Places Maggie Mason Wants to Go

Try not to get slimed in Tribeca.

Amid the bustle and noise of the Financial District hides a secluded garden oasis above the city streets.

A crumbling hospital from the 1850s on Roosevelt Island.

The very first subway station in New York City is beautiful, decked out in chandeliers, and ... abandoned?

A treasure trove of artifacts, books, and artwork from the "golden age" of exploration.

A winding path built in secret on the edge of the continent.

This historic roadhouse has many tales to tell of San Francisco's early history.

Part mural and part sculpture, this work of art sits in the middle of the Promenade, as if swimming in a river of asphalt towards the ocean.

Under the shadow of its towering parent tree, a rare specimen of sequoia produces ghostly white leaves.

A playing field for a popular French past time can be found tucked away in a quiet corner of Golden Gate Park.

27-room home built with the fortune of a sugar magnate.

Created in 1972, the famous sculptor's intricately detailed monument to San Francisco is overflowing with city landmarks.

Inside this museum, the history of the Walt Disney Family empire is on full display.

The taxidermied remains of the "last wild grizzly bear in California" and of the symbol of the state of California.

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

The grand, column-fronted, sculpture-adorned home of the ambitious digital library.

This print shop boasts one of the largest pinball arcades in San Francisco.

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

The one-time watch house for incoming ships at the Golden Gate now stands abandoned and hidden in trees.

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

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

A pair of slides and a tree-lined stair corridor have been an urban oasis for nearly 40 years.

Get lost in this haunting fairytale art walk through a man-made eucalyptus grove.

A peculiar mansion built by the troubled heir to the Winchester Rifle Company fortune.