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

A giant chess set, minus the psychedelic drug trip.

This giant shopping mall still holds signs of its automotive past.

A peculiar mansion built by the troubled heir to the Winchester Rifle Company fortune.

The world’s first stop-motion film was created on the racetrack outside this building.

Guarded by the Angel of Grief, the Stanford family tomb attracts an odd mix of halloween revelry and somber contemplation.

A hidden world of exotic succulents and cacti.

9,000 square feet of vintage and modern mechanical toys, dioramas & sideshow curiosities.

A working model of the entire San Francisco Bay and much of the Sacramento River Delta, complete with regular tides that change every 14 minutes.

A porcelain company's former dumping ground, completely covered in pieces of collectible ceramics.

Where a staggering 747 ships were constructed during World War II.

A 90-acre park on former landfill that hosts an annual kite festival.

A pier that used to act as a busy ferry dock is now a decaying favorite of local fisherman and urban artists.

Condemned US Navy seaplane control tower turned officers’ club sits atop Yerba Buena Island.

A man-made island in scenic San Francisco Bay.

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

This lighthouse has been guiding shipping into the Golden Gate since before the American Civil War.

Internationally-recognized arts center housed in a century-old former military barracks.

Concrete strongholds stand guard over the Golden Gate.

A living time capsule of the 1960s Richardson Bay water-front.

A playground built by the kids that is a child's wonderland, and a helicopter parent's nightmare.

This bakery sits on the site of the Black Panther Party's first headquarters.

A series of vibrant murals celebrate the culture and community of Oakland.

This small oasis of flora and art was created in remembrance of a local auto business owner.