This small-town opera house has appeared much more in national culture and history than its charming setting might suggest.

One of the finest examples of a black soil prairie that was barely saved by the Great Depression.

At the largest railway museum in the United States, you can see everything from an early steam engine to a functioning Thomas the Tank Engine.

One of the largest carillons in the world, this giant instrument has 67 cast-iron bells played by a keyboard.

Grand opera on a miniature scale.

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

The lowest point in the state of Illinois, at the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio rivers.

The only place in America where anyone who wants can shovel coal aboard an antique train.

Today this bizarre rooftop phone booth seems like a piece of kitsch but it was once used to spot disastrous storms.

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

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

Museum dedicated to the art of cutting and polishing stones.

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

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

An eccentric park and pool.

The first and only museum dedicated to stained glass and horology opened outside of Chicago in 2017.

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

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

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

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

Eclectic collection of rare and beautiful stones in a historic home.

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

What was once the second largest steel mill in the US is now a sprawling complex of modern ruins.

When you visit his grave, be sure to rub the Great Emancipator's nose for good luck.