Frank Lloyd Wright
Susan Lawrence Dana, a socialite and rich widow from the Springfield area, hired Frank Lloyd Wright to design her house in 1902. According to the tour guide, she handed him a blank checkbook and told him to go crazy. And crazy he went. Prairie Style Crazy.
His design borrowed heavily from Japanese influences (even though this house predated his first trip to Japan). You can see it in the eaves and corners.
We couldn't get any pictures of the inside, but it had amazing stained glass, a barrel vault, an open floor plan (from a time before an open floor plan was a thing), multiple levels, and back passageways. It had a Downton-esque servants' quarters and a bowling alley in the basement. The house interior was so big and complex, I felt lost most of the time.
Like the David Davis home in Bloomington, the Dana Thomas house is a National Historic Landmark.
Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception
To be a Cathedral, a church must have a cathedra, Latin for seat or throne. Catholics use cathedra to denote the office (or seat) of a bishop. Some Cathedrals have literal thrones, but I didn't see it in this one. Built in 1927 in Mankato Stone (a yellow limestone from Minnesota), this Greek Revival church has served as the seat for the Diocese of Springfield.
It even has gryphons.
Having grown up Baptist, I forget about the size of Catholic churches and they blow me away every time I go. Baptist churches, as a rule, are small, intimate affairs. Your attention focuses down and around you, toward the community. The pulpit has a central location, surrounded by pews. In Catholic churches, I find myself staring up the entire time. Everything is big and monumental and full of light. You feel small and awestruck. Even the pulpit has been placed to the side, unobtrusively.
Here's a close shot of the coffered ceiling and the upper row of windows called the clerestory.
This Cathedral is famous for having two stained glass windows devoted to American Presidents. One Lincoln and one Washington.
It also had a clock which none of us had ever seen inside a church ever.
We timed our visit just before Palm Sunday, so the palms had been placed beside the baptismal.
Norb Andy's Tabarin
Lunchtime. The internet won't tell me what tabarin means, but I think it's Gaelic for small, dingy bar with amazing food. Norb Andy opened his bar in 1937, four years after the repeal of Prohibition, just in time for the Mid-Depression Recession. This weird little facade, sticking out of the front of the Hickox Building (1830), leads down to the basement. This basement held Sangamo Club meetings (a fancy gentleman's club) and served as a speakeasy during the 1920s.
Springfield has about a dozen Irish pubs. Each of them serves a Horseshoe Sandwich. I felt it my duty to try Norb's.
The beef didn't have as much seasoning and flavor as the patty served by D'arcy's Pint, but I liked Norb's cheese sauce and fries better.
Herndon Slept Here
I had Aine stop so I could get a picture of this Lincoln statue. Anne refused to be duped a second day in a row and stayed in the car. I passed a cool little Lincoln Gift Shop, full of Lincoln knick-knacks and tchotchkes. You could buy your own hat or beard there.
I thought that was pretty nifty until I turned the corner and ran into this.
On the third floor of the building on the left, Lincoln practiced law with his partner and biographer William Herndon for almost 30 years.
Down below, on the street, I found what I trekked down the street for: Lincoln #16.
Tthe kid standing next to the happy couple, Willie, is waving to his older brother Robert across the sidewalk (you can see Union Station in the background).
The Lincolns sent Robert off to Harvard during their time in Washington. He graduated just in time to join Grant's staff for the last two months of the war. Robert later served as Secretary of War under Garfield and Arthur and as Ambassador to the UK under Harrison. After retiring from public service to practice law, he served as general council for the Pullman Palace Car Company during the Pullman Strike of 1895 (during Altgeld's governorship, gave us Labor Day). He was present or nearby for three Presidential assassinations: his father's, Garfield's, and Mckinley's.
Back to the other three. Of this trio, only Mary would return from Washington DC alive.
Illinois State Museum
To walk off the heavy lunch, we stopped by the Illinois State Museum. This museum started in 1877, originally housed in the capitol building, but it got kicked out in the 1920s when the collection grew too large. It moved to its current location in the 1960s.
This museum would be perfect for middle school/junior high age visitors. As a 33 year old with a belly full of horseshoe, I found myself a little under-engaged most of the time.
However, they did have specimens and a model of our State Fossil, the Tully Monster.
We found the Dinosaur Exhibit closed, which pretty much broke my heart.
But they did have a mammoth and a giant beaver sort of thing.
We had to take an escalator up to the top floor. The bricks were placed parallel to the escalator which made the whole experience disorienting. I kept feeling like I stood on a conveyor belt that was going to spit me into a hole.
Upstairs they had an exhibit dedicated to Mississippian Culture. Apparently, Mississippian women didn't wear shirts, which made me a little uncomfortable. I mean, there are kids running around and I'm looking at boobs. But I was able to get an G-rated picture. Look at this guy.
Quilts
Upstairs we also perused an exhibit of quilts made by women during the Civil War.
These remained in pretty good shape for being 150 years old and most of them were more complex and intricate than I expected.
After that we were toast. So we pretty much went home.
Parting Shot
Crankles likes spending time with Granny Annie.
Piglet not so much, but she does sit like a lady with her paws crossed.
