Franciscan monks created a facsimile of the Holy Land for North Americans who couldn’t afford the trip overseas.

This leafy estate is worth $18 million and is so grand it has two mailing addresses.

The southernmost outpost of the Russian Empire in colonial America.

The fossilized remains of ancient California redwoods.

In all of the 29 years it was in operation, no prisoners ever escaped successfully... or so they claim.

This concrete tangle of square pipes has stood as a proud thorn in the city's side since the '70s.

San Francisco's newly reopened hands-on science museum.

Antiques by the Bay.

An "anarchical" no man's land, complete with garbage sculptures and a hobo-run "Landfillian Library."

Dive bar built out of the remains of a whaling ship.

An art collective teaching the more fiery, metal-y art forms.

International delicatessen has been owned and operated by the same family for more than 110 years.

Spiral labyrinth hidden in the hills above Oakland, CA.

An amazing collection of fantastic reptiles, amphibians, spiders, and insects.

Every Sunday, this Thai temple in Berkeley serves a backyard brunch.

A unique market that brings together various goods and cultures.

A shape-shifting buy-sell-trade bookstore, born to Beatnik Era spirit.

An vast warehouse of everyday treasures in Berkeley, CA.

Oakland's beautiful monumental cemetery.

This Oakland fairytale kingdom, fiercely devoted to childlike whimsy, was an early inspiration for Disneyland.