Illinois State Capitol(s)

Almost all the states have had more than one capitol building, but very few have both the old and the new in the same city.  Illinois is one of those states. The sixth and present capitol was started in 1868 and completed 20 years later. It replaced the building that was built between 1837 and 1853.

The present capitol building is built in the French Renaissance style. The dome at 361 feet is the tallest domed state capitol in the country and is even taller than the the U.S. capitol. The statue of Lincoln in front of the building is one of many statues and paintings of the first president from the state. 

The first floor of the rotunda has a statue by Julia Bracken that represents the welcoming of people to the 1893 Columbian Exposition in Chicago. 

The dome is very impressive with the center stained glass representation of the state seal made from 9,000 pieces of glass. When the building opened, the dome was illuminated with 144 gas lights. The carbon soon turned it black and it was hidden until it was cleaned in 1986, 100 years after it was built.

Under the dome are plaster relief panels that are painted to look like metal.  They represent Illinois history from Native Americans to the 1858 Lincoln - Douglas debates (pictured here). The debates were in 1858 when Lincoln ran for and lost the U.S. Senate seat held by incumbent Douglas.  Pictures and statues of Lincoln's political foe Stephen Douglas are second only to Lincoln's in the building.

On the second floor of the rotunda are eight statues of famous state legislators and of course there is Honest Abe Lincoln and The Little Giant (5"4") Douglas. In addition to running against each other in 1858, Douglas was one of four candidates who ran for president in 1860 along with Lincoln.

The Illinois House gallery with crystal chandeliers. There are 118 representatives in the House....

......And of course portraits of Douglas and Lincoln. The members sit on the side with the portraits of their famous political leaders, Democrats on the left with Douglas and Republicans on the right with Lincoln.

The state Senate chamber where the 59 state senators meet. President Obama served in this chamber when he was an Illinois state senator. 

This 20' X 40' painting shows the signing of a treaty between George Rogers Clark and Native Americans at Fort Kaskaskia in 1778.

The governor's reception room is used for ceremonial bill signings. Of course it has a painting of the Lincoln - Douglas debate.

Some of the statues in the area of the capitol and on the grounds is one honoring coal miners, another honors workers killed or injured on the job and one of Martin Luther King. As you will expect after reading this post, you know there are also statues of Lincoln and Douglas on the grounds.

The Illinois capitol is another impressive building well worth a visit. We hope your tour, unlike ours, will not be with a large group of fourth graders:)

Also in Springfield is the fifth Illinois capitol that was built in the Greek Revival style. When it was built it was the largest capitol on what was then the American frontier. After the new capitol was built this one was used as a county courthouse.

The House chamber is where Lincoln served when he was a representative from 1834 to 1842. It was here that he gave his House Divided speech. 

After he was assassinated he was laid in state here before his burial at Oak Ridge Cemetery. 

The old senate chamber.   The old state capitol is well worth a visit to walk the halls where Lincoln started his service to the country.

Dana - Thomas House and Springfield

Let me start by saying having repairs done on Opus while on the road is the biggest frustration we have with our fulltiming lifestyle. When you are in a stix and brix you can use the same repair people all the time, but on the road you are at the mercy of people who know you will be hundreds of miles away soon after the work is done. This has resulted in more bad than good experiences and often means having the same problem recur, requiring more than one repair stop.  The AC is the latest example.  In July of last year the fan stopped working in the back AC. We had it replaced in North Carolina. Then in August while in Eastern PA both ACs stopped working.  A repairman changed a board and they worked until this August.  A mobile repairman in WashPA had no idea what was wrong so we made an appointment at Duncan, a repair service in Elkhart. We have used them in the past with positive results. So we left WashPA with two RV service stops scheduled, one in Michigan at Spartan for annual engine maintenance and inspection of the chassis and the other in Elkhart at Duncan for the AC and several other RV issues.  The inspection at Spartan found the suspension air bags on our 12 year old rig were showing wear and needed changed.  That was something we did not plan on, but not totally unexpected because Opus is getting old. After the work was done in Michigan we headed to Duncan with a list of items that needed worked on including the AC-heat pumps, broken toilet spring, batteries, broken dead-bolt door lock and bathroom exhaust fan. Most repairs went as expected, but as always there was a couple surprises; the cost of the dead-bolt and the fact a whole new toilet would cost only $20.00 more than the cost to repair the spring. The biggest surprise was we needed new batteries.  We had new AGMs installed three years ago and they were cooked. I think this goes back to an inverter problem we had a couple years ago. Another example of something not corrected the first time.  The biggest issue for us was the AC-heat pumps, and Steve at Duncan was shocked when he took the cover off the roof top unit and found loose wires. Turned out, the fix was to reattach the wires and replace a bad connection.  While all the repairs have lightened our wallet, it was not nearly as expensive as we had planned, so life is good!

After all that it was time to get back to what we love about our lifestyle, traveling America's highways and experiencing new things along the way. Our first stop was in Springfield, Illinois to tour the capitol and  to visit Frank Lloyd Wright's Dana-Thomas House. Here is the link to our earlier visit to Springfield when we visited the Lincoln sites. On that visit the Dana-Thomas House was closed and we had not yet put capitol tours on our to do list. 

You never know what you will see along the road. On the way to Springfield we got behind this huge windmill blade. Believe it or not, this truck was making the turn. We sure have seen a big increase in the number of windmills and when you see them you need to be aware of high winds while driving a high profile RV.

We went to Obed & Isaacs brew pub in Springfield where the food was very good and they have cans of fresh brews to go.  You pick the beer you want, they fill a quart can and then seal the pop top with this spinning machine.

I opted for the Isaacs IPA which I had the next evening at home. This is the first time we have seen the use of what they call a crawler. For me it is better than a growler that does not fit well into the RV fridge.

While at dinner one evening we met  Pam, one of the locals, and she told us that her sister and brother-in-law's diner, Charles Parker's, was not to be missed while in Springfield. So, of course, the next day we went for breakfast.  I had the "pony," the small version of the "shoe," a dish with toast, eggs, meat and potatoes in a pile all covered with gravy, cheese or both. It was very yummy.

A panoramic shot of Charlie Parker's. This unique place has been featured on Diners, Drive Ins and Dives and in addition to having great food and very cool 50's style interior, it is located in an old Quonset hut and definitely worth a visit.

We search out Frank Lloyd Wright buildings in our travels and the Dana-Thomas house is one of the best we have toured. In 1902 Susan Lawrence Dana gave Wright, who had just started his own architectural firm, a blank check commission to remodel her 2,000 square foot Victorian home. 

The end result was this 12,000 square foot, 35 room Prairie Style home with 3 main levels and 16 varying levels that was designed to be used for entertaining, as well as Susan's home. While this house was the 72nd designed by Wright, at $50,000 it was by far the most expensive at that point in his long career.

The entrance through the arched door was unusual for a Wright home where doors are usually placed around corners or hidden behind walls. Susan wanted a welcoming door, as she had guests for parties at least twice a week. The arch theme is carried on inside with an arched fireplace and a couple arched ceiling rooms. 

The dining room has a table that expands to seat up to forty guests. Notice the chair backs with every other one having a low back to make it easier for the servers to serve and clear the table. No interior photos are allowed. I was able to find these interior pictures on line.

This room, designed exclusively for entertaining, includes one of three band boxes in the house, this one located on the balcony. The tables were used to display Susan's art collection because Wright did not want art hung on the walls, as he considered his buildings works of art.

The library is an exact replica of the one that Susan's father built in the Springfield High School. She often opened it to local children who came for games, readings and to borrow her books.

The living room, like much of the house, has many windows.  While it was wired for electric lights in 1902, they were very low power and dim.  After living here for 24 years Susan sold the house to Charles C. Thomas in 1924. He used it as the headquarters for his medical publication business, but made sure the original furnishings were preserved. In 1981 he sold the house and all the furnishings to the state of Illinois for $1,000,000. An example of what a great deal it was is the lamp on the desk which was originally in the home but was later bought at auction for $750,000.

One theme throughout the house is the butterfly pattern. This light projected a butterfly on the wall and ceiling, a great example of the detail in Wright's buildings.

The other theme, sumac trees, is found in the wood and stained glass windows.  

The courtyard of the house is near the railroad tracks and Susan often had guests arrive by special train. While the house was very large and Susan entertained a great deal, she did not have overnight guest bedrooms and there was only one very small bathroom for guests.  

With so much of the original furnishings still in the home, this has to be one of the most important Wright homes that is open to the public. We had a nice time in Springfield and still have a blog post to write about our tour of the state capitol.

Since we are moving cross country I'm a bit behind with the blog. We are presently in Dodge City, KS and have a reservation for four days at the Ojo Caliente Spa in New Mexico early next week. We will then be going to the Good Life RV Park in Mesa and staying until the beginning of the year.

South to Betty's

When we left WashPA our first stop was in Cleveland for the Yanni -- Barnhart wedding (last post) followed by an annual service and overall chassis inspection appointment at Spartan in Michigan. The work at Spartan only took one day so we decided to sprint to Betty's RV Park in Louisiana.  This meant we drove 1600 miles of almost all interstate highway, something we have never done in so few days since going on the road.  Below are a few of the "highlights" of driving the super highways.

Welcome to Ohio So Much to Discover.  Nice fall colors.

Welcome to Pure Michigan.  Where a turkey flew across the highway and, fortunately, into the side of Opus rather than Opus hitting it.  No damage.

Indiana, Crossroads of America, Lincoln's Boyhood Home.  Very flat.

Welcome to Illinois, The Land of Lincoln.  Seems to be a fight between Indiana and Illinois over Lincoln.

Approaching a high point of the trip, the first of three crossings over the Mississippi River.

Missouri Welcomes You.  Even if it was for less than 100 miles across the boot heel, we knew we were in the South as we saw cotton, kudzu and a dead armadillo.

You never know what you will see along America's highways.

Welcome to Arkansas, The Natural State, Buckle Up For Safety.  Glad they are concerned about our safety.

We are once again East of the Mississippi.

Tennessee, The Volunteer State Welcomes You.  We felt welcome even though we were only there for 15 minutes.

Welcome to Mississippi, Birthplace of America's Music.  We enjoyed the music on our last visit but this time we were on a mission.

Welcome to Louisiana, Bienvenue en Louisiane, Keep Louisiana Beautiful.  Wow, they manage to put the state name on the sign three times and in two languages.

One last crossing to the West side of the Mississippi River at Baton Rouge.  

What a trip!!  Two nights dry camping in the hotel parking lot in Cleveland, two nights with only power at Spartan, two Wally World stays and one Passport America park later we made it to Betty's.  We were greeted by friends old and new.  We are looking forward to a fun six week stay in the heart of Cajun Country.

We did have one issue coming south.  When I plugged in Opus at Spartan the readout on our Progressive Industries EMS system was just flashing and would not let the power into the rig.  Even though it was after 7PM on the East coast, Donald took my call at home and talked me through what I needed to do to bypass the system.  When we got to Betty's a FREE new board was waiting for me.  With the help of Mike I installed the new board and all is fine.  I have always been happy with how the EMS has performed and I'm now also real happy with their customer service. 

Abe, Sam, Mark, Tom, Huck & Becky

We left Elkhart with the plan to spend a couple of days in Lincoln, IL on our way to Hannibal, MO where we planned to stay through the holiday weekend.  When we called the campground we could only get one night so we missed seeing a few Route 66 sites in the Lincoln area.  This sometimes happens when we travel without reservations and it's not a big deal, we just headed to Hannibal a day early.  We were happy to be in a shady spot for the week as the temps were near 100 everyday. 

Lincoln is the only town named for Abe before he became president.  He was there to christen the town with watermelon juice when it was established in 1853.  The town was a stop on the circuit for judges and lawyers to hold court.  There is a beautiful courthouse on the town square where the statue is and a huge covered wagon with a larger than life Lincoln.  This was a neat little stop where we will have to return to see the things we missed.

Hannibal is a neat old river town that celebrates its native son, Samuel Clemons, who grew up here to become author, Mark Twain.  The pen name comes from Sam's experience as a riverboat pilot on the Mississippi.  When the water was a safe two fathoms deep the pilot would shout "Mark Twain".  This is a look at the historic district from Lover's Leap.

How neat it was to see the statue of Mark at the wheel as the riverboat, Queen of the Mississippi, sailed away.  We saw the Queen in Natchez this spring.  Here is a link to that entry.

The white house is Sam's boyhood home.  The characters in Mark's books, Tom Sawyer, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and others, are based on Sam's young friends and their lives growing up in Hannibal.

Here is Tom sneaking out of the house to join Huck for a bit of mischief.

Nanc at the famous fence.  She wanted me to do the painting but with my old painting skills and a bit of Tom's brass I got her to do the job.

Just up the street from Sam's boyhood home is Huck's home.  His character was based on Sam's friend, Tom Blankenship.

Statue of Tom and Huck.

Across the street from Sam's home is the home of Laura Hawkins who was the model for Becky Thatcher.  As you walk around town and along the river you can just picture the characters and imagine the adventures they would have had growing up in this little river town.

We heard Mark talk about his experience at the beginning of the Civil War before he went west with his brother whom Abe appointed as the secretary of the Nevada Territory.

One of the highlights of the Mark Twain Museum, which includes all the above homes, is the collection of Norman Rockwell illustrations from an edition of the books published in the 1930's.  Rockwell was the first illustrator to visit Hannibal before doing his drawings so they are much more realistic. 

We attended another show, Mark Twain Himself, at the Planters Barn Theater.  It was very informative and great hearing different stories from both Marks.

We are staying at the Mark Twain Cave Campground so to cool off on one of those 100 degree days we toured the cave.  It is a small cave that was found in the early 1800's and was featured in Mark's books.

There were a few bats flying around and this one that was resting to get ready for a night of bug eating.  When I see old graffiti in places like this I wonder how long it takes for vandalism to become an important historical treasure.  Top right is where Jessie James signed the cave while hiding here.

Some people in Hannibal even took there role in Mark's life to the grave.  Laura Hawkins Frazer had Becky Thatcher engraved on her headstone so that future generations would not forget that she was the real person and the inspiration for Becky in the books.  Very neat!!

 

Hannibal is all about Mark Twain to the point that we encountered the Mark Twain campground, cave, boyhood home, himself, museum, casino and riverboat.  We did pass on the Mark Twain fried chicken.  If you have any interest in this American icon you need to put Hannibal on your to do list. 

I don't usually write about restaurants where we eat on the road, but we found a really neat place here in Hannibal, LaBinnah Bistro.  It's a great little place with a Mediterranean flair located in an old Victorian home that was once a social club that entertained the likes of Sam.  I had a shrimp dish and Nanc had a vegetarian meal.  They were both wonderful made with exotic seasonings.  As we were finishing, another couple who had just finished their meal stopped to talk and the lady told us the vegetables had come from her garden.  Can't get much fresher than that.  It was so good we went back for a second meal.  If you are in Hannibal check out this great restaurant.

Part of the complex at the campground includes a winery where they had entertainment on Saturday night.  The Cheeseburgers were very entertaining.  They are a local group from Quincy, IL, but with a Pittsburgh tie, Burt the keyboarder.  If you are in the area and they are playing don't miss the chance to hear them.  In the picture they were doing a ZZ Top number. A great visit to an historic town with more to do than you can imagine.  Very well worth a stop.