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

This Mediterranean castle was built for a millionaire and his giant dog.

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

This softly rounded mansion was built without corners not to avoid evil spirits, but to make them more comfortable.

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

This historic lavatory leftover features two levels of defecation stations completely without context.

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

A bloodstain from "the wound of the transverberation of the heart."

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

The world's third-largest scale model of the planets.

The iconic Chicago sculpture hides a beautiful and easily overlooked plaque on the backside.

Former bath house turns gastropub.

The remains of a Rockefeller's lush Italianate estate hidden in the underbrush on the coast of Lake Michigan.

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

Despite its name, this fast food museum is actually a replica of the ninth McDonald's store.

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

A notorious Route 66 eatery once frequented by Al Capone.

This abandoned 19th century orphanage started as a boarding school for children of Civil War veterans.

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

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

This grave in a ghost town cemetery marks the death of a witch on a day that never happened.

Moving, mind-blowing metal sculpture work of an outsider artist.

Even with only two residents and one building, this tiny Illinois town is famous for its burgers.

This modest post office sits on the site of H.H. Holmes' famous murder castle.