Fittingly, America's museum of architecture is itself a magnificently designed old building.

Daredevil repair workers can worm their way out the access hatch, loop ropes over the apex and rappel down the monument.

The monument's pointy aluminum tip has been melted down by repeated lightning strikes.

The beloved statue at the National Academy of Sciences is oh so inviting to sit on.

Look closely and you’ll notice that the color changes a third of the way up the tower.

One of the most influential presidents in U.S. history wanted only this plain, elegant monument as his lasting memorial.

Perhaps the most scandalous statue of America's first president.

The first purpose-built art gallery in the United States is once again open as a center of craft arts.

This private residence was the template for one of the most beloved television homes of all time.

Early prototype for Frank Lloyd Wright's Guggenheim.

In all of the 29 years it was in operation, no prisoners ever escaped successfully... or so they claim.

The century-old bell and clock tower at UC Berkeley is the third-tallest in the world, and has fossils.

A man-made island in scenic San Francisco Bay.

Frank Lloyd Wright died a year before construction on his largest public project even began.

California's own medieval Italian castle, authentic down to the 300-year-old iron maiden in the dungeon.

The interior of the Overlook Hotel in "The Shining" was based on this Yosemite original.

This quirky UFO-shaped curiosity is often mistaken for the airport’s control tower.

Illegal drag racing two stories beneath Chicago’s streets.

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

This massive stained-glass masterpiece is thought to be the largest Tiffany dome in existence.

Each of these gorgeous, intricately decorated rooms is painstakingly crafted to the scale of 1 inch: 1 foot.

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

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

Four glass boxes hover over 1,000 feet in the air to give visitors an unparalleled view of Chicago.