Known as the "Hobbit Houses," these storybook homes look like they're straight out of the Shire.

60 feet of towering steel balances gracefully.

An increasingly eccentric apartment building, topped with winged beasties.

A sign at the end of the Santa Monica Pier marks the traditional end of the legendary American highway.

Once strictly off-limits, this lower level housing curious and priceless vehicles of the Petersen Automotive Museum is now open to the public.

This "synagogue" is not what it seems to be.

A bigger-than-life pun that has become a beacon of altruism.

This centerpiece of the Hollywood & Highland shopping center is a recreation of a long-lost movie set.

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

Historic funicular railway, believed to be the shortest railroad in the world.

A visionary, futuristic sculpture in Los Angeles that never met its extraterrestrial potential.

Crypt mausoleum in cathedral's basement contains relics of third century Roman martyr, Saint Vibiana.

During prohibition, corrupt city officials ran drinking dens under the streets of Downtown Los Angeles.

A common entry point to the Griffith Observatory trail holds its own wonders.

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

What was meant to be a temporary exhibit is now a permanent fixture at the St. Louis Zoo filled with beautiful birds.

Giant works of art interspersed throughout meadows and woodlands offer a new discovery at every turn.

Leave a button on the jacket of this iconic Seattle clown.

A nondescript Seattle restaurant inherited a piece of European history.

Residents of Fremont in Seattle have considered it the center of the universe since the 1970s.

A giant Troll lurks under one of Seattle's oldest bridges.

This monumental Jesus is often referred to as "Our Milk Carton With Arms."

This haunted hotel built on natural springs once served as a hospital for a quack doctor promising a cure for cancer.

This titanic oil company sign is a reminder of the Americana boom of the 1970s and also its commoditization.