The laboratory where the Soviet secret police invented exotic poisons used to kill dissidents in hideous and (mostly) untraceable ways.

Chevron maintains one “Standard” brand station per state so it doesn’t lose the trademark.

An art supply shop holds the secrets of this quiet neighborhood's raucous Barbary Coast past.

This residential door allows San Francisco muggles a glimpse at the wizarding world.

A free, public museum dedicated to the fascinating science of sight.

Early prototype for Frank Lloyd Wright's Guggenheim.

Amazing meticulous gardens of personal wood carvings, Hydrangea, Canna, and many other flowers.

The grand, column-fronted, sculpture-adorned home of the ambitious digital library.

A library built during San Francisco's pioneer times is a student's retreat, bibliophile's sanctuary, and chess player's delight.

A walk down memory lane in the heart of one of San Francisco's most notorious neighborhoods.

San Francisco's most expensive hotel suite includes a secret passageway rumored to have been used by JFK.

The miraculous hydrant that saved the Mission District in 1906.

Half of a house.

Tenacious mummies survived dental problems, eternal entombment, and more than their fair share of devastating fires.

A collection of memorabilia from the Beat era in the back of a San Francisco bookstore.

San Franciscans leave gifts and messages for the magical beings that live behind the tiny, mysterious door installed on a tree in Golden Gate Park.

Nestled in the heart of San Francisco’s bustling Financial District stands a unique homage to the Mayan and Beaux Arts.

The remains of a ruined mansion memorialize the 1906 earthquake.

In this century-old literary safehouse, print is alive and well.

A 300-ship graveyard, with a few still visible at low tide.

The randomness of this wall of lava lamps helps encrypt up to 10 percent of the internet.

The one-time watch house for incoming ships at the Golden Gate now stands abandoned and hidden in trees.

A favorite haunt of dinosaur loving children and hallucinogen loving hippies alike.

A pair of slides and a tree-lined stair corridor have been an urban oasis for nearly 40 years.