Upper Midwest Tour, Day 27 - Aug 5th

Sightseeing in Springfield with lots more of A. Lincoln and a few other things.  After breakfast in the motel and with cloudy skies which threatened rain all day, we ventured out on the the South loop of the Volkswalk. 

An early morning photo of the Capital building.

A monument to firefighters around the backside of the Capital grounds.

A Monarch butterfly that posed quite nicely.

Our first noteworthy stop was the Dana-Thomas House.  It is a well-preserved house designed by Frank Lloyd Wright for local socialite Sarah Lawrence Dana, built in 1904.  It was early in Wright's career and shows off a multitude of his special design elements.  Reservations were required to access a tour, but the visitor center/shop across the street said we might be able to join a tour that was booked up if there were no-shows.  We waited about a half hour by wandering around a couple of blocks to see if we could join the next tour.  It worked out - there were only 8 people in the tour group.  The tour lasted about an hour and the guide was very well-informed.

Vachel Lindsey House, seen while walking around the blocks waiting to go on the tour.  He was a well-known poet and artist, born 1879, died 1939.

The Lindsey house front door with handsome glass etching.

No photographs were allowed inside the Dana-Thomas House.  The outside had the classic look of the Prairie-style design of Wright -- large porches, generous overhangs, and "Roman" bricks (long and thin with thin mortar lines) that emphasized the horizontal lines.  The home contains one of the largest collections of site-specific, original Wright art glass and furniture, so is very special. 

The house, which is about 12,600 square feet, was intended to host parties and other social events and contains a generous dining room, a library, a performance/meeting space, 3 musicians' galleries, an organ, and a basement bowling alley.  It was the first residence in Springfield to have electricity and also had modern plumbing and heating systems.  Other appealing features included:  multiple levels, ceilings of different heights (including two large barrel-vaulted ceilings), built-in furniture (book cases, window seats, chests and cabinets), windows on 2 or 3 sides of every room allowing light and air in (even the internal rooms had glass doors), a pair of inglenooks, and a thoughtful mix of public and private spaces.  The wood was gorgeous, and the art glass windows and doors were both eye-catching and soothing with muted colors that glow in the sunlight.  As is typical for Wright, the chairs were striking but not comfortable and the rooms and overall design was fabulous.  They were reminiscent of the furniture designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh, as seen in Scotland.

Copper frieze - but made from plaster that is plated to look like weathered copper.

Our next stop along the walk was Lincoln's Home. where the family lived between 1844 and 1861.  It is a National Historic Monument set in a four-block preserved neighborhood.  At the Visitor Center, we obtained tour tickets for the next available tour.  The tickets are free and we had about a 45 minute wait.  Ranger Nat (from Manassas, VA; first job with NPS) led about 12 people on a tour of the house.  Nat was thorough in his descriptions of the rooms.  The first floor had a parlor, dining room, sitting room and kitchen.  The second floor, which was added only a few years before Lincoln was elected president, had 3 bedrooms and one servant's room.  There was a 3 hole outhouse out back and a carriage house.  Only some of the furniture is original but everything is the right period or well-researched reproductions.  Although Mary Todd Lincoln had come from a prosperous Kentucky family, this house represented a significant step up for a young man who had been born and spent his first years with 6 other family members in a rustic, one-room, log cabin.

The address is 8th and Jackson Streets.  It is 6 or 7 blocks east of the current Capital, and only 5 blocks from the "Old State Capital."

We visited two other homes in the neighborhood that were opened with displays.  This one (Dean House) contained models of the original one-story Lincoln house and its two additions.  The last addition was the full second story addition.

We left the monument and went across the street to the 7th Street Cidery, to try some mead and ciders.  It is billed as the first Cidery in Illinois.  We sat outside and joined a friendly couple who had toured both the Dana-Thomas House and the Lincoln House with us.  Pam works for the Illinois State government and Nick worked at Scott Air Force Base "increasing fuel efficiency on airplanes."

We walked back to the hotel, passing the Old State Capital, which is closed for renovation.  An historic sign said Barack Obama announced his candidacy for President and his selection of Joe Biden as vice president in 2007 and 2008, respectively, from here.

The Old State Capital.

To answer one question from the comments regarding mosquitos.  Since leaving the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, mosquitos have not been an issue.  We were able to sit outside on Mackinac Island with no problem and we were able to enjoy the camping sites on mainland Michigan.