Peddling along at 10 miles an hour you see things that you might not notice from a car: An aging South Side 'L' station that was used by visitors to the 1893 World's Fair. Hebrew lettering above a door, revealing that a West Side neighborhood was once predominantly Jewish. Or the magical landscaping of an historic park, that likely inspired a young L. Frank Baum as he wrote The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.

These are just a few of the discoveries that host Geoffrey Baer uncovers as he guides WTTW11 viewers on a TV tour of Chicago's boulevards.

The boulevards are the broad, tree-shaded streets that form a magnificent, twenty-eight-mile-long circle around the city. These thoroughfares carry viewers away from the popular attractions along the lakefront, to the lesser-known parks and often-overlooked neighborhoods at the heart of the city's South, West, and North Sides.

Along the way, we learn the relatively unknown story behind this boulevard system – the first such system in the country – imagined in the 1860s as a way to link the city's green spaces. And we see how these boulevards are undergoing a renaissance amidst the growing interest in environmentally-friendly urban planning and design.

We also explore the rich history of bicycling in Chicago – from the fashionable cycling clubs that were all of the rage among 19th Century Chicagoans, to the more recent push to make this the most bike-friendly city in America.

Photo credits: Chicago History Museum, Nathaniel Kaelin, Bill Richert