One of the largest Marian shrines on the West Coast stands rather unexpectedly in Silicon Valley.

Today's aerospace industry can be traced back to one man and his gliders.

From the sky, a kaleidoscope of color brightens the grey landscape of the San Francisco Bay.

The headquarters of the semiconductor giant has a 10,000-square-foot museum.

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

An extensive collection of ancient Egyptian artifacts and mummies.

The huge granite obelisk that towers over a small California town.

This 252 step staircase offers stunning views of San Jose.

A plaque outside the San Jose airport commemorates the insect's arrival to the West Coast.

A life-sized mammoth sculpture marks the spot where the remains of a Columbian mammoth were discovered in 2005.

The largest permanent Monopoly board makes one of the longest games even bigger.

It took years to decode its mysterious messages.

It is locally loved and ridiculed for literally looking like poop.

This restaurant's marvelous musical machines include a self-playing violin.

San Francisco Bay's ghost town.

Here, Father Agapius Honcharenko established his homestead, becoming the first nationally conscious Ukrainian to settle in the United States.

Anyone can control this glittery light installation with just a phone call.

At night, this glittering musical tunnel draws skaters and photographers.

A statue commemorate Tommie Smith and John Carlos's brave protest at the 1968 Olympics, a watershed moment for civil rights.

Eight huge lanterns lining a city street can change color on command.

This quaint archive of the silent era preserves and pays homage to a seminal moment in film history.

Sporting Brutalist architecture, this school is hidden amid a quiet suburban neighborhood.

A popular tourist cave with a dark past.

One of the oldest reform schools in the United States, home to wayward boys such as Merle Haggard, now abandoned.