phildzielski's User Profile - Atlas Obscura
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Places visited in Pleasantville, Pennsylvania
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Places edited in Altoona, Pennsylvania
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Places edited in Geneva, Illinois
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Lombard, Illinois

Lilacia Park

This botanical garden outside Chicago boasts an array of more than 300 varieties of lilacs.
Springfield, Illinois

Museum of Funeral Customs

The history of funerals and funerary customs.
Chicago, Illinois

Meyers Ace Hardware

An unassuming store hides relics of its former life as the jazz club that hosted some of the best black performers of the 1920s and '30s.
Chicago, Illinois

'Nuclear Energy'

This bronze sculpture on a former squash court marks the secret origins of the Atomic Age.
Gardner, Illinois

2 Celled Jail

This tiny historic jail along Route 66 is the perfect fit for exactly one criminal and their partner-in-crime.
Monticello, Illinois

Robert Allerton Park

The park that the Chicago Stockyards built.
Chicago, Illinois

Holy Trinity Cathedral

Orthodox church partially financed by Tsar Nicolas II.
Kewanee, Illinois

Woodland Palace

The dream home of an iconoclastic renaissance man still stands as a monument to his domestically mundane vision.
Sadorus, Illinois

National Museum of Ship Models and Sea History

An amazing collection of scale model ships.
Woodstock, Illinois

George Stickney House

This softly rounded mansion was built without corners not to avoid evil spirits, but to make them more comfortable.
Lincoln, Illinois

Phone Booth on a Roof

Today this bizarre rooftop phone booth seems like a piece of kitsch but it was once used to spot disastrous storms.
Chicago, Illinois

Essanay Studios

This landmark of the Chicago silent film industry may not be in the picture business anymore but it still stands proudly.
Quincy, Illinois

Villa Kathrine

This Mediterranean castle was built for a millionaire and his giant dog.
Atlanta, Illinois

Paul Bunyon

While he no longer has an eatery to give him context, this off-brand Paul Bunyan still holds his giant hot dog with pride.
Staunton, Illinois

Henry's Rabbit Ranch

This lagomorph-obsessed Route 66 emporium is home to a giant jackrabbit that sits in a bunny graveyard.
Bartonville, Illinois

Peoria State Hospital

Once known as the Illinois Asylum for the Incurable Insane.
Casey, Illinois

World Records of Casey, Illinois

The world's largest collection of the world's largest objects is in one small Illinois town.
Peoria, Illinois

Peoria Scale Model of the Solar System

The world's third-largest scale model of the planets.
Gays, Illinois

Two-Story Outhouse

This historic lavatory leftover features two levels of defecation stations completely without context.
Chicago, Illinois

First-Class Relic of Padre Pio

A bloodstain from "the wound of the transverberation of the heart."
Olney, Illinois

Albino Squirrels of Olney, Illinois

The mysterious white squirrels of this Illinois city are treated like sacred cows.
Chicago, Illinois

Bubbly Creek

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

Rockome Gardens - An Amish Themepark

You were once able to challenge a chicken to tic-tac-toe at this park, which is now converted into the Aikman Wildlife Adventure.
Chicago, Illinois

Green Mill Jazz Club

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