This storied music venue was once a tavern that housed an Italian Anarchist book club and prohibition parties; today it's a community space for artists and musicians.

A trailblazing sovereign nation tucked in the American state of Wisconsin.

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

A giant, Gilded Age mansion that once belonged to the beer baron of Milwaukee.

A Milwaukee museum provides an unsparing and ultimately empowering look at the Black American experience.

A factory in Milwaukee where poop is reclaimed… and recycled.

An off-the-beaten-path place to literally hang beneath Milwaukee's Holton Street Bridge.

Julia Buccola Petta's body was peculiarly well-preserved when it was exhumed six years after her death.

It was originally part of a "terrible lizards" collection at the 1964 New York World’s Fair.

Chicago’s incendiary role in the labor movement.

Kwanu'sila the Thunderbird has been silently watching over Chicago for more than 100 years (kind of).

What was once the second largest steel mill in the US is now a sprawling complex of modern ruins.

A relic of the Cold War in Chicago.

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

Train cars and railroad artifacts abound at this restaurant devoted to railway history.

This bridge was constructed from the remains of the first Ferris wheel.

A unique outdoor timepiece at a "clothing-optional" resort.

An Art Deco gem that held together the artistic heart of an agricultural community for 92 years.

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

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

Meant for a railway that was never built because of the Great Chicago Fire, these piers still stand nearly 150 years after they were installed.

This folk art wall claims to be the world's one and only memorial to the bygone age of hippies.

The mysterious white squirrels of this Illinois city are treated like sacred cows.

Even with only two residents and one building, this tiny Illinois town is famous for its burgers.