Places James Gage Wants to Go

The ruins of the castle that chemicals built.

Once strictly off-limits, this lower level housing curious and priceless vehicles of the Petersen Automotive Museum is now open to the public.

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

Dive bar built out of the remains of a whaling ship.

Storybook cottage in Beverly Hills was once the site of 1920s silent film studio, affectionately known as "The Witch's House."

This dark, quiet forest on the outskirts of San Diego is dense with rumor and lore.

Los Angeles's oldest cemetery allows visitors to trace the history of this proud city.

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

The so-called "Statue of Liberty of Los Angeles" is on a one mutant mission to keep L.A. weird.

A fake town founded by Western movie stars is now becoming a hip desert community.

The location of the last stand of Charles Manson's doomsday cult.

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

From pre-war whiskey cocktails to prohibition-era speakeasy secrecy, this bar has seen it all.

The L.A. Zoo has a secret garden of rare bootleg cycads, a palm specimen dating back 280 million years.

A Barbary Coast watering hole built into a Gold Rush shipwreck.

The hidden jewel of Disneyland: a members only playground for the Disney elite.

The haunting ruins of Jack London's dream house.

The liveliest ghost town in the state.

A popular tourist cave with a dark past.

One of the last free public hot springs is decorated with hippie art.

The most unique castle in all of Southern California, entirely constructed from repurposed materials.

The unbelievably opulent home built for an infamous newspaperman.

Scores of vintage street lamps shine along L.A.’s Miracle Mile.

Secret Manor, a house full of legends, the least of which is the haunting of long-deceased ladies of pleasure.