At this 1940s-era neighborhood favorite, you can still drink a cherry phosphate.

One of the oldest producers of hand-folded fortune cookies still uses its original secret recipe.

Staircase winds down the side of Telegraph Hill through gardens, wild parrots flying overhead.

A collection of 20th-century automata, penny arcade games, and musical contraptions.

At the base of the Golden Gate Bridge, a small sign basically begs for a high-five.

Concrete strongholds stand guard over the Golden Gate.

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

Worker-owned cooperative and resource for those looking to lighten their ecological footprint.

An vast warehouse of everyday treasures in Berkeley, CA.

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

A man-made island in scenic San Francisco Bay.

A crumbling Beaux Arts monument to the Bay Area's age of rail.

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

With statues of Nelson Mandela and Harvey Milk this monument has been called the Mount Rushmore of California.

The Flatiron Building's storied West Coast cousin is a lot more into religion.

The newsstand that never closes its doors—well, almost never.

A massive ultra-modern church presents a science-fiction view of Catholicism's inclusive future.

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

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

After serving in World War II and picking up Apollo astronauts, this aircraft carrier has been turned into a museum overlooking the San Francisco Bay.

One of the best absinthe distilleries in the United States.

A decommissioned Naval base now rents itself out for people who want to blow stuff up.

Playable, historic pinball machines fill this Alameda museum.

The Southern California pop sounds of surf and sand were born right here.