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

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

The carved remains of a 200-year-old oak tree memorialize the namesake of the iconic "Wizard of Oz" character.

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

Chicago’s incendiary role in the labor movement.

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

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

A towering Art Deco movie palace made to look like a Mayan temple.

"No writer ever gave more to a city and got back less.”

One of the most powerful computers in the world can be visited by anyone who wants to experience more computing than they can handle.

The NBA player's elaborate former home is now a ghost of its old glory.

One of the few remaining relics of the meatpacking hub that made Chicago the "hog butcher to the world."

A hidden grotto on the grounds of the Kane County Government Center.

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

This cheerfully-named branch of the Chicago River is the fetid result of years of blood, entrails, and meatpacking waste.

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

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

The 30,000-volume library is one of the world's most impressive poetry collections.

A plaque marks a former safe house on the secret route, now hidden next to a McDonald's.

One of the last functioning antique elevators in Chicago.

Cold War missile launch site which has been converted to a public park.

A river with some unusual, and occasionally dangerous, habits.

The multinational Burger King chain is banned from operating within 20 miles of a family restaurant filed under the same name.

You have to love a museum with a truly dedicated focus. A focus on Superman, for example.