Family Farm, Deer Creek Township, Illinois, March 2023

I woke up to a dusting of snow on the ground, which I was not expecting at this point in the season; apparently the same thing happened in St. Louis. It was very, very cold out, to say the least. But the sky was clear and blue in the morning.

Downtown Lincoln, Illinois

While there is the typical suburban sprawl on the edge of Lincoln, I was impressed by the overall strength and health of the downtown area of the city. There is little loss of the street wall around the courthouse square, and there is even a little theater district! There are two restored theaters, and rather…

Downtown Civic Buildings, Lincoln, Illinois

Oh no, they pulled a Chambord on me! But anyway, the Logan County Courthouse, constructed in 1905, is a beautiful building, nonetheless. It is relatively unadorned, and seems to be constructed out of yellow limestone or sandstone. Like many palaces in Europe, the first floor possesses rusticated stonework, while the upper stories features polished finish….

North Union Street and Environs, Lincoln, Illinois

Union Street forms the boundary between the two major street grids of Lincoln; to the east is the diagonal street grid which is oriented to the major train line that stretches between St. Louis and Chicago, and to the west is a street grid which is oriented to the cardinal directions. Union Street is oriented…

Around Lincoln College

The neighborhood around the former Lincoln College is filled with beautiful houses, in a relatively restricted number of styles on the northeast side of Lincoln. There are a huge number of houses in the Italianate style. As well as an abundance of immaculately restored Queen Anne style houses such as the one you see below….

Former Lincoln College

On literally the exact day I visited the former MacMurray College in Jacksonville, a victim of declining enrollment and financial troubles, Lincoln College in Lincoln, Illinois announced it would be closing, as well. It’s a similar story as befalls others small colleges, though there’s a criminal twist to Lincoln College: it was a victim of…

Former Lincoln State School

The second I saw the distinctive buildings on the south side of Lincoln, I knew exactly what I had just stumbled upon on my tour of the Central Illinois city that my family has driven by hundreds of times, but never visited. This is the former Lincoln State School, which has gone by numerous other…

Checking In on the Metro East: Granite City Industry

After leaving Madison, I wandered over into Granite City, where I soon found myself on East 23rd Street, and lo and behold, there was TMS Services. I went to their website, and after reading their “About Us” section I still have absolutely no idea what they do. I guess it looks like they probably scrap…

Checking In on the Metro East: Venice into Madison

On a lark I decided to see what was happening over in the Metro East, so I headed over the McKinley Bridge and first passed through Venice, Illinois. The first stop is a building that has long been many of my friends’ favorite, with its cool central pavilion, the Venice Recreation Hall. After that is…