Perched atop a brick smokestack, this enormous lug nut symbolizes the local minor league baseball team.

The plants form a living library and laboratory for researchers and students at Michigan State University.

A gothic church spire sits atop this skyscraper, the tallest church in the world.

Fragments of architectural wonders from around the globe are embedded in the newspaper building's walls.

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

What was once one of the country's largest confectionary plants is now an abandoned ruin, but is still pretty sweet.

Chicago’s incendiary role in the labor movement.

The famous author's birthplace is preserved in a town that he once described as narrow-minded.

This sprawling mini-golf empire is an impressive testament to a disappearing attraction.

A winged-helmed, sword-brandishing tribute to German Americans.

This midcentury chapel is a bold architectural statement and a symbol of Indiana's Lutheran heritage.

This stunning gothic ruin was a casualty of the Indiana steel industry crash.

This old steel industry company town has a tradition of parking cars on the sidewalk so people can walk in the narrow streets.

A relic of the Cold War in Chicago.

First planned industrial community in the United States.

This elaborate Hindu temple is located in a Chicago suburb, but looks like it was transported directly from India.

The only Frank Lloyd Wright-designed structure in the architect's hometown.

A tribute to the twin ideals of religion and patriotism, built by a Catholic priest from rocks, glass, and innumerable found items.

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

Most comprehensive museum in America devoted to one ethnic group.

A toweringly silly piece of modern art has been delighting locals since the 1980s.

Restaurant in Northern Wisconsin comes with a unique feature: a grassy roof covered in living goats.

A metal ring in the middle of the road marks the exact spot where the Soviet satellite crash-landed in 1962.

According to the legend, this strikingly beautiful hill has miraculous healing powers.