"No writer ever gave more to a city and got back less.”

The last masonry skyscraper ever built reveals a transitional moment in architectural history.

A 30-foot man on a penny-farthing bicycle rides along the banks of the Mississippi.

A mythical bird etched into the face of a rock doubles as the mascot for a nearby school.

A spectacular remnant of an Adler and Sullivan masterpiece that was destroyed in 1972.

In a grove of fast growing walnut trees outside Paris, Illinois, a marker shares the story of a fictional road building culture.

An exhibit of items from the mental institution where Mary Todd Lincoln lived after her son conspired to have her committed.

A strange rock in Chicago marks the spot where a tree once stood in honor of the 18th President.

A Chicago Movie Palace Lost to Time.

A one-armed veteran of the Battle of Waterloo lies in a cemetery for one in the middle of a Chicago scrapyard.

A 19th-century horse lover's bequest led to the construction of this unique fountain in Chicago.

The carved remains of a 200-year-old oak tree memorialize the namesake of the iconic "Wizard of Oz" character.

This monolithic statue was erected in honor of Chief Black Hawk (even if it wasn't made to look like him).

This rare female version of the Muffler Man has its clothes removed each summer to signal the start of pool season.

The original vault that held the president's remains still stands, empty, not far from where he was finally buried.

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

People escaping slavery passed through the oldest house in Lombard, Illinois on their northbound journey to freedom.

Julia Buccola Petta's body was peculiarly well-preserved when it was exhumed six years after her death.

A collection of 11 million buttons illustrates the human toll of the Holocaust.

The murals have transformed a residential alley into a vibrant drive-through gallery.

The dream home of an iconoclastic renaissance man still stands as a monument to his domestically mundane vision.

This abstract sculpture is rumored to cast a hammer-and-sickle shadow once a year.

A towering Art Deco movie palace made to look like a Mayan temple.

The original Garfield station is the oldest station facility on the "L", with the station house dating from 1892.