A master of deception, Harry Houdini's greatest trick may have been living in two places at once.

Common all over Japan, kōbans are small community police boxes, and now one is guarding one of L.A.’s megamalls.

A 1920s speakeasy that had rum runners racing up and down the shores of California.

This peaceful garden is hidden on the grounds of a spiritual organization founded by a pioneer yogi.

A performance hall at the American Jewish University moonlights as a sci-fi film location set.

L. Frank Baum wrote part of the "Wizard of Oz" series in this wooden Victorian beach resort.

These subterranean storage areas hold emergency water reserves.

Once the largest winery in the world, this castle-like building now sits abandoned on the San Pablo/San Francisco Bay shore.

The most beautiful Taco Bell in the world even has surfboard parking.

A restored 1920s cascade stairway provides one of the best views of Oakland's Lake Merritt.

Raised illegally, Reggie now lives at the Los Angeles Zoo after authorities spent years tracking him down.

The only parking meter in the entire town, it is surrounded by 100 free spaces.

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

Massive prehistoric mammals used these stones as oversized scratching posts.

A rare surviving example of a pre-WWII Japanese garden, restored after years of neglect.

Fans of the spicy bright-red sauce can tour where it's made.

This Hollywood dive houses a mural painted by the artists who animated its namesake film.

A celebration of once forgotten materials.

Noble beasts perhaps, but not the Emperor's dogs.

The southernmost outpost of the Russian Empire in colonial America.

An abandoned 1920s-era stretch of cabins now overshadowed by the 66 Motel.

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

This futuristic bridge is one of the longest self-anchored pedestrian bridges in the world.

Where NASA's satellites and rovers phone home.