Particularly noteworthy were the more than 100 original Wright-designed furniture and 450 examples of art glass doors, windows, panels, and lamps. As admission was only by a guided tour for just five people, we had to wait until later that day for two open spots.
During Abraham Lincoln's time in the city, Springfield was home to large German and Irish communities. After being forced from their homeland by religious prejudice in 1849, a colony of Portuguese arrived in the city.
A couple of blocks away was the Governor's Mansion which was all decked out for Halloween. The mansion was constructed beginning in 1853 in the then-popular Italianate style, i.e. imitating the Italian villa, which came to America in the 1840s and soon spread across the country and remained popular until the 1970s. The features that combine to make a building Italianate were a very low or even flat roof, arched windows, bay windows, small iron balconies, a cupola or tower, and private covered porches.
The four flags that flew on Bicentennial Plaza across from the mansion held special meaning for Illinois as each was a 21-star flag which became the official US flag on July 4, 1819, to recognize the admission of Illinois as the 21st state in the Union on December 3, 1818. The 21-star flag served officially for only one year, during President James Monroe's term.
The first US flag was officially adopted on June 14, 1777, and included 13 stripes and 13 stars, each representing one of the British colonies that declared independence from Great Britain and became the first United States. The current 50-star flag has been in use since July 4, 1960, after Hawaii was admitted to the union. Neither of us knew why the flags were flying at half-staff that fall day.
The city saw an increase in the African American population following the Civil War and they were joined by eastern and southern European natives in the 1890s and 1890s who were attracted to the area by coal mining and factory jobs. By World War I, 13 percent had been born outside of the country.
Springfield had a growing Jewish community beginning in the mid-1880s as Eastern Europeans and Russian Jewish immigrants moved to the United States. Jewish congregations played an important role in the city's social and religious life as immigrants moved to the city.
The Dean House:
These green lawns and groomed streets were once far noisier, messier, and smellier than they are today. Many Springfield residents kept horses, cows, and chickens on their property. As maintaining a household was a full-time job for at least one woman, many families with an income like the Lincolns would have had paid servants.
People nowadays refer to gardening as a hobby but in the mid-19th century, many families depended on a kitchen garden to enrich their diets with seasonal fruits, vegetables, and herbs.
The Charles Arnold House was named for Lincoln's political ally who was twice elected County Sheriff on the Whig ticket during the years he was Lincoln's neighbor.
The photo depicted the Republican Rally that took place in front of Lincoln's home in 1860.
Since Lincoln's death in 1865, the corner of Eighth and Jackson has become a popular destination for people seeking a closer connection to Lincoln's home, life, and legacy. The millions of visitors to the Lincoln home since the mid-19th century have ranged from sitting presidents to ordinary citizens, and war veterans to school children.
The Lincoln Home was decorated for his funeral and burial in May of 1865.
The Julia Sprigg House was owned by a widow who purchased it in 1853 for herself and her family. Sprigg became close friends with her neighbor, Mary Todd Lincoln, and her daughter babysat the Lincoln sons.
Allen and Clarissa Miller had their house built near the Lincoln home shortly after purchasing this double lot in 1855 for $650.
Lincoln departed the Lincoln Depot in Springfield in early 1861 to assume the US presidency. He delivered a brief address to the crowd, estimated at 1,000, from the train's rear platform.
I wondered if the unfinished mural reflected Lincoln's unfinished term as president.
Lincoln maintained a law office in the Tinsley building that was originally intended for commercial use when it was constructed in 1840-1. He argued cases before the federal courts here from 1841-1855 in a second-floor courtroom.
Lincoln wrote his first Presidential Inaugural Address in January 1861 from the third story of the building behind the statues.
We were surprised to spot US Senator Dick Durbin as we strolled through the sites.
The old state capitol, the fifth statehouse in Illinois history, served as the capitol from 1839-1876. Lincoln often practiced before the state Supreme Court at the statehouse from 1839-1862 and also delivered several important speeches from the statehouse.
The Senate Chamber:
Members' desks and chairs in Representative Hall were removed for the Farewell to President Lincoln that took place here prior to his funeral service at Oak Ridge Cemetery. In under a day, an estimated 75,000 people came to this room to pay their respects.
The only piece of furniture that remained in place during the lying-in-state was the portrait of George Washington.
Supreme Court:
When the Civil War began in 1861, there were several thousand volumes in the Illinois State Library. It was almost devoid of books now, though.
These murals caught our attention as we continued our walk through Springfield.
The mural near Lincoln's first law offices in Springfield showed him as a surveyor, a job he performed in 1833. The mural was part of the city's Artification Project which sought to bring public works of art to the Downtown Historic District. What a brilliant idea - I wished more cities would copy Springfield's mission.
Lincoln statues decorated Union Square Park.
This compelling sculpture, comprised of two charred chimneys from burned-out buildings, commemorated the centennial of the brutal 1908 Springfield Race Riot which occurred just blocks from the Lincoln home. The vicious race riot shook the nation and became the catalyst for the founding of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in New York on Lincoln's birthday in 1909.
Across from the park was the Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum.
Huh?!! Who is/was David Hammons!
To see even more murals, we walked along the Art Alley.
Muralist Troy Freeman's Prairie Sumac depicted the Prairie Sumac window in the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Dana-Thomas House dining room. Wright's geometric interpretation of the sumac plant became the unifying theme for all the art glass designs in the house.
No clue why this was in front of a restaurant but I just had to take a photo!
The current statehouse was closed to visitors so we just made do walking around and seeing the memorials.
Last fall seeing a copy of the Liberty Bell in front of a statehouse that had been sent to each state was still a novelty. Not so much all these months later when we've just spent so many months traveling through most of the country's capitals and seen them everywhere!
Workers' Memorial:
The memorial honored the 72 law enforcement officers, 343 firefighters, and 2,651 fellow Americans who lost their lives in the attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001, twenty years ago yesterday.
The unusually named Very Special Mosaic Mural:
Steven and I had never recalled seeing or hearing so many trains in a capital city as in Springfield!
Just a few blocks from the capitol was the Dana-Thomas house that we'd only seen from the exterior earlier that day. The tour guide said there were 3 main levels but 16 levels in all to the 12,000-square-foot home! There were no handrails except those put in by the state as F.L. Wright didn't like them. We were, therefore, told we could touch the walls (for support) as they could be disinfected from Covid-19 but everyone had to wear gloves. This home was different from many of Wright's other homes because he normally 'hides' the front door!
The guide pointed out that the home was intended to be used for the community and society fundraisers and not simply as a nuclear family home. The house was designed for Dana when she became a widow at age 40 and her mother as a big public party house and for just the two women who lived here.
The dining room table sat 20 with only some of the leaves in and could be extended to seat 40! Wright designed all of the furniture and light fixtures throughout the home as he thought it a "tragedy" if they brought in their own "junk." Some of the chairs sold for the paltry sum of just a dollar at a garage sale when Dana was declared medically incompetent to pay her bills. People wanted her furs and china, not her furniture.
Wright didn't care for radiators so he hid them under padded seats.
This divine, rare double pedestal lamp used to adorn this table in the home but was later sold. It was purchased years later at a Christie’s auction in the late 1980s for the mindboggling sum of $700,000 and was given to the state to be placed back in the home by wealthy donors. The guide speculated that Brad Pitt or Barbra Streisand or Oprah Winfrey might have the matching piece!
Though my photo doesn't show it, the lobby ceiling rose impressively to the second floor. It was the first time Wright used the open spaces on two levels.
The design included theatrical touches such as curtains in the mini conservatory that permitted temporary privacy, avoided drafts, and provided better acoustics.
I imagine the divine Prairie Sumac window looks very familiar to you after seeing the similar mural earlier!
One of the bedrooms on the main floor also contained privacy curtains.
A view from above overlooking the vast dining room table:
This 1890s billiards table was donated by Illinois Governor James Thompson to the home to replace the one that had been there in the Dana-Thomas era.
This model in the rec room gave us a good idea of the home's many levels!
The ceiling's original mini glass blocks were repurposed glass ashtrays that were made in a factory in Chicago as no craftsman could replicate a glass ceiling. It was the best use I'd ever seen for an ashtray!
Wright coordinated the design of the 250 stained glass windows, doors, and light panels of the house, as well as over 200 light fixtures. The home had one of the largest collections of glass art that can be seen in a house that Wright designed.
There were no window coverings in the house as Wright saw them as an obstacle because they prevented the interior-exterior relationship he desired. He wanted those who were inside to be able to watch the external environment. His window designs made it impossible for those who were outside to see inside.
The guide told us how unusual it was to see a barrel vault ceiling in any of Wright's homes. This was located in the gallery and stage for orchestra or poetry readings. The nine suspended window panes were modeled after Japanese gates.
In a corner of the room was a shrine built around the metronome but the guide wasn't sure why. It seemed quirky but neat!
In the primary bedroom, a fireplace was located between the two beds at the back of the canopy's shared beams.
The 35-room mansion was the largest building Wright had designed and remains his best-preserved and most complete early Prairie-style structure. It was also the 72nd building he designed.
The library in the lower level was often the scene of children’s parties and storytime with "Miss Susan" on Saturdays for neighbors' children. The children could borrow books after they enjoyed cold lemonade and ice cream from the zinc-lined cooler. What child wouldn't want to go for storytime with all those inducements, huh?!
As both Wright and Susan Dana felt a great admiration for Asian architecture, he designed the facade at the top of the roof with a frieze of terracotta and plaster coating on a metallic green color.
After race riots began four years after the home was completed, Dana opened up the courtyard for those people whose lives had been ripped apart so they had a place of safety. The governor also opened up the gates to his mansion to help those in need.
I felt privileged touring the amazing home that Wright had designed and the opportunity to view his spectacular glass pieces and furniture while learning about the owners.
It wasn't easy to visit Lincoln's Tomb at Oak Creek Cemetery last fall as contact tracing was required, complete with temperature check, names, phone numbers, and other contact information.
The sculptures surrounding the obelisk representing the Infantry, Cavalry, Artillery, and Navy were created from melted-down Civil War cannons.
Lincoln held the Emancipation Proclamation in his right hand.
In front of the tomb was a copy of the Lincoln bust created by Gutzon Borglum who is more famous for his Mount Rushmore sculptures. The original bust is in Washington, DC.
Sculptures in niches marked Lincoln's exploits prior to his presidency as a surveyor, soldier, circuit rider, debater, etc.
The president's remains rested in a vault located ten feet under and just behind the massive Arkansas marble monument. The words "Now he belongs to the ages" inscribed on the wall were said to have been by the Secretary of War at Lincoln's deathbed.
The crypts contained the remains of Lincoln's wife and three of their four sons.
Nearby was the Illinois Vietnam Veterans' Memorial.
The WW II Illinois Veterans' Memorial:
The cenotaph was dedicated to the more than 22,000 Illinois veterans who gave their lives in the service of their country during WW II.
At the Korean War Memorial, we learned the most savage battle of modern warfare took place at the Chosin Reservoir where there were 12,000 casualties of 15,000 troops. There were 17 Medals of Honor and 70 Navy Crosses awarded, the most ever for a single battle in military history.
Phew, that was a long but extremely rewarding day touring Springfield's sights. I hope you were able to hang in until the end of the post and not give up! Normally, I would have divided it up into the Lincoln sites, the Frank Lloyd Wright Home, and the statehouses and murals but decided to lump them all together as I am so far behind.
Posted on September 2, 2021, from our home in Denver as we recover from our very long road trip and also simultaneously prepare for another exciting adventure overseas. Though we've been planning for an extended trip, the thought is certainly at the back of our minds that we might have to return early if travel conditions change substantially for Americans even though we've fortunately had our booster shots. Whatever happens, I'll keep you posted!
Why not a blue elephant?? Loved the tour of the Dana-Thomas house. Thanks, Janina
ReplyDeleteFunny about the humongous elephant wasn't it! Glad you liked the Dana-Thomas house photos. Wright was such a genius. I toured his Talesin West home out in Scottsdale when we were there this past January. Steven had had enough of Wright by then and took a pass, though.
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