See the Midwest’s most treasured historic views for USA 250

“Great Faces, Great Places,” says the infamous South Dakota jingle. But who isn’t familiar with our granite busts of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and Teddy Roosevelt? The Mount Rushmore National Memorial in the Black Hills is known as the “Symbol of America” for its colossal structure, but there are also nightly lighting ceremonies, ranger-led activities and a half-mile Presidential Trail right under the 20-foot noses that help to attract 2 million visitors a year.

The Guardian Building is one of the most recognizable skyscrapers in Detroit's downtown skyline. Located at 500 Griswold St. in the city's Financial District, the art-deco building was constructed in 1928, was originally called the Union Trust Building.

"he SS Badger steamship is a National Historic Landmark that isn't on land. The last coal-fired passenger steamship serves as a Lake Michigan ferry transporting passengers, vehicles and commercial trucks between Ludington, Michigan and Manitowoc, Wisconsin.

The Grand Hotel opened July 10, 1887, on the northern Michigan island where automobiles are banned, horse-drawn carriages line the streets and visitors flock each summer. Its porch alone is famous. At 660 feet, it's the world's largest, and is visible as you approach Mackinac Island from Lake Huron.

The National WWI Museum and Memorial in Kansas City, Missouri, aims to help today's citizens remember and understand the Great War and how it impacted the global community. The memorial predates the museum and was dedicated in 1926 by President Calvin Coolidge.

The George Washington Carver National Monument in Diamond, Missouri is the first National Park Service unit to be dedicated to an African American. Its namesake, George Washington Carver, was born to enslaved parents on Moses and Susan Carver's farm near the end of the Civil War.

The origins of the NFL can be traced to Canton, Ohio, where the Pro Football Hall of Fame chronicles the history of America's most popular sport. Walk through a gallery of bronze busts immortalizing the game's greatest players and learn about the evolution of the game from the days of leather helmets to modern gear.

Scotts Bluff towers about 800 feet above the North Platte River in western Nebraska. It has long served as a landmark for many people who traveled through the area, from Native American tribes to emigrants on the Oregon, California and Mormon trails, according to the National Park Service.

With a simplistic lifestyle, homegrown traditions and beautiful scenery, Ohio's Amish country provides a unique insight into a specific American history and heritage.

The Ford Piquette Avenue Plant in Detroit, which saw the birth of the Ford Model T, is a significant site in automotive history. It's now home to a museum with more than 65 rare vehicles where visitors can ride in a crate elevator from 1926 and see Henry Ford's old office.