The programmatic glory of LA's giant whiskey barrel building has become an upscale reminder of the city's kitschy roadside past.

The art and history of the velvet painting are on full display in this Los Angeles museum.

One man's vast collection of artifacts and ephemera from matchbooks and postcards to vintage neon signs and cars.

This star-studded Old Hollywood restaurant is where fettuccine Alfredo made its United States debut.

A long-vacant Scottish Rite temple in Hollywood has been converted into an art museum filled with Masonic relics.

The illuminating collection of L.A. street lights is run by the city and only opens one day per month.

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

Beautiful Victorian buildings from L.A.'s forgotten architectural past.

"The greatest unknown literary treasure in Los Angeles."

A sculpture of the famous photograph stands on San Diego's "Greatest Generation Walk."

North America's largest accredited model railroad museum.

A couple turned their front yard into an artistic masterpiece.

An extraordinarily ornate museum in San Diego holds wondrous anthropological treasures.

Behind this beachfront shop lies a spectacular, colorful sea cave with an equally colorful past.

This institution collects the history of burlesque dancing with a titillating collection of ephemera and pasties.

Stepping away from the glitz of mobsters and casinos to learn about the other history of Vegas.

An exotic wildlife habitat right off The Strip.

This unlicensed collection of fast-food memorabilia sits on the site of the first ever McDonald's restaurant.

The biggest pinball arcade in the world has over 600 pinball machines, and 300 arcade machines.

The "world's biggest dinosaur" once housed a creationist museum in its abdomen.

"The Star Factory" cranked out Hollywood stars like nobody's business.

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

Hidden in the hills of Hollywood, this secluded Oz-themed garden is dotted with dozens of thrones.

A desert ghost town—occupied for only 12 years—was once home to more than 500 silver mines.