The palatial McDonald's that inspired Wesley Willis.

No one knows how many bodies are in this vault in a Chicago public park.

A Japanese temple, old German townhouses, and public chess tables offer a peaceful escape from the bustle of the North Side.

A theater sits abandoned on Roosevelt Road, once majestic in splendor, now majestic in decay.

A chance to follow in the footsteps of the word's most legendary animator.

Former meatpacking facility turned vertical farm and sustainable business complex.

This cheerfully-named branch of the Chicago River is the fetid result of years of blood, entrails, and meatpacking waste.

The famous Beatle secretly visited this Illinois town several times to visit his sister.

Elvis's own personal tropical hideaway.

This historic store hides a museum exhibiting a shoe-sizing x-ray machine and a pair of kicks that once belonged to the world's tallest man.

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

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

Cemetery featuring rare glass-fronted columbarium.

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

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

This long unused shot tower on the Mississippi remains a point of pride for a small city in Iowa.

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

The last masonry skyscraper ever built reveals a transitional moment in architectural history.

This historic house museum that celebrates one of the world's most influential social reformers is also one of the most haunted locations in Chicago.

One-of-a-kind preserved ruins of an abandoned 1880s church in Chicago's Pilsen neighborhood.

One of the largest pieces of scientific equipment ever carried on a NASA space shuttle sits in a Chicago alley.

The unluckiest U-boat in the entire German fleet is now on display in a Chicago museum.

A six-story-tall golden pyramid, surrounded by a moat.

Known as the "Cross At The Crossroads," this massive metal cross is just short enough to avoid the FAA.