A fantastical site to see. Literal history right before your eyes. Walked through the same house…read morethat Lincoln lived in for 26 years. Amazing. And all for free. No reason not to go.

I think I got out of the car expecting to be "unimpressed". I was wrong. I do think that the park…read moreranger you get and their level of knowledge and ability to relate to the tour make the visit. We had an excellent Ranger. He shared tidbits that really brought out what it would have been like to live in the home. I absolutely think if you are ever in the area, invest the time and take the free tour.

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!

The monument itself is massive and majestic. There are many statues on top of it in every…read moredirection. The grounds surrounding it are decorated with lovely flowers and plants. There are benches nearby to sit too. Unfortunately somehow years ago thru word of mouth, someone said any visitor should rub Abe's nose on the bust of him outside for good luck. I'd like to get ahold of whoever started this as I feel it's extremely disrespectful. It's been rubbed to a point is a blaring gold color. People are so rude and parents get their kids so hyped up about doing it that once inside the tomb they're wired for sound in what's an echo chamber. Real solemn, huh? Inside there are several beautiful statues of Abe before entering the actual area where he and most of his family are interred. At times there's many visitors and not enough room to spend much time inside as people keeps arriving. Other times you can be in there at your leisure with little to no one else. The most I hope for is for people to be respectful and keep the voices low as again, everything echos in there, but unfortunately many are as chatty as they are in church before a service begins, paying no mind to anyone else around them. Still, I wouldn't miss visiting this grand tomb for Abe and family.

Mary Todd, the widow of Abraham Lincoln chose a quiet place for her husband to rest…read more On the outskirts of town, Oakridge Cemetery has revolutionary war laid to rest here. A simple family burial and tomb. It was unheard of. After having his body taken. Yes the original tomb under the larger one it needed a better resting area. In fact the care taker for years relocated the presidents body to preserve it for the family. The caretakers mansion is next store to the tomb still today. What an undertaking. The large obelisk above his tomb and depicting statues are dedicated to his legacy. Keeping the union to together; eventually abolishing slavery. A man's heart and soul are here along side most of the Lincoln family. No one will ever be able to take his body again it's buried in lead coffin and covered in concrete. This burial now celebrates Lincoln's life and his final resting place. Now you can come and celebrate his life and death. All his contributions to history in his hometown. Make sure and rub Lincoln's nose for good luck.

We had a great time here at the old Capitol. We enjoyed the self guided tour and listening to the…read moreLincoln Troubadours sing in the rotunda area and in the old house chamber. This statehouse was not used very long, but Lincoln was in here when he was alive. It was also the last place he lay in state before they closed the coffin and buried him and his son Willie in the Springfield cemetery. We enjoyed the Underground Railroad display and stories in the old Supreme Court Chambers. This place is kind of big and you can schedule at least an hour to see everything. As of June 2025 it's open Thursday through Saturday.

The Old State Capitol is a reconstruction of Illinois' statehouse from 1840 to 1876. During the…read more20th century's civil rights movement, its restorers faithfully recreated the building in which John Jones & Frances Gage worked to expand the meaning of freedom. Lincoln served his final term as a state lawmaker in 1840-41. As a lawyer, he pleaded cases before the state supreme court in this building (1841-1860). In the Illinois House chamber, Lincoln made his House Divided speech in June 1858, announcing his candidacy for the U.S. Senate. It was to the same chamber, in May 1865, that his body was returned to lie in state, arriving from Washington, D.C., prior to final burial in Springfield's Oak Ridge Cemetery.

The state capital building is a fun place to visit. They have free tours daily that will take you…read moreto all 3 floors of this Renaissance Revival/ Second Empire style building. The 405 foot dome is regal to say the least. If you're there while the legislature is in session, you can watch from seats in the balcony. It's mostly all marble inside and has historic paintings and statues on every floor.

05/26/26 - Illinois State Capitol fitting review for a beautiful building (REVIEW 1,700). Today I…read morewent down to Springfield as part of a 10 bus 500 members group trying to start a union. By bringing these people just before the session convenes we're trying to get their attention & hopefully get something booked into legislation. As faith would have it we were in the William G Stratton building to talk to a few legislators prior to the meeting on 05/28/26 when they convene and vote. We were going to attempt to talk to a few when an alarm went off signifying a lockdown of the building. About 10 of us sheltered in place while security searched the building. Finally we were shuttled down the hall towards tunnel to the Capitol building. Unfortunately the alarm sounded around 11am and we had to shelter in place for about 1 hr while they searched the building. After the clearance was given we moved through an underground tunnel connecting the William G Stratton building to the Illinois State Capitol. By doing this we didn't need to leave the building & go through security again. When we came up out of the tunnel we were in the Illinois State Capitol Building. I've lived in Illinois almost my entire life. This was the first time I was ever in the Capitol Building. This is an impressive beautiful building w/a very ornate 3 story dome. When we came up to the third floor many of the 500 people that came up w/us from Chicago were milling around along w/other special interest groups trying to get the attention of the legislators before they entered the chambers. From what I understand they were voting on 05/28/2026 on a number of issues and these groups came hoping to win support for their groups The Capitol building is a very impressive structure w/a 3 story central dome that rises to 360 feet. Designed in the French Renaissance and Italianate styles, it was constructed between 1868 and 1888. I was very impressed by the attention to detail that was put into this magnificent structure. The attention to every detail in this central dome is amazing.

A Greater Task "Why…read moreshould there not be a patient confidence in the ultimate justice of the people? Is there any better or equal hope in the world?" Abraham Lincoln, First Inaugural Address Located in a small park across the street from the Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, this statue highlights the burden and complexities that Lincoln faced as he began his journey to Washington and became a wartime president. Visit this and the nearby Acts of Intolerance Sculpture to reflect on the past, the present and the future.

This is a gem of Illinois! We stumbled on the Allerton history in Kauai after visiting the…read moreBotanical gardens, unaware of the ties to our home town of Chicago, so we vowed to come stay here this summer. It was really nice as expected: historic house and gardens, well maintained. For quality and amenities it's more on the level of a nice B&B, with a generous cafe just a short walk away (but not in winter!). Staff were kind and upgraded our room when the small room we checked in somehow had a messed bed. Generous parking and much of the main sites are drivable. I'd love to come back in another season!

as for the trails, they are beyond snooze vest. Today walked them and not maintained, 3-5 inch ( up…read moreto 60 atleast)log left on the trail so someone can break their ankle. I did my best to move most of them. You can see the staff just ran over them with there quads while on patrol, lol. Not much flora from mushrooms to birds to animals wild flowers. The U of I torn down the "tea house" that the original owner was disguised with that act. With all the houses on the property why did not the U of I make a beautiful creation like they do on campus to restore history. They might have some events that are cool, but grounds not taken care of at least get some goats. If you like easy snooze trails, this if your hike, nothing here is even a moderate level, all easy. Only a honest review as always.

Have you seen it? have you heard it? It's pretty amazing…read more... super tall, 32+? bells that one person plays! Hello? Awesome! Wednesdays in the summer take wander around the area and take a listen! I think it's pretty awesome. Now, if we could get rid of the bugs... Anyway - it's great! Go, enjoy!

Do the tour! The tour of the Carillon's is about 30 minutes and you learn about how they're played…read moreand how they came to be and how they're made. Then if you can stay or come back for the concert when they play, it's worth it. The concert is about another 30 minutes and sounds just wonderful. There are places to sit and relax and geese to feed too. The tour costs a nominal amount but listening to the Carillons is free.

It's located on Rt. 66, next to the capital & across from the library with fountains in front of…read morethe statue of Martin Luther King Jr. The current Supreme Court Building was built in 1908 for $450,500. It houses the Ceremonial Courtroom, Law Library & court staff.

One needn't know a thing about law or lawyering to appreciate the beauty and simple grandeur of the…read moreIllinois Supreme Court building in Springfield. My plans yesterday at the Capitol were attenuated because House Speaker Madigan's office had appropriated every single seat in the House Gallery for Governor Quinn's Budget Address. Translation: the public was essentially prevented from attending the Governor's speech. I solved that by walking across the street to the Illinois Supreme Court, which had ended its session yesterday, until May or so. I knew the building would be open but the entrance would be full of security - no doubt retired FBI and other law enforcement officials. I entered, and was correct. "Good morning, Sir. State your business please. Are you a lawyer?" "Recovering lawyer." All cops break up laughing. One asked: "How may we help you and exactly what is a recovering lawyer?" I said I had time to kill, no longer practice law, am a legal studies professor now, and simply wanted to spend time in the building, check out the library collection, view the artwork, etc. One of these fine gentleman said he had time and if I would like he would be happy to give me his personal tour. You bet. As I suspected, my tour guide-security officer was a former FBI agent or Illinois State Police; I'm not sure. He was a great guy, and what made his tour so interesting for me is that while he showed me the building and its treasures, he also weaved in a narration of his experience growing up in Springfield the son of a local trial lawyer who had argued a handful of cases in the Supreme Court; he told me how it felt for him to see his Dad argue - and win. Here are my pix of the Library, the main Court, the Ceremonial Court Room, and various other details: http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/V-sjEb8q9g1EfNQ0VTaY3Q