Places phildzielski Wants to Go

Chicago's largest cemetery is full of beautiful Victorian monuments and more than a few ghost stories.

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

You have to love a museum with a truly dedicated focus. A focus on Superman, for example.

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

A hot dog stand where the heads are just as hot as the dogs.

The palatial McDonald's that inspired Wesley Willis.

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

Where Cusack's record store from the film "High Fidelity" was located.

This remote island in Iowa was abandoned after being devastated by flood.

An unlikely Transcendental Meditation haven in the American Heartland built around the ancient Vedic principles of balance and harmony.

Remnants of a quarry company town still stand on the banks of the Wapsipinicon River.

Elaborate hand-carved wooden clocks two brothers made in their spare time are on display at this handsome little museum.

The “American Gothic" artist's largest works hang in an Iowa State University library.

This simple home was the beginning of a long journey for the iconic Western film star.

Most comprehensive museum in America devoted to one ethnic group.

This long unused shot tower on the Mississippi remains a point of pride for a small city in Iowa.

No one knows the origin of this small town’s unique name.

The highest point in Iowa, while not that impressive to mountain states, has earned its own monuments.

While there are no actual snakes in the history of this crooked road, there may be a number of dead horses.

A small burial plot formerly stranded in the middle of a road.

Eight feet in diameter and more than 24 feet around.

The oldest university museum west of the Mississippi retains its 19th century feel.

A hidden barn-sized rendition of Grant Wood's most famous, and most parodied, painting.

Lured here by the promise of tens of thousands in gold, Jesse James started a quintessentially American trend of robbing trains in-motion.