St. Michael's Church, Chicago

By tradition, if you can hear St. Michael's bells, you are in Old Town. Owing to its thick, redbrick walls, this 19th-century Bavarian-style church, founded by German immigrants, was one of only six buildings to 'survive' the path of the 1871 Great Chicago Fire. Although there is a small memorial dedicated to Catholic war veterans on its grounds, the church has become a haven for the local Puerto Rican community.

Adorned with a large four-faced clock, the bell tower has five bells, each weighing between 2,500–6,000 lbs (or 1,1–2,7 t). Visitors can also view the beautiful, colorful baroque interior with tall, thin stained-glass (Mayer) windows, frescoes, a carving depicting The Last Supper (purchased from the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition), a working Kilgen pipe organ, and five painted altars illustrating St. Michael, flanked by archangels Raphael and Gabriel, casting Lucifer from heaven.