Places matteakle Wants to Go

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

A pier that used to act as a busy ferry dock is now a decaying favorite of local fisherman and urban artists.

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

Astronomers plan to launch a space telescope into orbit, to find out what exactly stands in the way of an asteroid hitting Earth.

Location of the most powerful laser in the world, and the potential birthplace of tiny stars.

A Roman-inspired temple once controlled half of San Francisco's waters.

The black lab that was voted mayor of a California town is forever remembered by a life-size statue.

From the sky, a kaleidoscope of color brightens the grey landscape of the San Francisco Bay.

The newsstand that never closes its doors—well, almost never.

International delicatessen has been owned and operated by the same family for more than 110 years.

A hardware store Buddha statue installed to deter vandalism wound up attracting Vietnamese immigrants who came to pray.

A temple devoted to inner esoteric mysteries located in a California commercial strip.

This mysterious series of teeny guerrilla installations sheds a whimsical light on street art in Oakland.

This subtle Berkeley paving stone actually marks off a lawless tube of air that extends into space.

A celebration of once forgotten materials.

Travelers exchange letters with woodland creatures at this mini post office.

An "anarchical" no man's land, complete with garbage sculptures and a hobo-run "Landfillian Library."

9,000 square feet of vintage and modern mechanical toys, dioramas & sideshow curiosities.

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

A working model of the entire San Francisco Bay and much of the Sacramento River Delta, complete with regular tides that change every 14 minutes.

A living time capsule of the 1960s Richardson Bay water-front.

This infamous prison has a store where you can buy goods crafted by incarcerated people.

Discover for yourself what Herb Caen referred to as "the best kept secret in the Bay Area."

One man's love of natural beauty led to the creation of this hidden granite monument.