Places patrikd Wants to Go

A nondescript building that's been functioning as a speakeasy for nearly a century and a half.

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

Floating man-made island and upscale restaurant.

A 1920s speakeasy that had rum runners racing up and down the shores of California.

Its buzzing collection honors vibrator history.

Bring your own cardboard to the slippery slopes of concrete hidden in a neighborhood park.

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

Gold Rush ship-turned-hotel buried underneath San Francisco's financial district.

A creepy steel gremlin has protected the Bay Bridge since 1989.

A private home built to resemble the shape of a microscopic creature.

A storybook European village in Berkeley.

A 140-year-old castle with underground caves hidden in San Francisco.

A strange house built only at night, with rumored mystic inspiration.

A large instrument played by the wind.

Travelers exchange letters with woodland creatures at this mini post office.

Spiral labyrinth hidden in the hills above Oakland, CA.

This (occupied) house is 10 feet wide and full of spite.

Successful artist residence program has filled this ranch with dozens of sculptures over the years.

Home to the "Circus" trees created by Axel Erlandson.

Four miles of pipelines form the model of still-functioning retro-tech efficiency.

A hidden world of exotic succulents and cacti.

This odd California folly seems like it was almost designed to accumulate urban legends.

A ruined hotel with an unlucky history and an eerie present.

The old Niles Canyon Aqueduct in the San Francisco Bay Area is a bemusing and secret trail through nature for wayward travelers.