Where a staggering 747 ships were constructed during World War II.

A walk-in working camera obscura produces 360-degree live images of the San Francisco coast.

This lighthouse has been guiding shipping into the Golden Gate since before the American Civil War.

Concrete strongholds stand guard over the Golden Gate.

Ride on a fully-restored Nike nuclear-tipped missile elevator from the Cold War.

340 bicycles, 65 feet high.

One of the largest Buddhist communities in the West sits on the site of an old hospital.

One of only five observatories in the world built to measure the Earth's wobble.

A giant fiberglass Muffler Man found new life as a rodeo guardian.

A trash dump made beautiful by nature's power.

A raised boardwalk winds through a thicket of stunted, century-old trees no more than nine feet tall.

This whimsical seashell-shaped place of worship was designed to blend into its surroundings.

A striking eight-story-high obelisk perched on a coastal California cliff.

One of the largest free-standing structures ever built, this dirigible hangar is now simply a giant skeleton.

When California condors were hovering on the brink of extinction, this recovery program was charged with helping the birds thrive again.

What was once a communal kitchen now serves heaping portions of hearty German fare.

For just a few bucks, this Iowa funicular will let you feel like an 1800s fat cat.

Its eclectic exhibits range from the world’s first motorcycle to Luke Skywalker’s Land Speeder.

At the largest railway museum in the United States, you can see everything from an early steam engine to a functioning Thomas the Tank Engine.

This monolithic statue was erected in honor of Chief Black Hawk (even if it wasn't made to look like him).

The oldest house in Galena, Illinois, now is a reminder of when this city was the world's lead mining capital.

This knobby, drooping New Orleans oak is a favorite place both for climbing and for meeting giraffes.

This strange, small castle on the bayou has withstood the test of time and weather.

A 200-year-old building in the French Quarter that was to be Napoleon's home in the New World.