Huge otherworldly domed rocks on the shore of a deadly lake.

Hollywood's oldest hotel is the site of the first Academy Awards, the birthplace of Marilyn Monroe's career, and the home of Montgomery Clift's ghost.

A dwindling menagerie of anthropomorphic oil derrick animals still dot the barren California landscape.

One of few lasting examples of the brief octagon craze that developed into folly.

Once close to extinction, there is no shortage of elephant seals on the beaches of Año Nuevo State Park.

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

One woman's Viking Castle on Lake Tahoe.

This dormant volcanic crater has been converted from a roiling pit of magma to a pleasant hiking spot.

This print shop boasts one of the largest pinball arcades in San Francisco.

A brooding mansion of clinker brick stands out among the Victorian houses of Pacific Heights.

An abandoned Cold War missile radar site.

The most isolated mailbox in America lets desert travelers record their passing.

An extraordinary final resting place full of oversized art, amazing statues, and dead celebrities.

Before it was abandoned and left to rust alongside the road, this riverboat starred in a John Wayne movie.

Barely visible foundations remain where Stow Lake’s “observatory” once welcomed visitors.

A "haunted" landmark on the coast of Southern California.

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

The headquarters of a secretive order is also a beautifully-designed park.

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

This museum looks at the history of one of America's most famous prisons and most beloved albums.

Swarms of butterflies cannot compare to the awe inspired by the publicly-funded nakedness once displayed in this sunken garden.

A glittering South Asian anomaly in a wealthy Los Angeles suburb.

This abandoned boat was left in place thanks to its rotting beauty.

Early prototype for Frank Lloyd Wright's Guggenheim.