Once at the center of U.S. finance, the historic Trading Room was meticulously recreated piece by piece and rebuilt in the Art Institute.

One of the first historical sites of an alternative universe was installed in the town of Paris, Illinois—which is now home to an annual spelling bee of Kcymaerxthaereal words.

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

Museum dedicated to the art of cutting and polishing stones.

A small abandoned and abused cemetery that has become a magnet for ghost hunters.

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

A historic and oft-filmed prison stands in a Chicago suburb.

This historic Illinois "Muffler Man" has been converted from axe-touting lumberjack to rocket-wielding space ace.

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

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

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

A 30-foot-tall goat tower in central Illinois is home to a herd of Swiss ungulates.

The park that the Chicago Stockyards built.