During World War II the Thorp building was guarded by the OSS, FBI, and US Navy because of the top-secret bombsight being produced there.

This old residential building was once the largest flour mill in the world.

One of two giant blue cockerel statues erected with an intentional double meaning.

1887 era Russian Orthodox church in Minneapolis.

Eight "Guardians of Health" protect this art deco water tower from pollutants and bacteria.

This iconic water tower and failed bandstand is open for panoramic views once a year.

A bronze statue on a downtown corner honors Minneapolis's favorite career gal.

The only arched bridge made of stone on the entire Mississippi River.

Hub of Scandinavian culture in a Minneapolis deli.

When flour explodes, it's not a pretty sight.

A toweringly silly piece of modern art has been delighting locals since the 1980s.

20,000 pieces in a Frank Gehry-designed building.

A 115-year-old restored German dining hall awaits those who venture beneath the Minnesota State Capitol.

Home to the Amorphophallus titanum "Corpse Flower," which is among the largest flowers in the world and also smells powerfully of rotting flesh when in bloom.

These curious caverns have been home to mushrooms, gangsters, and disco.

What appears to be a wizard's lair in Milwaukee actually houses a massive water pipe.

A magnificent church designed by world-renowned architect, Frank Lloyd Wright.

This surprising gem is a world-class archeological museum hidden at the University of Chicago.

A haunting statue called "Eternal Silence" has quite the reputation among visitors with active imaginations.

The state bird of New Mexico, constructed entirely out of garbage.

The official atomic museum of the United States explores the explosive and productive history of a much maligned energy source.

A modernist landscape of water and sci-fi concrete.

The unusual burial monument of Arizona's first governor.

The installation’s official name, “You Who Are Getting Obliterated in the Dancing Swarm of Fireflies,” says it all.