We reserved a free tour at Eventbrite. Jennifer brought 15 of us through this massive, historic…read morehome. She pointed out specific pieces, told stories about the owners & was very knowledgeable about Frank Lloyd Wrights work. We started our tour with a brief video about the glass work. We went into several sitting areas, Dana's bedroom, nursery, dining room, pantry & kitchen.library, bowling alley & billiards room. The 3rd largest home Frank Lloyd Wright ever designed. this remarkably preserve Prairie School icon dates from 1902 until 1904. It's more interesting than his home in Oak Park. The 16 floor home was considered experimental with a duckpin bowling alley & 2 barrel vaulted ceiling's. There is exquisite color shifting art glass & 90% of the furniture is original. Susan Lawrence Dana (1862-1946) was an heiress to a silver mines fortune . She was widow in 1900 & had complete control over her household & fortune. She was a leading philanthropic figure in Springfield. Dana decided to completely remodeled her home commissioning Frank Lloyd Wright. Her new home reflected her flamboyant personality & was designed for display & entertainment. The concept of "expanding space" was evident throughout the house with windows placed to continually draw the attention to the outside. Wright designed approximately 450 art glass windows, skylights, door panels, sconces & light fixtures for the house. The interior Torii gates are magnificent.hallway into two of the largest rooms in the house. The musical gallery for entertaining and the library contains special easels. Wright designed white oak furniture for Dana to display Japanese prints. In1928, Dana had dementia & financial constraints. In1944, the home and its contents were sold to Charles C. Thomas, a medical publisher. Thomas lived here & used this home as his publishing company. He sold the house to the state for a million dollars. It became a historic site. Jennifer shared that the house is still being utilized for social community events.

This was so cool! What an amazing experience! This was my first Wright house, and I'm not sure it…read morecan be topped! I understand why photos aren't allowed inside, but I was expecting more postcards depicting the various rooms to be available in the gift shop. There was cool stuff, for sure, but more postcards of the interior would be great since photos aren't allowed. My tour guide was Allicent and she did a great job talking about all the artistic and architectural features of the home. There was also a video at the beginning about the manufacture of some of the glass. I was sorry that the intro video didn't tell us more about the historical and social context of Mrs Dana, but I imagine most visitors would be more interested in the architectural technique. My only complaint with my tour is that there were two little kids on it. They were like 3 and 5. They were totally distracting the whole time--talking, whining, trying to grab at things. I'm not sure why the museum has such strict rules about other things but also allows in kids under 12. There's nothing they could possibly glean from the tour. It's really not designed for kids. Nor should it be!

Loys of cite clothes, bangles, purses. Furniture is painted in country chic & they have e nice…read morepieces. However, their store is mostly devoted to clothes. Furniture is not their main focus & is used to display clothes & knick knacks, to the point of not being able to see their furniture very well. And, when I tried to purchase a piece e, I was told it's for display purposes only. I have purchased many pieces of furniture here on the store on the past that I still have. Unfortunately, what they have is not much & possibly won't even sell.

My absolute BEST find since I moved to Springfield in December! The owners are the folks you see in…read morethe store. The are the creativity behind the products you see... and what you see is just fabulous! Up-cycling at it's very finest. Want tot try it yourself? They have everything you need, and the knowledge to share so you can do it too. I've already completed 2 projects in the last week and I'm on my 3rd. Beautiful products and super nice people. My favorite shop in town!

There were several aspects of this tour that I really enjoyed. It was super cool to get to see the…read morecouch on which Abe courted Mary Todd! The servant's quarters in the attic were absolutely fascinating. The recreation of the wallpaper was a super cool story. The tour guide James was a bit odd but very knowledgeable. His jokes felt somewhat canned rather than organic, but that's probably just one of the hazards of the job. My main issue was that, as we were touring the house, there were random kids hanging out in various rooms doing art projects. This somehow felt strange, given the reverence with which James was suggesting we should treat the house. And then you turn the corner and there are a bunch of 8 year olds sitting in the floor of the main room. There's also one room upstairs that hasn't really been restored to the same period as the rest of the house. The guide had a reason for that, but it didn't make total sense to me. Not sure I'd make a second trip, but I certainly don't regret the hour or so I spent touring it!

A beautifully restored historical home-a treasure for Springfield IL. If you love history and…read morecraftsmanship you will enjoy the Edwards Place. Hand sewn wool carpets, silk screen wallpaper, walnut and oak wood graining by artisans, custom made draperies, make this a unique home. The original home was build in 1830's. Multiple additions to the home are apparent by examining the trim and woodworking changes. This house is a living museum.

This museum is so well done! The facades of Lincoln's boyhood home and the White House greet you in…read morethe main atrium. Volunteers are plentiful and enhance the experience throughout. There are two main movies that are outstanding. The special effects make learning about history very fun and engaging. Throughout there are life sized displays of scenes from Lincoln's life. Husband is the big history buff but I have to say, I really enjoyed the experience. It's well worth the stop. Parking is in a ramp across the street from the museum. We got the senior rate at $12, otherwise it's $15. We spent about couple of hours in the museum.

Well worth the time (give yourself at least 90 minutes) and the price of admission. The displays…read moreare well done and informative. The docents/volunteers are excellent, everyone that we talked to was warm, informed and clearly enjoyed their time with us patrons. The day we were there two musicians were playing period music. They were very good, and while it did get a little personally annoying, it did really put you in time and place for the subjects. Both of the relatively short theater presentations are worthwhile, so plan accordingly so you can watch both. There was one display depicting the slavery auction block. It is a gut punch to anyone with a human heart, regardless of your outer wrapping.

We didn't know this was in Springfield until we went to Lincoln's tomb. As we left, we saw a small…read morebuilding with its name on it and pulled into the driveway. This museum is new, and they are just growing their collections. What we saw was fascinating. It primarily focused on several African-American families with many generations in and around Springfield. Some of the stories were very informative, and we learned a lot, most of which we should have learned in school. This is one of the reasons I like museums like this. Rather than bland education painting a pollyannaish picture of our history, these museums show how minorities were treated (or mistreated). It preserves a part of our history that many would like to forget or gloss over. But without information like this, history is destined to repeat. Why four stars and not five? This has to do with the current state of the museum - essentially just starting up. They don't have a lot of items yet. They just received a large grant and are expanding the museum. They are soliciting additional items, most of which were donated. We were so impressed we bought a family membership, even though we live almost four hours away. Once they complete their new wing, we're taking a trip back. Incidentally, if you do go for a visit, their Executive Director is amazing. She gave us the tour, and we learned a lot. If you are even in Springfield, IL, I recommend stopping here before or after Loncoln's tomb. Since the museum is small, seeing everything takes little time. But it is well worth stopping for. Take advantage of this informative museum that tells some tragic and happy stories.

B's has amazing reviews. All ages love the classes, parties, camps and private events that B's…read moreCreative studio provides

This is a very nice place to catch a play or a musical or even a concert. I've seen all three here…read moreand have enjoyed all of them. I saw the Glen Miller band a few months ago, and they were quite impressive. The entire band was first-rate, and it brought back memories of listening to their music with my mother. I also saw a play about the 1908 Race Riot that was very well done.

What a fun theater for such a small town. I haven't seen a couple plays here now. They have a…read moreparking structure that is attached to the theater. However, parking paying was a little confusing in the parking structure. During warmer months you can park for free on the street. They host multiple different events with local organizations. The price for the actual ticket too was a reasonable price. I think we paid $16 each for our seat. We saw Phantom of the opera & Toy story there recently. The high school kids did a wonderful job. The snacks were a reasonable price. It was $2 for a drink & $2 for snacks. Not sure if that's what it is all the time or if those items just went to benefiting the high school theater program. Can't wait to see more items more items here in the future.

My friend, my daughter and I signed up for a class to make a moon wreath and we had a really good…read moretime. Dawn, the owner of the shop was welcoming and made us feel really comfortable while we made our peices. We will definitely sign up for another class soon. Thank you Magic Moon Crystals!