ericaportledge's User Profile - Atlas Obscura
Loading map...
Chicago, Illinois

Sideshow Gallery

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.
Union, Illinois

Illinois Railway Museum

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.
Rolling Meadows, Illinois

Opera in Focus Puppet Theater

Grand opera on a miniature scale.
Rockford, Illinois

Anderson Japanese Gardens

This lush 12-acre site was once named the finest Japanese garden in North America.
Peoria, Illinois

Peoria Holocaust Memorial

A collection of 11 million buttons illustrates the human toll of the Holocaust.
Gardner, Illinois

2 Celled Jail

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

St. Mary of the Angels

This titanic Catholic church in Chicago is also a refuge of the fictional cult-favorite wizard detective Harry Dresden.
Staunton, Illinois

Henry's Rabbit Ranch

This lagomorph-obsessed Route 66 emporium is home to a giant jackrabbit that sits in a bunny graveyard.
Evanston, Illinois

Grosse Point Lighthouse

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

Sacred Heart Seminary Shrine

A hidden grotto on the grounds of the Kane County Government Center.
Roscoe, Illinois

Historic Auto Attractions

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

Joliet Correctional Center

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

Holy Trinity Cathedral

Orthodox church partially financed by Tsar Nicolas II.
Batavia, Illinois

Fabyan Windmill

Arguably the best example of an authentic Dutch windmill in the United States, rivaling its counterparts in the Netherlands.
Evanston, Illinois

Halim Time & Glass Museum

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

Leaning Tower of Niles

Half-sized replica of the Leaning Tower of Pisa built to honor Galileo.
Lombard, Illinois

Lilacia Park

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

Airtight Bridge

The legacy of an unsolved, gruesome murder rests beneath the spans of this historic bridge.
Shirley, Illinois

Funk Gem and Mineral Museum

Eclectic collection of rare and beautiful stones in a historic home.
Granite City, Illinois

Luna Café

A notorious Route 66 eatery once frequented by Al Capone.
Livingston, Illinois

Pink Elephant Antique Mall

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

Cahokia Mounds

Once one of the world's great cities, Cahokia was a place of religious worship, trade and mass human sacrifice before being mysteriously abandoned.
Mount Carroll, Illinois

Raven's Grin Inn

Former hotel turned into haunted playground.
Winnetka, Illinois

The 'Home Alone' House

Recognized the world over as the home of the McCallisters in the 1990 movie "Home Alone."