Places mpudvar Wants to Go

60 feet of towering steel balances gracefully.

This serene oasis in an affluent Los Angeles neighborhood holds some of Gandhi's ashes and got Elvis into Eastern Philosophy.

An unexpected and peaceful oasis on a hillside.

A Mysterious Masonic tomb in San Luis Obispo.

Coastal dunes, site of buried Egyptian movie set and former utopian colony.

Two men, two visionaries of Venice Beach, one little hotel that smells like cookies.

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

An historic and oft-filmed spot for musclebound iron pumpers on the Pacific coast.

World War II-era Nazi compound nestled in the Santa Monica hills.

Malibu's first beach home features an astonishing trove of ceramic tiles.

One of the first skyscrapers in Santa Monica, and a famous getaway for the Hollywood elite of then and now.

A treasure hunter's tiny bar, harboring celebrities since 1959.

A second generation sun-powered marvel lights up the night.

After starting as a whimsical tourist attraction that eventually found its way to ruin, these renovated canals offer a lush and exotic locale on the Pacific Coast.

Windswept and remote, this island was once the home of a rare mammoth and today is home to a rare tree.

Chewing gum tycoon's memorial lies perched over wife's botanical gardens on Santa Catalina Island.

An unexpected connection to Chicago awaits visitors on an island just off the California coast.

A herd of 150 bison live on California's Santa Catalina Island and are at the heart of an ongoing debate between environmental protection and economic expansion.

One of the largest trees of its kind in California.

A hidden courtyard houses early 20th-century plaster masterpieces.

Swarms of butterflies cannot compare to the awe inspired by the publicly-funded nakedness once displayed in this sunken garden.

North America's largest accredited model railroad museum.

Built for an exposition in 1915, these horticultural displays have stood the test of time.

The world's largest outdoor organ is played weekly by one of just two civic organists in the U.S.