Pumpkin-like gargoyles and grotesques peer down from the rooftop of this unassuming apartment building in Illinois.

The oldest house in Galena, Illinois, now is a reminder of when this city was the world's lead mining capital.

One of the largest carillons in the world, this giant instrument has 67 cast-iron bells played by a keyboard.

One of two identical monuments marking the sites of military training encampments in Peoria, Illinois.

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

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

The faint remains of a Polish news empire still linger.

An exhibit of items from the mental institution where Mary Todd Lincoln lived after her son conspired to have her committed.

This house renovated by Frank Lloyd Wright was the centerpiece of a lavish 20th-century estate.

A 400-foot-tall tall map of Chicago makes this once-ignored building stand out.

Chicago’s incendiary role in the labor movement.

A former atom smasher turned into an art gallery.

The park that the Chicago Stockyards built.

In the Shawnee National Forest, amazing rock formations peer through the treeline.

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

Over 1,000 pieces of one of the most niche art objects imaginable: the glass paperweight.

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

This titanic Catholic church in Chicago is also a refuge of the fictional cult-favorite wizard detective Harry Dresden.

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

Built in 1869, this now-retired structure looks more like a medieval fortress than a county lock-up.

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

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

This family driveway also serves as the highest point in Illinois.

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