Places nealkelso Wants to Go

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

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

Collective dedicated to restoring steam engines.

Bonsai garden in Oakland is curated by the first non-Japanese female bonsai master in the United States.

Julia Morgan's Moorish-Gothic labyrinth of fountains, trees, natural light and Oakland's notable dead.

Relics of the 1894 Midwinter Exposition continue to delight visitors today.

A whimsical antique shop with a strong air of mystery, filled with items from ages, and what feels like worlds, past.

An invitation-only museum of items natural and bizarre, arcane and exotic.

This shop specializes in oddities and Victorian-inspired wonders.

This museum explores the history of the book, from scrolls to mass-produced objects through tools, stories, and massive cast-iron binding machinery (some of it operational).

California's most comprehensive horticultural library.

The rustic cabin-like decor of this Arts and Crafts-style church reflects the love of nature central to its little-known theology.

Reverend Franzo Wayne King administers spiritual enlightenment through the music of the jazz legend.

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

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

Over 315,000 preserved amphibians and reptiles in jars.

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

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.

A speck of nature and art in one of San Francisco’s most notorious neighborhoods.

A library and museum dedicated to typography.

Not merely a museum – but a whirring powerhouse that offers a subterranean peek into the heart and soul of cable car operations.

The stones that traveled from Spain to eventually become a holy place for San Francisco's nature worshippers.

The restored and active Victorian-era final resting place of San Francisco.