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

The palatial McDonald's that inspired Wesley Willis.

Chicago's Navy Pier on Lake Michigan was a training hub for aircraft carrier pilots during WWII.

Illegal drag racing two stories beneath Chicago’s streets.

Once at the center of U.S. finance, the historic Trading Room was meticulously recreated piece by piece and rebuilt in the Art Institute.

Fragments of architectural wonders from around the globe are embedded in the newspaper building's walls.

This urban drawbridge gained eternal pop culture fame when the Blues Brothers jumped it while it was raised.

The unluckiest U-boat in the entire German fleet is now on display in a Chicago museum.

These pretty kitties killed and ate as many as 135 railway workers.

A display of magnificent stained glass windows is the first exhibit of its kind.

This $3 million model train takes you through Chicago, Seattle, and the thousands of miles in between.

This historic hotel invented the chocolate brownie.

Each of these gorgeous, intricately decorated rooms is painstakingly crafted to the scale of 1 inch: 1 foot.

A science teacher's dream.

This massive stained-glass masterpiece is thought to be the largest Tiffany dome in existence.

Four glass boxes hover over 1,000 feet in the air to give visitors an unparalleled view of Chicago.

This unique structure in suburban Austin is made up entirely of other people's castaways, and constantly changing.

Home to the largest urban bat colony in North America, estimated at 1.5 million bats.

This tiny, hurricane-resistant house in Galveston is one of the city's most notable architectural oddities.

A private collection of massive steel monsters guarding a Texas pipe works.

A park filled with vibrant mosaics created by more than 300 folk artists.

One man's homage to the orange as realized through a long-term folk art labor of love.

Beer lover's can-covered house.

A health museum containing a 27’’½-foot intestine.