Places jfalkenthal Wants to Go

In all of the 29 years it was in operation, no prisoners ever escaped successfully... or so they claim.

A 140-year-old castle with underground caves hidden in San Francisco.

A psychedelic labyrinth on the San Francisco bay.

These WWII-era murals were initially booed as a libelous portrayal of the American dream but have survived multiple attempts to have them destroyed.

The randomness of this wall of lava lamps helps encrypt up to 10 percent of the internet.

Recovered from the brink of extinction, at home in the Financial District.

Staircase winds down the side of Telegraph Hill through gardens, wild parrots flying overhead.

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

A library and museum dedicated to typography.

An art supply shop holds the secrets of this quiet neighborhood's raucous Barbary Coast past.

Forgotten and then destroyed by fire, this was once one of the largest saltwater swimming pools in the world.

A collection of memorabilia from the Beat era in the back of a San Francisco bookstore.

With the touch of a button, you can read a randomly selected short story.

A pair of mutilated bronze octopuses slump at the base of the monument honoring California's admission to the U.S.

Tenacious mummies survived dental problems, eternal entombment, and more than their fair share of devastating fires.

A former hardware store near Yerba Buena is the official home of California's history.

A library built during San Francisco's pioneer times is a student's retreat, bibliophile's sanctuary, and chess player's delight.

Early prototype for Frank Lloyd Wright's Guggenheim.

In this century-old literary safehouse, print is alive and well.

A quiet nook at the top of a little-known hilltop park named after California's first poet laureate.

Visible below the waves are memorials to the city's Gold Rush dead.

A promotional sun clock on the site of San Francisco's great raceway.

This shop and studio is dedicated to the art of the book, from letterpress to bookbinding.

Tiki luxury on Nob Hill.