This abandoned Abraham Lincoln statue has also earned the honorary of "World's Ugliest."

Urban explorers embraced America's now demolished first suburban mall, south of Chicago.

Hot Doug's "Hot Dog" Stand.

The history of funerals and funerary customs.

Once known as the Illinois Asylum for the Incurable Insane.

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

A onetime gangsters' hideaway where you can dine on steaks, fine wines, and cigars just like they once did.

An abandoned meat mecca now serves as an excellent locale for urban exploration.

In Chicago, a pizza-enthusiast has opened a museum dedicated to the history of pizza.

A century-old network of freight tunnels underneath the city's historic business district.

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

This unassuming city park is home to three different types of Native American mounds.

This small-town park in southern Illinois has a 1,000,000-gallon swimming pool and a 100,000-barrel oil well.

Abraham Lincoln's likeness rests at the top of this giant totem pole.

A massive bur oak tree believed to be some 500 years old is the centerpiece of this quiet urban greenspace.

Known as the "Cross At The Crossroads," this massive metal cross is just short enough to avoid the FAA.

The only place in America where anyone who wants can shovel coal aboard an antique train.

The world's largest covered wagon is piloted by a giant Lincoln lawyer.

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

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

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

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

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

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