This stunning gothic ruin was a casualty of the Indiana steel industry crash.

This old steel industry company town has a tradition of parking cars on the sidewalk so people can walk in the narrow streets.

This urban drawbridge gained eternal pop culture fame when the Blues Brothers jumped it while it was raised.

A small abandoned and abused cemetery that has become a magnet for ghost hunters.

The final resting place of the world's first nuclear reactor.

Arguably the best example of an authentic Dutch windmill in the United States, rivaling its counterparts in the Netherlands.

A historic beacon built in the aftermath of the worst maritime disaster on the Great Lakes.

Recognized the world over as the home of the McCallisters in the 1990 movie "Home Alone."

Half-sized replica of the Leaning Tower of Pisa built to honor Galileo.

A battle between nature and architecture in the Cambodian jungle.

This dazzling Buddhist temple was constructed from over one million ceramic tiles salvaged from a British shipwreck.

Hidden on the 7th floor of a historic building, this Cajun spot features wall-to-wall bottles of hot sauce.

This alley in downtown Chicago held the bodies of over 600 people after the fateful Iroquois Theatre fire.

The palatial McDonald's that inspired Wesley Willis.

Elevated freight railway turned wildly successful urban park.

Kwanu'sila the Thunderbird has been silently watching over Chicago for more than 100 years (kind of).

A giant bronze coil of feces is both a tribute to doggie defecation and a reminder to pick it up.

This massive stained-glass masterpiece is thought to be the largest Tiffany dome in existence.

A relic of the Cold War in Chicago.

These chunky stone towers out in Lake Michigan are the key to Chicago’s drinking water.

Designed by Alfred Caldwel, this landscape showcases his vision of a native garden.

A 400-foot-tall tall map of Chicago makes this once-ignored building stand out.

This cheerfully-named branch of the Chicago River is the fetid result of years of blood, entrails, and meatpacking waste.

This bronze sculpture on a former squash court marks the secret origins of the Atomic Age.