Places candmthurman Wants to Go

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

This softly rounded mansion was built without corners not to avoid evil spirits, but to make them more comfortable.

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

The hometown of Popeye's creator is littered with a growing collection of granite cartoon characters.

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

Once called the "Polish Gold Coast" it is an icon of the neighborhood that bears its same name.

One of the last functioning antique elevators in Chicago.

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

The 40-year-old machine serves soda quicker than you can catch it for a mere 75 cents a pop.

Even with only two residents and one building, this tiny Illinois town is famous for its burgers.

A strange and haunting monument of unknown origin in the historic Graceland Cemetery.

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

The iconic Chicago sculpture hides a beautiful and easily overlooked plaque on the backside.

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

The final resting place of the world's first nuclear reactor.

The city of Rockford, Illinois is symbolically protected by a quartet of fittingly stony sentinels.

First planned industrial community in the United States.

This alley in downtown Chicago held the bodies of over 600 people after the fateful Iroquois Theatre fire.

The only Bahá'í house of worship in North America and one of only a handful worldwide.

A gothic church spire sits atop this skyscraper, the tallest church in the world.

A hollow cement depiction of time's inexorable effect on the human body.

This unauthorized stone mermaid was secretly carved out of public stone before being permanently preserved.

The twin towers in this Chicago fountain use 50 foot tall video screens to spit on people.

This awkward aquarium sculpture is one of the strangest statues in Chicago.