prop shop filled with one man's collection of scientific curiosities.

The site of a classic series of Laurel and Hardy pratfalls.

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

These delicate buggers are some of the rarest fossils that have bubbled up from the Tar Pits.

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

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

A Looff creation in Santa Monica best described as “a California-Byzantine-Moorish-style fantasy.”

A three-story, three-dimensional hobo clown in a tutu welcomes CVS shoppers.

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.