Places John Rossi Wants to Go

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

A historic and oft-filmed prison stands in a Chicago suburb.

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

An actual 1957 Cadillac De Ville, encased in 15 cubic yards of concrete.

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

This bronze sculpture on a former squash court marks the secret origins of the Atomic Age.

What's left of the ruins of the 1893 Columbian Exhibition, or World's Fair, also known as the White City.

The final resting place of up to 6,000 Confederate soldiers, the largest mass grave in the Western Hemisphere.

One of Chicago's last seafood smokehouses perfects a dying breed of fishcraft.

This urban drawbridge gained eternal pop culture fame when the Blues Brothers jumped it while it was raised.

This old steel industry company town has a tradition of parking cars on the sidewalk so people can walk in the narrow streets.

What was once the second largest steel mill in the US is now a sprawling complex of modern ruins.

A relic of the Cold War in Chicago.

A sprawling outdoor museum filled with larger-than-life works of art.

World's second largest particle accelerator, where nature reveals its secrets.

Its eclectic exhibits range from the world’s first motorcycle to Luke Skywalker’s Land Speeder.

Where a brain, a beauty, a jock, a rebel, and a recluse met one Saturday and changed their lives forever.

This sprawling mini-golf empire is an impressive testament to a disappearing attraction.

This historic store hides a museum exhibiting a shoe-sizing x-ray machine and a pair of kicks that once belonged to the world's tallest man.

Half-sized replica of the Leaning Tower of Pisa built to honor Galileo.

Chicago's North Park Village was once the largest municipal sanatorium in the country.

A lush green oasis in the middle of Chicago.

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

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