Once the gateway to the utopian dream-village of a Civil War embalmer.

An abandoned, unfinished mansion on grounds strewn with lava rocks.

One of the last remaining Carpenter Gothic churches is situated on a wildflower conservatory overlooking the bay.

A favorite haunt of dinosaur loving children and hallucinogen loving hippies alike.

This centerpiece of the Hollywood & Highland shopping center is a recreation of a long-lost movie set.

Nevada's largest cactus collection stands outside a candy mogul's small factory.

The "3rd largest" city in California is an empty mirage of suburbia in the middle of nowhere.

Experience a charming 1930s version of "infotainment."

A Norwegian-born sculptor created these soaring guardian angels at the entrance to Hoover Dam.

An exotic wildlife habitat right off The Strip.

Brightly colored 30-foot-tall totems light up the desert sky just outside Las Vegas.

A desert ghost town—occupied for only 12 years—was once home to more than 500 silver mines.

The "Fun Spot of the Desert" is now a haunting ruin, and a reminder that putting a water park in a desert is a bad idea.

A former utopian healing center created by a huckster and built by derelicts.

Abandoned hotel with adjacent lake and golf course.

California's own medieval Italian castle, authentic down to the 300-year-old iron maiden in the dungeon.

The graffiti-covered remnants of a former triangulation station are balanced precariously on this California peak.

San Francisco's newly reopened hands-on science museum.

A pair of pure white felines guard the entrance to a spot of California real estate established as an artist's haven.

A "gravitational anomaly" located in the redwood forests just outside of Santa Cruz, California.

Cryptic messages embedded in the New York City sidewalk.

Housed in a memorial lighthouse, this museum relays the history of surfing, beginning with the antics of royal Hawaiian teenagers.

The 28-foot granite map plots the locations of 40 theaters in New York City.

A pedestrian island in the middle of world-famous Times Square emits a strange (and purposeful) humming noise.