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

A student designed this 3D-printed scale replica of the entire university campus.

Roses and other fascinating flora fill this garden built to commemorate Britain's immortal Bard.

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

Lined with plaques and tributes to veterans, this patriotic street was founded by Mexican immigrants.

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

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

Tucked away amongst townhomes lies a restored, early 20th-century tea house and garden, the only remains of a historic estate.

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

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

This deceivingly ordinary warehouse hides an enormous collection of pop culture treasures.

A historic beacon built in the aftermath of the worst maritime disaster on the Great Lakes.

A former atom smasher turned into an art gallery.

A sprawling museum filled with larger-than-life works of art.

Oversized statues are just the tip of this nostalgic Americana roadside attraction.

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

This rare female version of the Muffler Man has its clothes removed each summer to signal the start of pool season.

This architectural stunner is one of the few surviving Egyptian Revival theaters in the U.S.

The 40-year-old machine serves soda quicker than you can catch it for a mere 75 cents a pop.

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

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

Chicago’s incendiary role in the labor movement.

Now nearly abandoned, Kaskaskia was once the capital of Illinois and one of the most important towns on the upper Mississippi.

With 8,000 pipes this giant instrument is the most versatile theatre pipe organ ever built.

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

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

This grave in a ghost town cemetery marks the death of a witch on a day that never happened.

A once-booming Mississippi River town with a history of racial violence is now eerie and mostly abandoned.

A notorious Route 66 eatery once frequented by Al Capone.

This botanical garden outside Chicago boasts an array of more than 300 varieties of lilacs.

More than 8,000 drinking jugs say “Cheers!” to a guy named Toby.

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

This overgrown Illinois water park offers a whole new type of adventure.

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

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

Man-made geyser that rises to the exact height of the Gateway Arch.

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

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

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

The dream home of an iconoclastic renaissance man still stands as a monument to his domestically mundane vision.

This odd stone memorial remembers a loyal dog who offended the rail barons with his speed and saved his master with his pee.

This historic store hides a museum exhibiting a shoe-sizing x-ray machine and a pair of kicks that once belonged to the world's tallest man.

Spanking machines, fake goats, and more devices of humiliation are on display in this museum of fraternal initiation devices.

This tiny historic jail along Route 66 is the perfect fit for exactly one criminal and their partner-in-crime.

Planes, trains, and automobiles have all been sunk as attractions at this Illinois diving spot.

This historic lavatory leftover features two levels of defecation stations completely without context.

First known as the "Sample House," this construction mash-up was meant to be a living catalogue of building styles.

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