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

A historic and oft-filmed prison stands in a Chicago suburb.

This national park dedicated to the tallgrass prairie ecosystem still displays its military past.

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

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

Former hotel turned into haunted playground.

At the largest railway museum in the United States, you can see everything from an early steam engine to a functioning Thomas the Tank Engine.

The study has wall paneling from a 17th century ship.

Wisconsin's most celebrated export gets the royal treatment on I-94.

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

Quirky water tower advertises the long-gone Brooks Tomato Products Co.

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

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

This unlicensed collection of fast-food memorabilia sits on the site of the first ever McDonald's restaurant.

The city of Rockford, Illinois is symbolically protected by a quartet of fittingly stony sentinels.

This overgrown Illinois water park offers a whole new type of adventure.

The twin towers in this Chicago fountain use 50 foot tall video screens to spit on people.

This shop for all your super spy needs hides an educational secret.

Fragments of a massive unfinished sculpture sit near the main quad of the University of Illinois.

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

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

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

Landmark Chicago building narrowly avoided destruction.

This deceivingly ordinary warehouse hides an enormous collection of pop culture treasures.