The clothes-washing king doubles as a community center with some unusual features, including an aviary filled with finches.

A science teacher's dream.

What may be America's largest classic video game arcade lurks inconspicuously in a Chicago suburb.

A six-story-tall golden pyramid, surrounded by a moat.

This sprawling mini-golf empire is an impressive testament to a disappearing attraction.

Museum dedicated to the art of cutting and polishing stones.

This monolithic statue was erected in honor of Chief Black Hawk (even if it wasn't made to look like him).

Take a break from all the boring business of death at this funeral home mini-golf course.

This lush 12-acre site was once named the finest Japanese garden in North America.

This elaborate Hindu temple is located in a Chicago suburb, but looks like it was transported directly from India.

World's second largest particle accelerator, where nature reveals its secrets.

Arguably the best example of an authentic Dutch windmill in the United States, rivaling its counterparts in the Netherlands.

Tour the luxe "glass cage" that inspired and unnerved the architecture world upon its debut.

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

A bloodstain from "the wound of the transverberation of the heart."

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

Small and slightly hidden, the American Writers Museum is preserving the legacy of America's finest authors.

One of Chicago's last seafood smokehouses perfects a dying breed of fishcraft.

One-of-a-kind preserved ruins of an abandoned 1880s church in Chicago's Pilsen neighborhood.

A hot dog stand where the heads are just as hot as the dogs.

The beloved home to all publications indie, erotic, and punky.

A shining sculpture made of 3,115 lights, the number of visible stars in the Northern Hemisphere.

Pizza with a side of fine art.

Chicago's museum dedicated to the history of bondage and fetishism is more textbook than titillation.