>>> IN A NEW SPECIAL JEFFREY BAER TAKES US ON A TOUR OF SOME OF CHICAGO'S MOST BEAUTIFUL PLACES.

SOME MAYBE FAMILIAR, OTHERS LESS SO, HERE'S A CLIP FROM THE SHOW FEATURING A BUILDING YOU'VE ALMOST CERTAINLY DRIVEN BY BUT NEVER SEEM QUITE LIKE THIS.

>> BEAUTIFUL BUILDINGS AND CHICAGO'S NEIGHBORHOODS DON'T GET AS MUCH OF THE SPOTLIGHT AS THE ARCHITECTURAL SUPERSTARS DOWNTOWN.

BUT HE HAS DESIGNED STRIKING BUILDINGS ALL OVER CHICAGO LIKE THIS NORTHEASTERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY FACILITY.

>> JOINING US IS JEFFREY BAER.

I HAD NEVER SEEN THAT BUILDING FROM THAT PERSPECTIVE AND I DRIVE BY IT EVERY DAY.

AS FAR AS I UNDERSTAND YOU HAVE EMPLOYED THE LATEST SCIENTIFIC TECHNOLOGY TO COME UP WITH THE MOST BEAUTIFUL PLACES RIGHT?

>> I PUT A BUNCH OF SLIPS OF PAPER IN A MASON JAR AND PULLED THEM OUT, NO, IT'S AN INTENTIONALLY PROVOCATIVE TITLE.

WE REALLY FIND THE MOST BEAUTIFUL PLACES IN CHICAGO.

WE WANT TO GET A CONVERSATION GOING, SO WE CAN GET NEARLY EVERYTHING .

SO MANY BUILDINGS AND HOUSES OF WORSHIP AND NATURAL AREAS, THERE WILL BE A LOT OF DEBATE.

>> THROUGHOUT THIS FILM THERE IS A LOT ABOUT THE RICH EXPERIENCE IN CHICAGO, HOW DID YOU WEAVE THAT INTO THE DISCUSSION ABOUT BEAUTIFUL PLACES.

>> THAT'S KIND OF WHAT EMERGED AS WE WERE MAKING THE PROGRAM, THIS IDEA THAT, REALLY IT'S SORT OF THIS MELTING POT OF IMMIGRANTS THAT HAVE COME TO CHICAGO WITH THEIR IDEAS OF BEAUTY FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD.

THIS IS A PARK THAT WAS DESIGNED BY A CHINESE-AMERICAN, A WONDERFUL LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT, ERNIE WONG, HE ALSO DID THE PARK IN CHINATOWN WHICH IS ALSO ONE OF OUR BEAUTIFUL PLACES.

HE GOT TO EXPLORE HIS OWN HERITAGE, HE HAD NEVER EVEN BEEN TO CHINA TILL HE WAS IN HIS 20s.

>> OUT OF ALL THESE SPECIALS THAT YOU HAVE DONE, YOU'VE SEEN EVERY CORNER OF THE REGION, DOES ANYTHING STILL SURPRISE YOU?

DID ANYTHING IN THIS PROJECT SURPRISE YOU?

>> ABSOLUTELY, THIS IS AN ABANDONED STEEL MILL THAT WE JUST SAW.

A BEAUTIFUL HINDU TEMPLE.

THIS IS ENTIRELY HANDMADE IN INDIA, HAND CARVED FROM MARBLE.

THERE WERE ALL KINDS OF PLACES.

THERE WAS A MOSQUE THAT I HAD NEVER EVEN HEARD OF.

>> WE ALL KNOW THAT BUT, THE OTHER PLACES ARE COMPLETELY OBSCURE.

>> I WANTED TO FIND A BEAUTIFUL MOSQUE AND HERE IT IS, OUT IN THE WESTERN SUBURBS.

I HAD NEVER EVEN HEARD OF THIS PLACE, AND LOOK AT THIS!

I'M ALWAYS SURPRISED WHEN WE DO OUR PROGRAM.

I ALWAYS FIND SOMETHING I HAD NEVER EVEN HEARD OF.

>> SERIOUSLY, HOW DID YOU PICK THE FINALISTS?

>> WE WANTED DIVERSITY IN THE PROGRAM SO WE WANTED NOT ONLY DIVERSITY OF WHERE THEY WERE LOCATED LIKE IN THE CITY AND IN THE SUBURBS BUT ALSO TYPES OF PLACES.

SO WE HAVE SKYSCRAPERS, HOUSES OF WORSHIP, NATURAL AREAS, WE WANTED TO REPRESENT THE WHOLE COMMUNITY BUT THE OTHER THING THAT WAS REALLY DIFFERENT WAS ALL THE PEOPLE THAT WE GOT INTO IT.

ALL THE PEOPLE WHO TOLD US WHY THESE PLACES WERE SO BEAUTIFUL TO THEM WHICH REALLY EXPANDED OUR DEFINITION OF BEAUTY.

I THOUGHT WE WERE JUST GOING AFTER VISUAL BEAUTY BUT IT'S REALLY THE STORIES THAT COME WITH IT.

>> THAT BEING SAID AS WITH ALL YOUR SPECIALS IT IS VISUALLY BEAUTIFUL.

YOU ARE UP IN AN AIRPLANE AT SUNSET.

>> AT THE VERY BEGINNING OF THE SHOW, THIS PILOT IN A LITTLE AIRPLANE WANTED TO SHOW ME HIS FAVORITE VIEW OF CHICAGO CELL, I'M AN AVIATION GEEK SO I'M ALWAYS THE GUY LOOKING OUT THE WINDOW ON THE AIRPLANE.

HERE I GOT TO FLY UP AND DOWN FOR 45 MINUTES AT SUNSET.

I WAS SO EXCITED I FORGOT TO INTERVIEW THE GUY.

I'M UP THERE WITH THE PILOT AND I JUST TAKING PICTURES, IT WAS SO BEAUTIFUL.

>> YOU GET TO HAVE SO MUCH FUN IN THIS JOB.

WE LOOK FORWARD TO IT AIRING TOMORROW NIGHT .

AGAIN YOU CAN WATCH THE MOST