The colorful, smiling concrete silos of Vancouver.

A pixel art killer whale is frozen mid-leap in this Vancouver square.

A working steam clock, one of only a few in the world, located in Vancouver's Victorian Gastown.

A hardware store Buddha statue installed to deter vandalism wound up attracting Vietnamese immigrants who came to pray.

The garage at the childhood home of Steve Jobs was a hangout for the founders of Apple, even if they never built computers there.

A burnt orange monolithic dome structure perched on a hillside near Interstate 280.

The graffiti-covered remnants of a former triangulation station are balanced precariously on this California peak.

A large instrument played by the wind.

The miraculous hydrant that saved the Mission District in 1906.

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

This private residence was the template for one of the most beloved television homes of all time.

San Francisco's urban bison herd has persisted in the face of extinction, development, and disease.

The last remaining relic of San Francisco's glittering 1915 Panama Pacific Exposition.

An artsy hidden staircase leads to breathtaking views of San Francisco.

A graffiti Mecca welcoming artists from around the world.

An eerie diorama that captures the majestic nature of a few prehistoric-looking beasts.

A small graveyard is hidden in the midst of a bustling university campus.

This taxidermy scene brings the struggle for survival in the Indian jungle to a quiet corner of a Manhattan museum.

This poignant display is now a memorial to these regionally extinct species.

One of the most dazzling dioramas at the American Museum of Natural History is also one of the oldest.

This morbid scene depicts the Darwinian drama of death on the African savannah.

Creating this diorama spurred naturalist Carl Akeley to begin advocating to protect the apes.

This impressive scene portrays the elusive forest giraffe of Central Africa.

A 19th-century politician who died after walking home in a blizzard is honored with this Manhattan statue.