Grew up in this area, hadn't been back for 16 years to Grandview Dr, amazing! The stately older…read morehomes are beautiful too. Worth the drive!

Great 15-minute scenic drive - on one side, a variety of nice historic, fancy homes and on the…read moreother side, various views overlooking the Illinois River. Nice walking path alongside. A few places to park, get out, walk around, and take in the views.

We had such a wonderful time visiting the David Davis Mansion. Our tour guide, Jeff, gave us a long…read moreand detailed tour that was both informative and engaging. He was extremely knowledgeable, helpful, and made the history of the mansion come alive. One highlight was learning about David Davis's close connection to Abraham Lincoln, which added an even deeper historical significance to our visit. That piece of history was fascinating and memorable. We highly recommend the David Davis Mansion to anyone visiting Bloomington. It's a beautiful historic home with a rich story, and with guides like Jeff, you're guaranteed an excellent experience.

We toured the David Davis Mansion on a chilly December afternoon. There was one else there for a…read moretour so we had our own private tour. The mansion was beautiful and decorated for Christmas. The house has many artifacts that are true to the Davis family. We learned a treasure of information from our tour guide Jeff. He was able to answer both of our questions and we had many of them. Jeff was able to tailor the tour to our interests providing a personalized experience. This tour of an exquisite mansion was top-notch due to Jeff and his wealth of knowledge and pleasant personality.

My friend and I had an errand out in this area and decided to see what else there was to see while…read morewe were here. This museum (the home of the Hegeler and Carus families, who were involved in a local zinc company and also a publishing house, Open Court Press) is a national historic landmark and is unique because it was owned by the same family the whole time, & they never made any fundamental updates to the house so it's largely as it was when designed by WW Boyington (who also designed Chicago's Water Tower and the old Joliet prison) in the 1870s. Several rooms have been restored, but you can see in areas where it hasn't where time is taking its toll (for example, the main hall was painted with egg tempera paint, and that organic element [the egg] is now degrading after 150 years). Still, the parquet floors are amazing, and details like pocket doors, carved wooden decorations and historical elements like the speaker tube system in the walls for speaking through the house are unusual! The house also contains the only German-style turnhalle (gymnasium) in a historic home in the US. Other interesting details include an ornate butsudan (buddhist cabinet shrine) due to Hegeler's interest in Eastern religions. We just took the general tour ($15), but you can do half house (upper or lower half for $50 each) or whole house tours ($100). The longest one is apparently 3.5 hours with two breaks and children are discouraged since it is long. You must register for the tours as they max out at 6 people. Despite it saying "masks are required" and our temperatures taken at the door, our guide was initially trying to take his mask off to talk and the other couple on the tour followed suit. When my friend and I left ours on, they all put them back on at some point. The rooms do have 6 foot markers on the floors, but since some of the rooms aren't big, if you had a full tour group this would be an issue. There is an elevator so the Mansion is handicap accessible. Overall, this seems to be one of the bigger attractions in LaSalle, so take a tour if you're in town.

This mansion is beautiful and a amazing historic site to see!! The house tour is incredible! I…read morehighly recommend going here and learning about this incredible family!

Review Visit: September 17th, 2014…read more "In the criminal justice system, the people are represented by two separate yet equally important groups: the police, who investigate crime; and the district attorneys, who prosecute the offenders." The Metamora Courthouse Historic Site was a fun little stop during one of my times exploring the little town of... well... Metamora. My girlfriend at the time was from around this area, so I thought we should explore most of what the town and surrounding area has to offer. If you are a fan of historical things, Metamora itself has a ton of it's lineage still around and open for visits. This courthouse is no exception. I was pleasantly surprised that we got a bit of a tour/guide at the Courthouse. We got to look at stuff going our own pace but the people there were helpful in explaining the history of the things we were looking at. They also took us from room to room and explained what each one was used for. After spending maybe 30 minutes of browsing and getting some history lessons, we decided we had enough of the little courthouse and the history of Metamora, and to some extent, Illinois. The folks there were lovely and took the time to explain a lot of stuff to us. They are never overbearing or overloading on the information. It was the perfect informal tour. Metamora itself is a great place to bring kids for a field trip from school. Between all these historical places to see and the beautiful Black Partridge Park and Partridge Point Orchard, you couldn't ask for a more fun small Midwest town to explore.

Lots of history here. Perfect place for photo ops. Abraham Lincoln had a few cases here in…read moreMetamora. Definitely worth a visit.

So I'm just hanging out looking at the bridge and next thing you know the police are subtly…read moreencouraging me to leave ...and by subtle I mean alley lights and hand-spot light up the car suggesting I move along. hard to blame them though: some guy in a little truck with out of state plates taking pictures of the under-side of the highway bridge at 11:30pm on a Saturday night with the lights off. the signage indicates no parking after midnight but we live in interesting times.... Memorializing Murray Baker, the man responsible for bringing Caterpillar to town, the bridge has been carrying I-74 across 500' of the Illinois River since 1958. The bridge is just over 3000' long (lost about 200 feet while in rehab) and clears the water by some 60 feet give or take. In the finest tradition this bridge doesn't quite measure up to the official Interstate Highway Bridge requirements but there you go. Since 2020 500 LED bulbs light the structure at a reasonable cost. Requests for special lighting schemes need to be submitted to the public works department at least 30 days in advance.

It's alright, I guess. Nothing special, just a place to park your car. It gets the job done, but…read moredon't expect anything fancy. Could use some sprucing up, maybe better lighting? It's kinda dark at night.

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.

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.

Such a fun tour! Took about 50 minutes and was jammed packed with surprises. If you want a fun way…read moreto learn some davenport history, this is a great place to go!

From the owner: In almost any city you visit, you can find historic home tours. Our home has it all: beautiful…read morearchitecture, family stories, artifacts from around the world, unique room designs, and more!