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

This art gallery and oddities boutique bewitches visitors with a trove of occult trinkets and eccentric antiques, work by an ever-changing roster of underground artists, and classes in tarot and other mystic arts.

A journey begins with a single step, and for many, the road-trip of a lifetime started at this Chicago intersection.

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

Chicago's largest cemetery is full of beautiful Victorian monuments and more than a few ghost stories.

This unauthorized stone mermaid was secretly carved out of public stone before being permanently preserved.

Partially submerged Buddha heads freckle Chicago’s neighborhoods.

This bronze sculpture on a former squash court marks the secret origins of the Atomic Age.

Illegal drag racing two stories beneath Chicago’s streets.

At Chicago's revered Field Museum, visitors are invited to learn about and literally explore DNA.

The world's only known button museum.

This small museum is dedicated to one of the most influential, yet obscure, jazz legends of Prohibition.

Hidden in the grounds of the Fort Dodge Museum is a "real" and terrifying petrified giant.

One of just a few cities in the world to base their center of government on an island. Others: Paris and Osaka.

Remnants of a quarry company town still stand on the banks of the Wapsipinicon River.

An unlikely Transcendental Meditation haven in the American Heartland built around the ancient Vedic principles of balance and harmony.

No one knows the origin of this small town’s unique name.

Chilly air billows out from the entrance of an abandoned mine on a steep hillside, providing a refuge for Ice Age fauna and flora.

This remote island in Iowa was abandoned after being devastated by flood.

While there are no actual snakes in the history of this crooked road, there may be a number of dead horses.

The notorious couple camped at this site after a bloody shootout with police.

The remains of a bustling turn-of-the-century park built to showcase the wonders of electricity.

An old town theater converted into a celebration of the hobo legacy.

For just a few bucks, this Iowa funicular will let you feel like an 1800s fat cat.