The 10 Most Awe-Inspiring Abandoned Places Near Chicago
From one of the most haunted locations in the U.S. to the long-forgotten Chicago Freight Tunnels.
Chicago’s history is reflected in its architecture. Each building has a tale to tell and in some cases, those stories intersect. Take for instance the U.S. Steel South Works Plant, which produced the material to build the Sears Tower and John Hancock Building—two of the pillars for the city’s iconic skyline. Shuttered in the ‘90s, the plant is unremembered by time and yet, its historical impact is forever tied to Chicago’s lineage and success.
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 lived in the city by the lake, and frankly, some can be more than a little unnerving. Here are the 10 most fascinating abandoned places throughout Chicagoland, where history and mystery intertwine.
South Loop
While Union Station’s once-abandoned interior received a much-documented new lease on life in the past few years, the coal-fired power plant that once fueled the former transportation behemoth has sat unused 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-colored smokestacks and austere cubic frame make it hard to miss. It’s beloved for its striking period style, making Preservation Chicago's 7 Most Endangered list in both 2017 and 2020—emphasis on the “endangered,” as Amtrak has recently discussed plans to raze it to the tune of $13 million. However the University of Chicago College of Engineering recently pushed back, proposing those funds be used to renovate the building into luxury homes.
U.S. Steel South Works Plant
Far South Side
Chicago’s iconic skyline was built by material coming out of the U.S. Steel South Works Plant on the city’s far South Side. Its steel is found 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 doors in 1889 and became fully operational by early 1930s. However, due to nationwide changes in the steel industry, the 600-acre plant was forced to close in 1992. For more than 30 years, the U.S. Steel South Works plant overlooking Lake Michigan stood vacant. Plans to transform it into a massive quantum computing campus were announced this summer with a $1.09 billion investment coming from quantum computing company PsiQuantum.
Lake Michigan
Gaze out over Lake Michigan from any number of Chicago-area beaches and you’re likely to spot a few curious structures jutting up from the waves several hundred yards from shore. These are the Chicago Water Cribs, once responsible for doling out the city’s water supply. While a couple are reportedly still in operation, the majority of the infrastructure mainstays sit unused, visited only by city workers for maintenance checks and facing an uncertain future. Officials have called for demolition, while preservations envision turning the behemoths into museums for public use. Either way, it’s difficult to learn much about these lakefront spectacles, as they’re tightly protected by Homeland Security and strictly off-limits to urban adventurers.
Kenwood
If the tide sinks low enough, you might just be able to spot the rusted metal boiler of a ship popping up out of Lake Michigan near the Morgan Shoals underwater rock formation on the South Side. This seemingly innocuous buoy is actually the only remaining sliver of the turn-of-the-century wooden steamship, the Silver Spray, currently viewable from land. What’s left of the rest of the hulking people-mover—which met its fate in July, 1914 after accidentally crashing into this patch of treacherously rocky underwater terrain—is scattered deep beneath the surface, providing a popular spot for area divers to explore.
Zion Evangelical Lutheran Ghost Church
Pilsen
Those who stumble upon Pilsen’s landmark Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church, with its striking 90-foot-tall belltower and weathered Chicago brick exterior, might think their eyes are playing tricks on them. Because while the facade stands as tall and as proud as the day it was erected in 1880, the rest of the church lies in sparse ruins behind it, much like the movie set version of an old Western town. The once-bustling German sanctuary went into disrepair 1956 as the neighborhood’s racial and ethnic demographics were shifting, only to suffer a crippling fire in 1979 which destroyed the structure’s roof and most of its interior furnishings. Then, in 1998, a windstorm flattened what was left of the church’s walls, leaving just the front-facing belltower, arching doors, and a few other pieces of supporting rubble intact. Hearing of the storm, descendents of former congregation members flocked to the site, bringing with them documentation detailing the church’s prominent place in local history. This was enough to sway the building’s new owner, who fixed up the few features that remained, installed a new skylight in the soaring belltower, and stabilized the foundation before transforming the whole shebang into a serene garden complete with the original charred crucifix protected behind plastic casing.
Noble Square
Built 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 in 1990, and Chicago preservationists have been fighting tooth and nail to keep it from being demolished ever since. Despite being abandoned for 30 years, the Romanesque Revival masterpiece is still jaw-dropping. And while a much-delayed interior renovation broke ground on June 15, 2021 after a local condo developer purchased the site in 2016, the powers that be have assured the community the exterior will remain untouched and so far, they’ve stayed true to their word.
Midlothian, IL
The long-abandoned south suburban cemetery grounds have earthed reports of creepy apparitions and other paranormal activity to accompany it's pretty creepy history. During the Prohibition era, the mob allegedly used the cemetery as a “dumping ground.” 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 considered one of the most haunted places in the U.S.
Joliet, IL
Joliet Correctional Center may have shut its doors in 2002, but the facility—which is commonly referred to simply as Old Joliet Prison—has remained on the map for a few reasons. Not only was the prison used as a filming location for a wide array of TV shows and films including Prison Break, Derailed, Let’s Go to Prison, and Empire, but it's also been the temporary home of many fictional characters, with Joliet" Jake Blues—arguably the better half of the Blues Brothers—ranking among the most famous. In 2017 the city took control of the property, eventually turning it into a historical site and museum open to the public. These days, curious Illinoians can book a guided tour of the complex’s spooky interior and even drop by for events like film screenings in the prison yard.
McKinley Park
Back when the fifteen story grain silos were first built, they would have been the tallest structures in the city. In fact, if you've ever wondered what the heck Carl Sandburg was talking about when he referred 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 countless graffiti artists, adventuring kids, and even a college dropout who decided to move into the silos so he could see what life would be like in a post-apocalyptic society (he probably should have just waited for 2020 to roll around). In 2014, the Damen Silos even got their very own 15 minutes of fame after portions were blown up during the filming of Transformers: Age of Extinction. Today, the silos still stand in all their creepy glory, serving as both a destination for urban explorers as well as the occasional backdrop for art programs like 2021’s Chicago Architecture Biennial.
Chicago Freight Tunnels
Loop
Some 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 network of underground freight lines. Built in 1899 and operational by the turn of the century, the tunnels were used to transport mail, merchandise, and in some cases, air (the company sold the cool, subterranean air as modern air conditioning). The business was operational for more than 50 years and once it closed in 1959, it was forgotten. That changed in 1992 when construction workers stumbled upon it by accident, puncturing a tunnel roof that led to thousands of gallons of water from the Chicago River flooding the system and creating major damage (estimated at $2 billion), across the city—including in City Hall records. After repairs were completed, the tunnels were sealed off and are no longer accessible to the public.