An extensive collection of fine art devoted to man's best friend.

An abandoned factory along the Mississippi coated by a giant mural.

This historic Illinois "Muffler Man" has been converted from axe-touting lumberjack to rocket-wielding space ace.

Not to be confused with the iconic New York City skyscraper, this Chicago building is a vibrant hub for artists.

This botanical garden outside Chicago boasts an array of more than 300 varieties of lilacs.

While he no longer has an eatery to give him context, this off-brand Paul Bunyan still holds his giant hot dog with pride.

The world's largest collection of the world's largest objects is in one small Illinois town.

The city of Rockford, Illinois is symbolically protected by a quartet of fittingly stony sentinels.

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

Former meatpacking facility turned vertical farm and sustainable business complex.

At Chicago's revered Field Museum, visitors are invited to learn about and literally explore DNA.

A once-booming Mississippi River town with a history of racial violence is now eerie and mostly abandoned.

A hollow cement depiction of time's inexorable effect on the human body.

A haunting statue called "Eternal Silence" has quite the reputation among visitors with active imaginations.

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

Four glass boxes hover over 1,000 feet in the air to give visitors an unparalleled view of Chicago.

This whimsical Oz-themed park had a wonderful impact on the surrounding neighborhood.

One of the few surviving "Wigwam"-themed motels.

Community bookshelf of 25-foot-tall book spines.

Four, 18-foot-tall badminton shuttlecocks lie scattered about the lawn of a Kansas City museum.

The Denver airport is guarded by a 32-foot-tall sculpture of a demonic horse.

Where beautiful signs live on forever.

If astronomy had a ghost, it would look like this observatory.

The world's largest anatomically accurate brain sculpture.