Places Avalon Wants to Go

Once an ornate movie theater remade by Catholic Charities.

The world's largest covered wagon is piloted by a giant Lincoln lawyer.

A massive bur oak tree believed to be some 500 years old is the centerpiece of this quiet urban greenspace.

This national park dedicated to the tallgrass prairie ecosystem still displays its military past.

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

A former atom smasher turned into an art gallery.

A spectacular remnant of an Adler and Sullivan masterpiece that was destroyed in 1972.

A tribute to one granddaughter's old apartment which now represents the whims of each visitor.

The only place in America where anyone who wants can shovel coal aboard an antique train.

An abandoned observatory in the middle of the Illinois prairie.

Location of the Real World's disastrous, and protested, eleventh season.

Built in 1869, this now-retired structure looks more like a medieval fortress than a county lock-up.

Huge abstract sculptures of the Puerto Rican Flag.

"No writer ever gave more to a city and got back less.”

G.V. Black, the Father of Modern Dentistry, keeps an eternal eye on Chicagoan’s teeth from his perch in Lincoln Park.

In a grove of fast growing walnut trees outside Paris, Illinois, a marker shares the story of a fictional road building culture.

The murals have transformed a residential alley into a vibrant drive-through gallery.

A 30-foot man on a penny-farthing bicycle rides along the banks of the Mississippi.

A strange rock in Chicago marks the spot where a tree once stood in honor of the 18th President.

A 19th-century horse lover's bequest led to the construction of this unique fountain in Chicago.

The carved remains of a 200-year-old oak tree memorialize the namesake of the iconic "Wizard of Oz" character.

An amazing collection of scale model ships.

Julia Buccola Petta's body was peculiarly well-preserved when it was exhumed six years after her death.

One of the most powerful computers in the world can be visited by anyone who wants to experience more computing than they can handle.