Katie Schneider has worked in the village of Niles, a suburb just north of Chicago for

almost two decades.

Long enough that sometimes, when she's driving down the town's main commercial drag,

Toei Avenue, going past grocery stores and nail salons and hot dog stands, just doesn't

even notice the town's main attraction.

I forget it's there because I see it all the time, right?

I've been part of the village in Niles for so long.

Sometimes, you got to see your town with fresh eyes.

And I remember I was traveling with a friend of mine who was from the East Coast, and we

drove past, and I mean, he almost jumped out of the car.

He couldn't believe it.

He was like, oh my, what is, and he was Italian.

So he probably had a little more familiarity with the leading tower of pizza.

That's right.

Rising out of these suburbs at a notably jaunty angle is a replica of the leaning tower

of pizza.

It's the leaning tower of Niles.

I'm Dylan Thurus, and this is Atlas Obscura, a celebration of the world's strange, incredible,

and wondrous places.

Today, we're taking you to pizza, by way of Niles Illinois, home of an exactly half-size

replica of the leaning tower.

We'll go there after this.

...