The palatial McDonald's that inspired Wesley Willis.

A Museum of Holography frozen in 1974.

A century-old network of freight tunnels underneath the city's historic business district.

A chance to follow in the footsteps of the word's most legendary animator.

The young Black revolutionary was killed before getting to see a non-segregated pool in his hometown.

This simple gravestone remembers a pig who single-hoofedly raised $19,000,000 for the Navy.

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

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

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

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

This Mediterranean castle was built for a millionaire and his giant dog.

An outdoor urban gallery of large-scale artworks by the world's most influential street artists.

Illegal drag racing two stories beneath Chicago’s streets.

Buy a token from the liquor store and you can make this beast spew flames on command.

To find the "unicorns of the deep" you've got to go downstairs.

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

This surprising gem is a world-class archeological museum hidden at the University of Chicago.

Assemble a masterpiece at the first and only North American school exclusively dedicated to mosaic art.

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

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

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

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

One of the largest pieces of scientific equipment ever carried on a NASA space shuttle sits in a Chicago alley.

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