You could live here for decades and still never see it all. That’s the beauty of our city

Level two: Intermediate

This is going to require some legwork. If you want to build up an intimate knowledge of this city, you’re going to have to put your back into it.

27. Bob Baker Marionette Theater

Delightfully charming or super creepy? Both. Definitely both.

28. Hyperion Water Treatment Plant

They offer free tours, and it turns out learning about sewage is surprisingly fascinating. Yep, that’s “sewage” and “fascinating” in the same sentence. Trust us on this one.

29. Velveteria: the Museum of Velvet Paintings

Velvet Elvises are just the gateway drug.

28. Laserium

Retro-ass laser shows in a Van Nuys office complex? Legal weed? You do the math.

29. Walt Disney’s Barn

In the ’50s, Disney built a barn in his backyard where he worked on his model railroad. The structure has preserved in Griffith park and is open every third Sunday of the month—it’s now a museum devoted to both Disney and train stuff, with an original coach from the Disneyland Railroad.

30. American Military Museum

That’s a lot of tanks.

31. Beverly Hills Witch’s House

Storybook-style houses are scattered all across L.A. (and may even have inspired Disney’s Snow White), but this is the only one handing out full-size candy bars and bags of cash on Halloween.

A photo posted by @beuuahtriz on Jan 10, 2016 at 4:48pm PST

32. LA96C NIKE Missile Control Site

Makes for a great hike and has 4.5 out of 5 stars on Yelp (which is more than you can say for most abandoned missile control sites).

33. Phantasma Gloria

Randy Lawrence thought it would be cool to build a sculpture out of glass bottles full of colored water in his front yard. He was 100 percent right.

34. Velaslavasay Panorama

Back before there was virtual reality, people just looked at 360 degree panorama paintings and called it a day. The art form is preserved at this eccentric West Adams institution.

35. Necromance

A sinister shop for all your freeze-dried-animal-related needs.

36. Replica of the original In-N-Out

There is a person whose job is to sit in this fake hamburger stand and wait for you to show up so they can give you stickers. Don’t let them down.

37. Pasadena’s giant fork

It’s like a regular fork, but giant.

A photo posted by mairyl valencia (@m4iryl) on Aug 26, 2016 at 3:32pm PDT

38. Valley Relics Museum

Vintage neon, a fiberglass Big Boy, Old BMX bikes, a couple of Nudie Cohn’s cars—the whole collection is an affectionate tribute to the visual culture of the Valley.

39. Ruins of a railway and resort on Mount Lowe

The Alpine Lodge at the top was destroyed in a 1936 electrical fire, and it was all downhill from there.

40. Los Angeles Police Revolver and Athletic Club Cafe

Drink a cup of deep black coffee at the semi-secret diner where LAPD detectives get their bacon and eggs.

41. Alpine Village

This Bavarian-inspired market has been hosting one hell of an Oktoberfest for decades.

42. Sunken City

The fractured remnants of home foundations, roads, and a rail line left behind by a community that crumbled into the sea.

A photo posted by Scott Bender (@scottdbender) on Dec 28, 2016 at 1:55pm PST

43. Museum of Death

They have the severed head of a French serial killer on display, no big deal.

44. Ruins of Tropical Terrace mansion in Malibu

Portions of the old house still sand, including the chimney, bomb shelter, and a bathtub.

45. Tom of Finland House

The house once belonged to master of gay erotica Touko Laaksonen, aka “Tom of Finland” (he was from Finland). He created a safe space for other erotic artists, and the house now functions as a museum devoted to the art.

46. El Segundo Butteffly Preserve blue butterfly

The preserve was established to protect the rare El Segundo blue butterfly around the ghost town of Surfridge—a community that was gradually vacated after LAX was built and the roar of jets became a constant.

47. Angeles Temple

Celebrity preacher Aimee Semple McPherson built the nation’s first megachurch in 1923 (and also faked her own kidnapping a few years later). The building is now houses a Foursquare Pentecostal congregation.

48. Museum of Neon Art

Take a class and learn to shape neon tubes.

49. William S. Hart Ranch and Museum

Experience an Old Hollywood version of the Old West. Hart starred in and directed some of the great Westerns of the silent era.

50. Mosaic Tile House

For more than two decades, artists Cheri Pann and Gonzalo Duran worked to cover their house in handmade ceramic pieces, and boy did it pay off.

A photo posted by ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀🌙 (@hannah_derouen) on Aug 2, 2016 at 6:35pm PDT

51. S.S. Lane Victory battleship cruise

The the 1940s-era battleship periodically sets sail for Catalina Island (though it’s currently docked for boiler repairs).

52. Queen Mary propellor room

If you descend into the ship’s engine room, you may find a viewing platform where you can peer down through the water and see one of ship’s gargantuan propellors illuminated in eerie green light.

53. Homestead Museum in the City of Industry

It’s here that you’ll find the grave of Pío Pico, the last Mexican governor of California.

54. Charles Phoenix slideshow

The dude knows his retro California and classic kitsch.

55. Portal of the Folded Wings Shrine to Aviation

The burial site for 15 aviation pioneers is basically Burbank’s answer to the Arc de Triomphe (and was also part of a major instance of real estate fraud).

56. Bearded Lady’s Mystic Museum

A handy Burbank spot for fortune telling, palm reading, and viewing monster specimens.

57. Church of Type

The guy who runs this, Kevin Bradley, is a master of woodblock letterpress printing. Yes, he’ll do your business cards.



58. Lincoln Memorial Shrine

There’s no such thing as too much Lincoln commemoration.

A post shared by Ryan Bailey (@theryguy67) on Jun 4, 2017 at 4:44pm PDT

59. Wayfarers Chapel

The glass building was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright’s son Lloyd Wright and blurs the lines between interior and exterior.

60. Jeepney tour of Historic Filipinotown

Hands down the best way to tour the city in a vehicle.

61. Peace Awareness Labyrinth and Gardens

Make it a spiritual journey.

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