Places sierrawest Wants to Go

The newsstand that never closes its doors—well, almost never.

The Flatiron Building's storied West Coast cousin is a lot more into religion.

A hardware store Buddha statue installed to deter vandalism wound up attracting Vietnamese immigrants who came to pray.

A massive ultra-modern church presents a science-fiction view of Catholicism's inclusive future.

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

A temple devoted to inner esoteric mysteries located in a California commercial strip.

Spiral labyrinth hidden in the hills above Oakland, CA.

Early prototype for Frank Lloyd Wright's Guggenheim.

This one-block alleyway is stuffed with street art that is colorful, cultural, and intensely political.

At the base of the Golden Gate Bridge, a small sign basically begs for a high-five.

This sailor's boneyard was lost under a parking lot for decades before being rediscovered.

A quiet marker in memory of local men and women lost in WWI.

The legendary statue-hating superintendent of Golden Gate Park is honored with... a statue.

The neighborhood church casts a breast-shaped shadow that locals have come to call the “two o’clock titty.”

Prone to disastrous fires, the city of San Francisco has the Guardian, a fireboat gifted by residents, to watch over them from the bay.

A classic advertising icon immortalized in regal bronze.

One time home to turn of the century explosives, now hidden under the Bay Bridge.

The second building of its name to occupy this location might be the finest flatiron building in San Francisco.

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

These subterranean storage areas hold emergency water reserves.

San Francisco's first World's Fair, dedicated to the wonders of California.

Created in 1972, the famous sculptor's intricately detailed monument to San Francisco is overflowing with city landmarks.

Home of modern dancer famously strangled by her own scarf.

Thirteen trees representing the original thirteen colonies were planted with soil from historic Revolutionary battlefields.