A once grand hotel is being retaken by the wilderness it once capitalized on.

Lined with plaques and tributes to veterans, this patriotic street was founded by Mexican immigrants.

A former atom smasher turned into an art gallery.

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

Roses and other fascinating flora fill this garden built to commemorate Britain's immortal Bard.

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

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

Buy a token from the liquor store and you can make this beast spew flames on command.

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

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

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

The clothes-washing king doubles as a community center with some unusual features, including an aviary filled with finches.

Assemble a masterpiece at the first and only North American school exclusively dedicated to mosaic art.

Oversized statues are just the tip of this nostalgic Americana roadside attraction.

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

The hometown of Popeye's creator is littered with a growing collection of granite cartoon characters.

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

In the loving memory of a tragically deceased role-player this Illinois park is decked out with both dungeons and dragons.

Today this bizarre rooftop phone booth seems like a piece of kitsch but it was once used to spot disastrous storms.

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

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

This life-size bronze statue remembers the tallest recorded human in his Illinois hometown.

In a quiet north Chicago neighborhood rests a stunning relic of the golden age of earthenware design.

The beloved home to all publications indie, erotic, and punky.