Its eclectic exhibits range from the world’s first motorcycle to Luke Skywalker’s Land Speeder.

This old steel industry company town has a tradition of parking cars on the sidewalk so people can walk in the narrow streets.

A replica viking ship from the Chicago World's Fair is still in dry dock in an Illinois park.

This former nursery supplied plants for the creation of Chicago's largest park.

One of Chicago's last seafood smokehouses perfects a dying breed of fishcraft.

What's left of the ruins of the 1893 Columbian Exhibition, or World's Fair, also known as the White City.

The unluckiest U-boat in the entire German fleet is now on display in a Chicago museum.

This $3 million model train takes you through Chicago, Seattle, and the thousands of miles in between.

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

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

The only Bahá'í house of worship in North America and one of only a handful worldwide.

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

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

An unassuming store hides relics of its former life as the jazz club that hosted some of the best black performers of the 1920s and '30s.

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

These chunky stone towers out in Lake Michigan are the key to Chicago’s drinking water.

These pretty kitties killed and ate as many as 135 railway workers.

An outdoor urban gallery of large-scale artworks by the world's most influential street artists.

Once at the center of U.S. finance, the historic Trading Room was meticulously recreated piece by piece and rebuilt in the Art Institute.

Each of these gorgeous, intricately decorated rooms is painstakingly crafted to the scale of 1 inch: 1 foot.

This historic hotel invented the chocolate brownie.

This massive stained-glass masterpiece is thought to be the largest Tiffany dome in existence.

A gothic church spire sits atop this skyscraper, the tallest church in the world.

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