A once-booming Mississippi River town with a history of racial violence is now eerie and mostly abandoned.

The lowest point in the state of Illinois, at the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio rivers.

This 1854 courthouse along the Mississippi River has a storied history.

The famous Beatle secretly visited this Illinois town several times to visit his sister.

A group of artists transformed this desolate city alleyway into an outdoor gallery of street art.

This quirky museum has a collection of more than 15,000 bobblehead dolls.

A Bibliophile's Dream.

Shop of curiosities with a dinosaur museum tucked in its basement.

More than 8,000 drinking jugs say “Cheers!” to a guy named Toby.

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

A journey begins with a single step, and for many, the road-trip of a lifetime started at this Chicago intersection.

Yes, this monument is aware that it is about 20 miles away from the actual center of the United States.

Every president in history is immortalized in bronze in downtown Rapid City.

The granddaddy of all tourist traps, built on ice water, jackalopes, and a giant dinosaur.

Dedicated to the history of the 1,000 nuclear missiles that once covered the Great Plains.

More than 7,000 gallons of water pour over these cascading red quartzite waterfalls every second.

This massive roadside mascot was the first version of the giant to illustrate his butt.

This huge stew pot is the focal point of the "Community Soup" event, which honors tradition and soup.

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

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

What may be America's largest classic video game arcade lurks inconspicuously in a Chicago suburb.

First planned industrial community in the United States.

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.