A Japanese temple, old German townhouses, and public chess tables offer a peaceful escape from the bustle of the North Side.

This historic-shipwreck-cum-diving-spot can still be seen poking its boiler out of the Lake Michigan waters that claimed it.

This small, but long-running hobby club has built one of the largest model rail lines in the US.

Former bath house turns gastropub.

You can take a class, browse the library, or visit the lavish lair of an international men's humor society.

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

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

Built to house a chapter of the Knights Templar, this grandiose building is a relic of Freemasonry in Chicago a century ago.

Former meatpacking facility turned vertical farm and sustainable business complex.

Years of archaeology, just chillin' by the water cooler.

This $3 million model train takes you through Chicago, Seattle, and the thousands of miles in between.

What's left of the ruins of the 1893 Columbian Exhibition, or World's Fair, also known as the White City.

All of Chicago's wood-paved streets are long gone but two alleys remain.

Internationally known record store and purveyor of "dusties."

Nonprofit art center that promotes outsider, intuitive, and self-taught art.

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

A hollow cement depiction of time's inexorable effect on the human body.

A century-old hotspot for jazz, frequented by everyone from Charlie Chaplin to Al Capone.

This unauthorized stone mermaid was secretly carved out of public stone before being permanently preserved.

The subtle science of a master molecular gastronomist.

An antiquated German apothecary on Chicago's North Side.

This shop for all your super spy needs hides an educational secret.

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

A group of abandoned factories and buildings that have been revitalized and are now used to promote culture, education, entrepreneurialism, and sustainable development.