A man-made island in scenic San Francisco Bay.

The last remaining relic of San Francisco's glittering 1915 Panama Pacific Exposition.

Early prototype for Frank Lloyd Wright's Guggenheim.

Only hotel where you can legally launder money.

Longtime headquarters of controversial boys' club for the world's wealthiest and most powerful.

A Barbary Coast watering hole built into a Gold Rush shipwreck.

An unassuming grey box sitting on San Francisco's Pier 17 is a "sky diary" of the coastal city's temperamental weather.

A modern mechanical planetary system, part of a 10,000 year clock.

Once the fastest ship from San Francisco to Tahiti, the Galilee now lays in pieces in three different cities.

Visible below the waves are memorials to the city's Gold Rush dead.

The only visible piece of San Francisco's most famous shipwreck.

A free, public museum dedicated to the fascinating science of sight.

This residential door allows San Francisco muggles a glimpse at the wizarding world.

A collection of memorabilia from the Beat era in the back of a San Francisco bookstore.

One of the last remnants of the city's Chinese nightclub scene is now a dive bar selling killer mai tais.

One of the oldest producers of hand-folded fortune cookies still uses its original secret recipe.

The oldest dim sum restaurant in the United States is a nostalgic jewel.

Faceless white figures loom over the city from the rooftop.

A shining, cold, black organ lies in San Francisco's financial district.

Alleyway plaque commemorating the death of a fictional character in The Maltese Falcon, not far from the author's home.

In this century-old literary safehouse, print is alive and well.

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

A library built during San Francisco's pioneer times is a student's retreat, bibliophile's sanctuary, and chess player's delight.

A pair of mutilated bronze octopuses slump at the base of the monument honoring California's admission to the U.S.