Places Michael Barera Wants to Go

A chance to follow in the footsteps of the word's most legendary animator.

This landmark of the Chicago silent film industry may not be in the picture business anymore but it still stands proudly.

Small and slightly hidden, the American Writers Museum is preserving the legacy of America's finest authors.

The multinational Burger King chain is banned from operating within 20 miles of a family restaurant filed under the same name.

In the Shawnee National Forest, amazing rock formations peer through the treeline.

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

The 30,000-volume library is one of the world's most impressive poetry collections.

These mansions date back to Chicago's days as a brewer's paradise.

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

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

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

This surprising gem is a world-class archeological museum hidden at the University of Chicago.

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

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

This elaborate Hindu temple is located in a Chicago suburb, but looks like it was transported directly from India.

Recognized the world over as the home of the McCallisters in the 1990 movie "Home Alone."

Pizza with a side of fine art.

A Bibliophile's Dream.

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

The tragic death of 19-year-old Mabel Tainter in 1886 led to the construction of this unique Victorian-era theater in the northern woods of Wisconsin.

The site of an ancient Mississippian settlement that appears to have flourished during the 10th to 13th centuries.

The preserved remains of the former Milwaukee County Hospital for the Insane are hidden in the wooded grounds of County Park.

This lakefront cottage was crafted in the 1800s and was once a sanitorium.

Where experiments are conducted on all things wood.