Places John Rossi Wants to Go

A bizarre house filled with an astounding array of collections.

This cave holds a surprisingly colorful variety of geological oddities.

A remote hill on a stretch of country road where the laws of physics are defied... or so it seems.

The remains of a bustling turn-of-the-century park built to showcase the wonders of electricity.

An underground wonderland in Iowa.

Home to the world's largest refracting telescope and the birthplace of modern astrophysics.

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

One of the first historical sites of an alternative universe was installed in the town of Paris, Illinois—which is now home to an annual spelling bee of Kcymaerxthaereal words.

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

Spanking machines, fake goats, and more devices of humiliation are on display in this museum of fraternal initiation devices.

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

This bridge was constructed from the remains of the first Ferris wheel.

One of the finest examples of a black soil prairie that was barely saved by the Great Depression.

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

This whimsical Oz-themed park had a wonderful impact on the surrounding neighborhood.

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

Illegal drag racing two stories beneath Chicago’s streets.

A little-known subterranean street runs under some of the best-known buildings in Chicago's River North.

A century-old network of freight tunnels underneath the city's historic business district.

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

These abandoned grain silos and tunnels are an urban exploration dream.

First planned industrial community in the United States.

This stunning gothic ruin was a casualty of the Indiana steel industry crash.

The world's third-largest scale model of the planets.