Places mszmaudie Wants to Go

Perched high atop telephone poles is an uncanny outdoor art gallery that greets passersby on their commute.

One of the richest places in the United States has a cursed street.

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.

Authentic gondola hanging from the ceiling, notable mural in the back room.

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

A classically trained chef makes beloved burritos inside a gas station.

The largest collection of two headed animals in the world.

According to legend it was a nap taken under this tree that kicked off the California Gold Rush.

No matter what it might seem like on film, most scenes filmed on a plane are filmed at this LA studio.

Though tiki culture has gone in and out of fashion, the Tonga Hut has always been flying the flag in Los Angeles.

Her final resting place was intended to be modest and private, but the power of her popularity continues to draw visitors.

Every weekend, the parking lot of this Buddhist temple turns into a Thai street-food paradise.

Where a great scandal unfolded with a famous female revivalist at its center.

This “living museum” at UCLA exhibits thousands of plant species from all over the world.

What began with a single, 357-pound chunk of the Canyon Diablo meteorite grew to be an impressive collection. 

An ultra-modern vista that has been featured in so many films the house is a celebrity in its own right.

Santa Monica's oldest restaurant, decorated with set pieces from the Mutiny on the Bounty.

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

A Looff creation in Santa Monica best described as “a California-Byzantine-Moorish-style fantasy.”

Giant origami crease patterns engraved in Santa Monica intersections may even be visible from space.

An offbeat angle on the ocean viewed through an antiquated lens.

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

This traditional garden in the San Fernando Valley doubled for Star Fleet Academy, and is irrigated entirely by wastewater.

A cow in the road might subvert the flow of traffic but this one's above it all, quite literally.