Places gatorskulls Wants to Go

This former nursery supplied plants for the creation of Chicago's largest park.

The house is an iconic pilgrimage site for fans of the Illinois-based emo band.

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

This folk art wall claims to be the world's one and only memorial to the bygone age of hippies.

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

To find the "unicorns of the deep" you've got to go downstairs.

A plaque marks a former safe house on the secret route, now hidden next to a McDonald's.

Buy a token from the liquor store and you can make this beast spew flames on command.

Now home to a drinking establishment, this building has a macabre history.

A late-night restaurant empire was launched from this humble storefront.

You can take a class, browse the library, or visit the lavish lair of an international men's humor society.

Quirky water tower advertises the long-gone Brooks Tomato Products Co.

Eclectic collection of rare and beautiful stones in a historic home.

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

When you visit his grave, be sure to rub the Great Emancipator's nose for good luck.

The beloved home to all publications indie, erotic, and punky.

Beloved bar home to musicians of all eras and reputations.

Former meatpacking facility turned vertical farm and sustainable business complex.

River pirates, murderous bandits, and serial killers used this Illinois cave as their debauched hideout.

Chicago's museum dedicated to the history of bondage and fetishism is more textbook than titillation.

Shop of curiosities with a dinosaur museum tucked in its basement.

A science teacher's dream.

A century-old hotspot for jazz, frequented by everyone from Charlie Chaplin to Al Capone.

A once-booming Mississippi River town with a history of racial violence is now eerie and mostly abandoned.