This cheerfully-named branch of the Chicago River is the fetid result of years of blood, entrails, and meatpacking waste.

Chicago's Navy Pier on Lake Michigan was a training hub for aircraft carrier pilots during WWII.

Fragments of architectural wonders from around the globe are embedded in the newspaper building's walls.

These chunky stone towers out in Lake Michigan are the key to Chicago’s drinking water.

Once called the "Polish Gold Coast" it is an icon of the neighborhood that bears its same name.

This modest post office sits on the site of H.H. Holmes' famous murder castle.

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

This historic hotel invented the chocolate brownie.

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

First planned industrial community in the United States.

Cemetery featuring rare glass-fronted columbarium.

A haunting statue called "Eternal Silence" has quite the reputation among visitors with active imaginations.

An enormous park-like oasis, full of famous Chicagoans’ graves.

A science teacher's dream.

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

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

The only Bahá'í house of worship in North America and one of only a handful worldwide.

A beautiful geyser under environmental threat.

The largest hot spring in the United States is, as the name suggests, a stunning show of natural color.

One of nature's most well-scheduled phenomenons resides in Wyoming's Yellowstone National Park.

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

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

The unluckiest U-boat in the entire German fleet is now on display in a Chicago museum.

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