The famous author's birthplace is preserved in a town that he once described as narrow-minded.

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

Small and slightly hidden, the American Writers Museum is preserving the legacy of America's finest authors.

Museum dedicated to the art of cutting and polishing stones.

This awkward aquarium sculpture is one of the strangest statues in Chicago.

First known as the "Sample House," this construction mash-up was meant to be a living catalogue of building styles.

The NBA player's elaborate former home is now a ghost of its old glory.

No one knows how many bodies are in this vault in a Chicago public park.

This memorial plaque remembers a strangely shallow maritime disaster known as "Chicago's Titanic."

A sprawling outdoor museum filled with larger-than-life works of art.

Take a break from all the boring business of death at this funeral home mini-golf course.

Rifle through images of skyscrapers, Worlds Fairs, and more in the largest public postcard repository in America.

In the Shawnee National Forest, amazing rock formations peer through the treeline.

Once called the "Polish Gold Coast" it is an icon of the neighborhood that bears its same name.

An eccentric park and pool.

To find the "unicorns of the deep" you've got to go downstairs.

Spanking machines, fake goats, and more devices of humiliation are on display in this museum of fraternal initiation devices.

A curious collection of miniatures in a quiet corner of the Chicago Children's Museum.

This landmark of the Chicago silent film industry may not be in the picture business anymore but it still stands proudly.

An actual 1957 Cadillac De Ville, encased in 15 cubic yards of concrete.

This small, but long-running hobby club has built one of the largest model rail lines in the US.

This historic-shipwreck-cum-diving-spot can still be seen poking its boiler out of the Lake Michigan waters that claimed it.

A plaque marks a former safe house on the secret route, now hidden next to a McDonald's.

The multinational Burger King chain is banned from operating within 20 miles of a family restaurant filed under the same name.