From one of the most haunted locations in the U.S. to the long-forgotten Chicago Freight Tunnels.
Chicago ’s account is reflected in its computer architecture . Each building has a narration to tell and in some cases , those story intersect . Take for example the U.S. Steel South Works Plant , which produced the cloth to build the Sears Tower and John Hancock Building — two of the pillars for the urban center ’s iconic skyline . shutter in the ‘ 90s , the plant is unremembered by time and yet , its historic impact is always tie to Chicago ’s filiation and succeeder .
From the Silver Spray Shipwreck on the South Side to the water cribs bobbing along the city ’s coastline , these places are more than just neglected structures ; they are a reminder of the lives be in the metropolis by the lake , and frankly , some can be more than a picayune unnerving . Here are the 10 most fascinating abandoned places throughout Chicagoland , where story and mystery intertwine .
Union Station Power House
South LoopWhile Union Station ’s once - abandoned Interior Department receive a much - document new letting on life sentence in the past few years , the coal - fired power plant that once fuel the former exile behemoth has sat idle and untouched since its 2011 decommissioning . Perched on the Chicago River near the Roosevelt Road Bridge , this hulking Art Moderne relic was designed by Graham , Anderson , Probst , and White back in 1931 , and its soaring ash tree - colored stack and ascetical cubic frame make it hard to miss . It ’s beloved for its spectacular period flair , making Preservation Chicago ’s 7 Most Endangered list in both 2017 and 2020 — accent on the “ queer , ” as Amtrak has recently discussed architectural plan to raze it to the melody of $ 13 million . However theUniversity of Chicago College of Engineering lately pushed back , proposing those funds be used to renovate the building into sumptuosity home .
U.S. Steel South Works Plant
Far South SideChicago ’s iconic visible horizon was built by cloth arrive out of the U.S. Steel South Works Plant on the city ’s far South Side . Its steel is find oneself in the bones of the Sears ( now Willis ) Tower , the John Hancock and was the go - to purveyor for the Midwest since it opened its door in 1889 and became fully operational by early thirties . However , due to countrywide changes in the steel industry , the 600 - acre industrial plant was forced to close in 1992 . For more than 30 years , the U.S. Steel South Works flora overlooking Lake Michigan stood vacant . Plans to translate it into a massive quantum computing campus were announced this summer with a $ 1.09 billion investment coming from quantum computing company PsiQuantum .
Chicago Water Cribs
Lake MichiganGaze out over Lake Michigan from any number of Chicago - domain beach and you ’re likely to spot a few curious structures jutting up from the waves several hundred yard from shore . These are the Chicago Water Cribs , once responsible for doling out the city ’s water supplying . While a couple are reportedly still in mathematical process , the majority of the infrastructure mainstays ride unused , visited only by metropolis workers for sustenance checks and facing an uncertain future . official have yell for demolition , while preservations see turning the behemoths into museum for public use . Either elbow room , it ’s difficult to determine much about these lakefront spectacles , as they ’re tightly protected by Homeland Security and strictly off - demarcation line to urban adventurer .
Shipwreck of the Silver Spray
KenwoodIf the lunar time period dip low enough , you might just be able-bodied to spot the rusted metallic element boiler of a ship popping up out of Lake Michigan near the Morgan Shoals subaqueous rock formation on the South Side . This ostensibly unobjectionable buoy is really the only rest splinter of the twist - of - the - century wooden steamship , the Silver Spray , currently viewable from land . What ’s left of the residuum of the predominate people - mover — which fulfill its fate in July , 1914 after accidentally crashing into this patch of faithlessly rocky submerged terrain — is scattered deep beneath the surface , supply a popular spot for orbit divers to explore .
Zion Evangelical Lutheran Ghost Church
PilsenThose who stumble upon Pilsen ’s landmark Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church , with its striking 90 - ft - tall belltower and weathered Chicago brick exterior , might think their eyes are playing tricks on them . Because while the frontage stands as tall and as proud as the twenty-four hours it was erect in 1880 , the residual of the Christian church lies in sparse ruin behind it , much like the movie set variant of an one-time Western townspeople . The once - bustling German bema get into disrepair 1956 as the locality ’s racial and ethnic demographics were agitate , only to suffer a crippling blast in 1979 which ruin the bodily structure ’s cap and most of its interior furnishing . Then , in 1998 , a windstorm flattened what was left of the church service ’s wall , exit just the front - facing belltower , arch doors , and a few other pieces of support rubble entire . Hearing of the storm , descendant of former faithful members flocked to the land site , bringing with them corroboration detail the Christian church ’s prominent place in local history . This was enough to sway the building ’s new owner , who fixed up the few characteristic that remain , installed a Modern skylight in the surge belltower , and steady the foundation before transubstantiate the whole shebang into a tranquil garden perfect with the original charred rood-tree protected behind charge plate case .
St. Boniface Church
Noble SquareBuilt in 1903 and designed by architect Henry J. Schlacks , St. Boniface Church was once home to a large German congregation . Unfortunately , the archdiocese officially closed the church service in 1990 , and Chicago preservationist have been fighting tooth and nail to keep it from being demolished ever since . Despite being give up for 30 years , the Romanesque Revival masterpiece is still jaw - dropping . And while a much - delayed interior renovation break solid ground on June 15 , 2021 after a local condominium developer purchase the site in 2016 , the power that be have assure the community the outside will remain unaffected and so far , they ’ve stayed lawful to their word .
Bachelor’s Grove Cemetery
Midlothian , ILThe long - abandoned south suburban cemetery flat coat have earthed reports of creepy apparitions and other paranormal action to keep company it ’s somewhat creepy story . During the Prohibition era , the mob allegedly used the burial ground as a “ dumping soil . ” After the cemetery was abandoned and fell into disrepair , it is rumored to have become a hotspot for satanic rituals , some of which involved the removal of bodies . The cemetery is consideredone of the most haunted office in the U.S.
The Illinois State Penitentiary, Joliet
Joliet , ILJoliet Correctional Center may have shut its room access in 2002 , but the facility — which is usually cite to simply as Old Joliet Prison — has stay on the map for a few reason . Not only was the prison house used as a film localization for a wide regalia of television shows and films includingPrison Break , Derailed , have ’s Go to Prison , andEmpire , but it ’s also been the impermanent abode of many fictional characters , with Joliet " Jake Blues — arguably the good one-half of the Blues Brothers — ranking among the most celebrated . In 2017 the city contract control condition of the place , finally ferment it into a historic site and museum open to the public . These day , singular Illinoians can book a steer tour of duty of the coordination compound ’s skittish interior and even expend by for events like cinema masking in the prison yard .
Damen Silos
McKinley ParkBack when the fifteen tale grain silo were first built , they would have been the tallest structure in the city . In fact , if you ’ve ever wondered what the heck Carl Sandburg was talking about when he touch on to Chicago as “ stacker of wheat , ” there ’s your answer . After an explosion rendered them useless in 1977 , the Damen Silos became a hotspot for unnumbered graffito artists , stake kids , and even a college dropout whodecided to move into the silosso he could see what life would be like in a post - apocalyptic club ( he plausibly should have just waited for 2020 to wave around ) . In 2014 , the Damen Silos even got their very own 15 minutes of fame after dower were fumble up during the filming ofTransformers : Age of Extinction . Today , the silo still stand in all their creepy glory , serving as both a destination for urban explorers as well as the occasional backdrop for nontextual matter program like 2021’sChicago Architecture Biennial .
Chicago Freight Tunnels
LoopSome of the most iconic buildings in the city : City Hall , Merchandise Mart , the Civic Opera House , Field Museum , Chicago Tribune , the Board of Trade , and more — used the Tunnel Company ’s 60 mile connection of cloak-and-dagger freight lines . Built in 1899 and in operation by the turning of the century , the tunnels were used to transport ring armor , merchandise , and in some case , air ( the society sold the coolheaded , subterranean tune as innovative atmosphere conditioning ) . The business was operating for more than 50 years and once it closed in 1959 , it was forget . That changed in 1992 when construction workers stumbled upon it by chance event , puncturing a burrow ceiling that head to 1000 of gallons of water from the Chicago River flooding the system and make major legal injury ( estimated at $ 2 billion ) , across the metropolis — including in City Hall records . After repair were completed , the tunnel were sealed off and are no longer approachable to the public .
United Methodist Church|Flickr/Michael Kappel
Union Station Power House
Chicago Water Cribs|Flickr/Sandor Weisz
St. Boniface Church|Flickr/Eric Allix Rogers
Bachelors Grove Cemetery
Joliet Correctional Center|Nejdet Duzen/Shutterstock
Damen Silos|Flickr/darius norvilas
