Chicago, Illinois Attractions

Unusual landmarks, museums, roadside attractions, and hidden wonders in Chicago and the surrounding area.

If you come to Chicago to see Prohibition-era gangsters, you're 100 years too late, and the city seems unwilling to milk their memory for tourist gold (even though some bloody spots can be visited if you know where to look). Why dwell in the past, Chicago says, when it offers entertainment such as America's largest button museum, and the crazy cars of Larry Klairmont, and the crazy room of Henry Darger?

Downtown is the site of America's deadliest boat disaster (which had nothing to do with the weather) and a museum where you can look at human bodies sliced like luncheon meat (which had nothing to do with the Chicago mob). Nearby suburbs are surprisingly rich in oddities, so plan for excursions to places like America's only Puppet Opera, America's most haunted cemetery, and the nicest Tower of Pisa outside of Italy. There is a good ultraviolet rendering of The Apocalypse just across the Indiana state line. After that, drive to the north side to play mini-golf in a funeral home!

Sights for Oddball Excursions

Ultraviolet Apocalypse
Munster, Indiana
Contemplation and surprises at the Carmelite Shrines, part of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Monastery.
Miniature Golf in a Funeral Home
Palatine, Illinois
Funeral parlor owner's private basement mini-golf. Kids, keep the noise down during viewings!
Puppet Opera in Focus
Rolling Meadows, Illinois
Puppets perform opera scenes and show tunes in their own custom theater. Backstage tour after each show.
Frankenmufflerman
Burbank, Illinois
Frankenstein's Monster resembles a former Muffler Man, 20 feet tall, reworked into a smartly-dressed creature. Nonetheless he stretches our powers of creative categorization.
Henry Darger's Room
Chicago, Illinois
The reconstructed room of janitor Henry Darger, where he lived for 40 years creating unsettling art that he showed to no one.