Places bjcrenshaw Wants to Go

In the loving memory of a tragically deceased role-player this Illinois park is decked out with both dungeons and dragons.

First planned industrial community in the United States.

In a quiet north Chicago neighborhood rests a stunning relic of the golden age of earthenware design.

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

A 400-foot-tall tall map of Chicago makes this once-ignored building stand out.

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

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

A giant bronze coil of feces is both a tribute to doggie defecation and a reminder to pick it up.

This carved armchair marks the final resting place for two pals in the Chicago suburbs.

This is not your typical jungle gym.

Eight "Guardians of Health" protect this art deco water tower from pollutants and bacteria.

Direct, creative challenge to Mother Nature's winter wrath.

The Midwest's reigning king of surplus stores is full of nothing you need and everything you want.

Home to the Amorphophallus titanum "Corpse Flower," which is among the largest flowers in the world and also smells powerfully of rotting flesh when in bloom.

A treehouse assailed by the elements and the government, now gone.

20,000 pieces in a Frank Gehry-designed building.

One of two giant blue cockerel statues erected with an intentional double meaning.

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

This 1960s kinetic artwork has been restored and is once again whirling away in downtown Minneapolis.

The only arched bridge made of stone on the entire Mississippi River.

Downtown Minneapolis mixed art and function by turning some of their sewer covers into works of art.

A whimsical sensor instrument for Minneapolitans to play on their walks to work.

A butcher shop in Minneapolis has all the meats and cheeses you’d expect from any of its kind—except that all the products are vegan.

A fence constructed completely of skis on Monroe Street.