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Illinois Tourist Attractions No One Knows About

Illinois Tourist Attractions No One Knows About
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  • Illinois Tourist Attractions No One Knows About

    Post #1 - January 17th, 2005, 1:43 pm
    Post #1 - January 17th, 2005, 1:43 pm Post #1 - January 17th, 2005, 1:43 pm
    I am an inveterate collector of obscure tourist attractions, the more un-noteworthy the better. Come by my house some time and I'll point out, within two blocks, where there's a WWII memorial attached to the side of an apartment building, and where a former police captain named William Drury, long known as a thorn in the side of the powers that be in Chicago and eventually driven off the force, was gunned down in his garage right before he would have testified to the Kefauver Crime Commission (the inspiration for the senate hearings in Godfather II).

    Most such things are precisely so minor and obscure that no one would expect them to roll off the tongue in a sentence that begins "Museum of Science and Industry, Sears Tower, Hard Rock Cafe...." Occasionally, however, you can hide something enormous and genuinely impressive in plain sight. Imagine a massive neoclassical building with a marble rotunda as impressive as that of the U.S. Capitol building. Could you hide something like that in Chicago? Sure, if you stuck it at 43rd and Cicero. But how about on the lakefront, directly opposite Lincoln Park?

    Here are two more I've found over the years, by which I mean one a while back and the other yesterday:

    Dixon, Illinois. Birthplace of Ronald Reagan. Which means there's a little white early 20th century house with a sign in front of it, to distinguish it from all the other similar houses in this town and, indeed, every town in every direction. But Dixon has something which no one seems to know it has. A couple of blocks from Reagan's house, there's a big jagged piece of concrete with graffiti all over. At first you think that a service station got torn down and the local kids have tagged a remaining wall. Then you realize it's unlikely the local kids tagged it in German. And that you have just seen a several-ton chunk of the Berlin Wall in a small town in north-central Illinois, apparently dropped from the moon with no advance word to any Chicago media that I ever saw.

    Volo, Illinois. A tiny smudge on the map way up north of Chicago that exists mainly for its one attraction: an antique car museum. Which is, in fact, a dealership, since most of the 50s luxury sedans and 60s muscle cars which have been restored to glow like Christmas candy are for sale. The ones that aren't, however, are from the collection of George Barris. The Gong Show guy? No, that's Chuck Barris. George Barris was the king of custom cars for Hollywood use. As in... the Batmobile. Right, the ultra-cool 1960s Batmobile from the Adam West Batman TV series, with its jet cockpit seats and flames shooting from the back. On the video screen above it, Barris tells a hilarious story about some Barney Fife local cop in some small town stopping it when they were driving it somewhere for a photo shoot and trying to impound the Batmobile for lacking windshield wipers and some of the other required accoutrements of street legality. Hey officer, normally cars don't have these either...

    Image

    Here's the cheeseburger from Sammie's we had afterwards.

    Image
    Last edited by Mike G on November 5th, 2006, 10:24 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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  • Post #2 - January 17th, 2005, 2:15 pm
    Post #2 - January 17th, 2005, 2:15 pm Post #2 - January 17th, 2005, 2:15 pm
    You probably know of the series of guidebooks, entitled Oddball (State), such as Oddball Illinois or Oddball Wisconsin (I believe there are five or six of these guides now - Ohio, Indiana, Minnesota).

    Because they focus on states, and not national, they have some of the smaller (and odder - although not always magificent) sites. Superdawg, Pig Out Hotdog, Billy Goat Tavern, and McDonalds #1 in Des Plaines are included in Oddball Illinois - they are big on large plastic, concrete, or paper mache objects.

    The guide is available from Amazon, but published by Chicago Review Press (814 N. Franklin St., Chicago 60610).

    It reminds you that even in the middle of nowhere, you are somewhere.
  • Post #3 - January 17th, 2005, 2:39 pm
    Post #3 - January 17th, 2005, 2:39 pm Post #3 - January 17th, 2005, 2:39 pm
    Other books and series include:

    Off the Beaten Track (by state)
    National Geographic has another similar book on lesser known state and national parks
  • Post #4 - January 17th, 2005, 3:11 pm
    Post #4 - January 17th, 2005, 3:11 pm Post #4 - January 17th, 2005, 3:11 pm
    It might be one of the aforementioned books which has on the front cover 8 car pile up IIRC is in Berwyn.
  • Post #5 - January 18th, 2005, 8:45 am
    Post #5 - January 18th, 2005, 8:45 am Post #5 - January 18th, 2005, 8:45 am
    Mike,

    I'm surprised that the link that you gave us to Dixon doesn't show the neon arch at the entrance to town all lit up. That is an amazing sight! I also did the tour of Regan's home during my visit there many years ago. Our tour guide was a lovely older woman who proudly told us that the Notre Dame pennant on the wall in Ronald's room was there to represent the time he played the role of the hunchback in the movie "Hunchback of Notre Dame". No lie. I have witnesses.

    The husband and my two sons have been huge fans of the Volo Auto Museum for years. It's a great way to pass a rainy fall afternoon. Now that my older son has his license, he appreciates the fact that there are actually price tags on the cars...just in case he wants to write a check for a '67 Mustang while he's there.

    Next time you're up that way and the weather's nice, you might also want to check out the Volo Bog. That's really a beautiful area.

    http://dnr.state.il.us/lands/Landmgt/PA ... OLOBOG.HTM

    Kim
  • Post #6 - January 18th, 2005, 1:31 pm
    Post #6 - January 18th, 2005, 1:31 pm Post #6 - January 18th, 2005, 1:31 pm
    This is rather like Hammond mentioning the cucumbers at Los 3 Gallos (to me). The other day I was driving to my cousin's apartment on Belmont/LSD and I passed the Elks building. I totally thought what you (MikeG) did. How could something so spectacular just kinda be there.

    Here's a few more of my favorites, some probably more "famous" than others (and ones I can almost never NOT point out to whoever's in the car with me.)

    - The portage. I mean the actual portage as well as the statute off of Harlem, just north of I-55. My kids now, are well versed on the meaning of the portage.

    - Hawthorne Works site

    - The Lyon's Castle

    - The Berverly Castle

    - 2120 S. Michigan

    - The "hidden" Frank Lloyd Wright house on River Road

    - Coonley House (Riverside)

    - Riverside generally

    - The house with the tree growing out of it (River Forest)

    - The former Dewey's Chili

    - That gold domed building in Garfield Park

    - The site of Friedman's Deli

    More?
  • Post #7 - January 19th, 2005, 9:58 am
    Post #7 - January 19th, 2005, 9:58 am Post #7 - January 19th, 2005, 9:58 am
    At the other extreme, I sometimes take visitors (the less knowledgeable, the better) to what I assure them is the site of what can arguably be considered to be the most important event in all of human history. They usually think I'm being ironic, but when I respond in the affirmative to a question like, "As important as Golgotha, I suppose?" they know I'm being serious and usually revert to high pensive mode as they try to extract the solution from me to our eventual destination . . .

    . . . which is, if course, the spot on the 5600 block of South Ellis where the wonderful Henry Moore statue commemorates the first self-sustaining, controlled nuclear reaction.

    Surprisingly enough, they usually agree with my assessment, too.
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  • Post #8 - January 19th, 2005, 10:03 am
    Post #8 - January 19th, 2005, 10:03 am Post #8 - January 19th, 2005, 10:03 am
    jbw wrote:At the other extreme, I sometimes take visitors (the less knowledgeable, the better) to what I assure them is the site of what can arguably be considered to be the most important event in all of human history. They usually think I'm being ironic, but when I respond in the affirmative to a question like, "As important as Golgotha, I suppose?" they know I'm being serious and usually revert to high pensive mode as they try to extract the solution from me to our eventual destination . . .

    . . . which is, if course, the spot on the 5600 block of South Ellis where the wonderful Henry Moore statue commemorates the first self-sustaining, controlled nuclear reaction.

    Surprisingly enough, they usually agree with my assessment, too.


    Excellent!
  • Post #9 - January 19th, 2005, 10:22 am
    Post #9 - January 19th, 2005, 10:22 am Post #9 - January 19th, 2005, 10:22 am
    I've done that too (the Henry Moore sculpture). Actually I would argue for the two most important neglected Chicagoans (defined as people who did something important here) being Fermi (who is at least vaguely acknowledged) and Leo Szilard, who was the real impetus behind the entire atomic age (he conceived of the chain reaction, albeit in London rather than here, and spent the 30s getting other people like Fermi and Einstein behind the idea of atomic fission). We have statues of everyone from Michael Jordan and Harry Caray to Emmanuel Swedenborg, Alexander Hamilton and enough Lincolns to start a baseball team, but for Fermi and Szilard, all one can say is what they said about Christopher Wren, the architect of London-- "if you seek his monument, look around you."

    The Hawthorn Works is another very good one, a massive, once major industrial facility now largely forgotten, especially worth noting if you know its place in the history of employee management. (Short version of the most important experiment conducted there: Elton Mayo experimented with different amounts of lighting to see if employees worked better in bright light, natural light, light that varied through the day, whatever. What he discovered, inadvertently, was that none of it made much difference-- but what made a huge difference in productivity was if the employees had control of the light switches, rather than them being operated by management.) Admittedly part of the reason it's ignored is because a lot of it has been torn down, but a building or two and a tower remain.

    P.S. By the way, here's anotherhidden-in-plain-sight thing that's quite impressive (unfortunately, the pics on the site are not very informative).
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  • Post #10 - January 19th, 2005, 10:36 am
    Post #10 - January 19th, 2005, 10:36 am Post #10 - January 19th, 2005, 10:36 am
    Mike G wrote:I've done that too (the Henry Moore sculpture). Actually I would argue for the two most important neglected Chicagoans (defined as people who did something important here) being Fermi (who is at least vaguely acknowledged) and Leo Szilard, who was the real impetus behind the entire atomic age (he conceived of the chain reaction, albeit in London rather than here, and spent the 30s getting other people like Fermi and Einstein behind the idea of atomic fission). We have statues of everyone from Michael Jordan and Harry Caray to Emmanuel Swedenborg, Alexander Hamilton and enough Lincolns to start a baseball team, but for Fermi and Szilard, all one can say is what they said about Christopher Wren, the architect of London-- "if you seek his monument, look around you."

    The Hawthorn Works is another very good one, a massive, once major industrial facility now largely forgotten, especially worth noting if you know its place in the history of employee management. (Short version of the most important experiment conducted there: Elton Mayo experimented with different amounts of lighting to see if employees worked better in bright light, natural light, light that varied through the day, whatever. What he discovered, inadvertently, was that none of it made much difference-- but what made a huge difference in productivity was if the employees had control of the light switches, rather than them being operated by management.) Admittedly part of the reason it's ignored is because a lot of it has been torn down, but a building or two and a tower remain.


    And let us not forget Philo Farnsworth, the inventor of the Cathode Ray Tube, although I am not aware of any sculpture in his honor.
    Steve Z.

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    ― Ludwig van Beethoven
  • Post #11 - January 19th, 2005, 10:44 am
    Post #11 - January 19th, 2005, 10:44 am Post #11 - January 19th, 2005, 10:44 am
    In a somewhat similar vein to Hawthorn Works would be the poor little arch left over from the Union Stockyards [ed. or Pullman?]. Actually, the arch is less interesting than the few remaining buildings that still exist off of Halsted.

    The other day, Blues Brothers was on TV. Of course it is a mixed movie, with certain aspects, the cartoon recoverys from rocket attacks, not holding up well, but it is an especially interesting archive of Chicago IMO. It seems to have been filmed at a cusp when old Chicago still existed, but would soon be gone. The els were the old els, the skid rows were the old skid rows, Maxwell Street was the real Maxwell Street (why change Nate's Deli into a soul food place though), Bigsby and Karuthers was haute fashion, Chez Paul was fine dinning.* I am glad the stuff got captured even if it means watching too many wrecked cars.

    *One little foodie point from the scene at Chez Paul. Jake and Elwood order a bottle of Dom Perignon. Elwood picks up his wine glass instead of the saucer. The waiter tells him wrong glass, but most wino's would tell you that champagne can be served, no problem in regular wine glasses, and flute or not, a wine glass is highly preferable to the old saucer. So, Elwood, far from being the philistine, was actually MORE knowlagable.
  • Post #12 - January 19th, 2005, 10:47 am
    Post #12 - January 19th, 2005, 10:47 am Post #12 - January 19th, 2005, 10:47 am
    stevez wrote:
    Mike G wrote:I've done that too (the Henry Moore sculpture). Actually I would argue for the two most important neglected Chicagoans (defined as people who did something important here) being Fermi (who is at least vaguely acknowledged) and Leo Szilard, who was the real impetus behind the entire atomic age (he conceived of the chain reaction, albeit in London rather than here, and spent the 30s getting other people like Fermi and Einstein behind the idea of atomic fission). We have statues of everyone from Michael Jordan and Harry Caray to Emmanuel Swedenborg, Alexander Hamilton and enough Lincolns to start a baseball team, but for Fermi and Szilard, all one can say is what they said about Christopher Wren, the architect of London-- "if you seek his monument, look around you."

    The Hawthorn Works is another very good one, a massive, once major industrial facility now largely forgotten, especially worth noting if you know its place in the history of employee management. (Short version of the most important experiment conducted there: Elton Mayo experimented with different amounts of lighting to see if employees worked better in bright light, natural light, light that varied through the day, whatever. What he discovered, inadvertently, was that none of it made much difference-- but what made a huge difference in productivity was if the employees had control of the light switches, rather than them being operated by management.) Admittedly part of the reason it's ignored is because a lot of it has been torn down, but a building or two and a tower remain.


    And let us not forget Philo Farnsworth, the inventor of the Cathode Ray Tube, although I am not aware of any sculpture in his honor.


    But the Motorola plant on the west side and various Zenith factories remain as emblems. (And SethZ claims their is a certain artfulness in old factories.)
  • Post #13 - January 19th, 2005, 11:37 am
    Post #13 - January 19th, 2005, 11:37 am Post #13 - January 19th, 2005, 11:37 am
    Vital Information wrote:But the Motorola plant on the west side and various Zenith factories remain as emblems. (And SethZ claims their is a certain artfulness in old factories.)


    I am very fond of 19th (and early 20th) century industrial architecture. Patterson, NJ, one of the first sites of modern industrialisation in the US, has a remarkable park that features a number of old factories and warehouses near the Great Falls of the Passaic.

    Though not quite so old nor similarly appreciated and recognised for their aesthetic and historical significance are many equally handsome industrial buildings in Chicago. One of the reasons I am so enamoured of the West and South Sides of Chicago and prefer them in various ways to the North is the still widespread presence of such buildings.

    To mention just one notable example I call attention to the old Schoenhofen brewery complex at the northwest corner of 18th Street and Canal.

    Moving away from the industrial to the theological, I would like to mention here the following two places: 1) the Bahai Temble on Sheridan, which is hardly unknown but also surely underappreciated; 2) the preserved ruins of the old German Lutheran church in Pilsen.

    Antonius
    Alle Nerven exzitiert von dem gewürzten Wein -- Anwandlung von Todesahndungen -- Doppeltgänger --
    - aus dem Tagebuch E.T.A. Hoffmanns, 6. Januar 1804.
    ________
    Na sir is na seachain an cath.
  • Post #14 - January 19th, 2005, 12:26 pm
    Post #14 - January 19th, 2005, 12:26 pm Post #14 - January 19th, 2005, 12:26 pm
    Vital Information wrote:So, Elwood, far from being the philistine, was actually MORE knowlagable.


    The things you learn in stir.

    Incidentally, to bring this discussion so far around it's a pretzel, you can see an unwrecked Blues Brothers car at the Volo car museum, too.
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  • Post #15 - January 19th, 2005, 12:44 pm
    Post #15 - January 19th, 2005, 12:44 pm Post #15 - January 19th, 2005, 12:44 pm
    One secret tourist attraction that's mystified me since I spotted it is a small park visible from the Brown Line, just before entering Sedgwick station (on a southbound trip; just after on a northbound). The park's very well-maintained, and has a little concrete path from the entrance to a spot about in the center of the park, where it ends in a tiny cul-de-sac.

    There must be a reason for that path and cul-de-sac, but in my seven years here, there's never been anything at the end of that path, let alone anything else in that park. I've never seen anyone in the park, and as far as I can remember it doesn't even have any benches along the side. It's just a very well-maintained grassy lot with a path to nowhere. Was there ever anything in there? Is there a reason for this park to exist, other than mystifying the people who happen to notice it?
  • Post #16 - January 19th, 2005, 1:57 pm
    Post #16 - January 19th, 2005, 1:57 pm Post #16 - January 19th, 2005, 1:57 pm
    Bob S. wrote:One secret tourist attraction that's mystified me since I spotted it is a small park visible from the Brown Line, just before entering Sedgwick station (on a southbound trip; just after on a northbound).


    Is this the park you speak of?
  • Post #17 - January 19th, 2005, 2:29 pm
    Post #17 - January 19th, 2005, 2:29 pm Post #17 - January 19th, 2005, 2:29 pm
    When I worked in the River North dot communes, there was a little park near Erie Street Cafe, overlooking the river but set below the street level a little and thus easily missable from it, where we would go to work on nice days that we called Secret Park because it was not even discovered, so far as we could tell, by derelicts. I think it was there because from the river it looked like a perfect place to put a little park overlooking the river; only from the vantage point of walking and using the city did you realize that in terms of likely usage it made about as much sense as a bandshell in the middle of a desert.

    If you want real secret things in this city, though, look into abandoned ballrooms. A lot of the big pre-WWII residential buildings along the lake, especially (but not only) the ones that used to be hotels, have ornate ballrooms which haven't been used in 50 years. A couple of them are now parking garages-- years ago the Tribune Sunday magazine ran some great photos of cars parked under stunning lapis-lazuli arched ceilings-- while others just sit as empty, ignored floors in otherwise busy buildings.
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  • Post #18 - January 19th, 2005, 2:46 pm
    Post #18 - January 19th, 2005, 2:46 pm Post #18 - January 19th, 2005, 2:46 pm
    Aaron Deacon wrote:
    Bob S. wrote:One secret tourist attraction that's mystified me since I spotted it is a small park visible from the Brown Line, just before entering Sedgwick station (on a southbound trip; just after on a northbound).

    Is this the park you speak of?

    Hm... nice find, Aaron, but I don't think so -- looking at the map linked from that page, this park is too far north. At that point, the Brown Line is south of North Ave., and this park (or lot, perhaps) is just off to the south of the tracks. I managed to grab this aerial photo off of the USGS.gov site; the park is circled in red:

    Image

    You can see the path I mentioned that ends in the middle of the park, though I guess the circle at the end of it couldn't be picked up at this resolution.
  • Post #19 - January 19th, 2005, 2:52 pm
    Post #19 - January 19th, 2005, 2:52 pm Post #19 - January 19th, 2005, 2:52 pm
    Bob,

    I know the plot of land you speak of--I don't think it's a park. I believe it is privately owned, as I recall seeing a for sale sign there years ago. It looks like someone wanted to build a house there, and for reasons only known to themselves, started with the walk to the front door, and then ran out of money.

    I'm sure there's a story behind this.
  • Post #20 - January 19th, 2005, 3:04 pm
    Post #20 - January 19th, 2005, 3:04 pm Post #20 - January 19th, 2005, 3:04 pm
    I'm pretty sure it was once the Oscar Meyer factory. That factory went down about 10 years ago, and townhomes were built.
  • Post #21 - January 19th, 2005, 3:13 pm
    Post #21 - January 19th, 2005, 3:13 pm Post #21 - January 19th, 2005, 3:13 pm
    Vital Information wrote:I'm pretty sure it was once the Oscar Meyer factory. That factory went down about 10 years ago, and townhomes were built.

    Huh. It seems too small a plot to have had a factory, but if it's true, it's yet another neat bit of Chicago food-related trivia that's popped up here.
  • Post #22 - January 19th, 2005, 3:31 pm
    Post #22 - January 19th, 2005, 3:31 pm Post #22 - January 19th, 2005, 3:31 pm
    Bob S. wrote:
    Vital Information wrote:I'm pretty sure it was once the Oscar Meyer factory. That factory went down about 10 years ago, and townhomes were built.

    Huh. It seems too small a plot to have had a factory, but if it's true, it's yet another neat bit of Chicago food-related trivia that's popped up here.


    No, I think that "park" is what was left over after the factory was torn down and the townhouses built.

    The Oscar Meyer factory was right there, where the el cures.
  • Post #23 - January 19th, 2005, 4:00 pm
    Post #23 - January 19th, 2005, 4:00 pm Post #23 - January 19th, 2005, 4:00 pm
    I've seen that "park" a million times too. Looks to be private. I always assumed that the little walk and circle used to go with a wooden bower, now gone. I thought this because my grandmother's yard in P'Burgh had the exact same look.
  • Post #24 - January 19th, 2005, 4:55 pm
    Post #24 - January 19th, 2005, 4:55 pm Post #24 - January 19th, 2005, 4:55 pm
    Mike G wrote:If you want real secret things in this city, though, look into abandoned ballrooms. A lot of the big pre-WWII residential buildings along the lake, especially (but not only) the ones that used to be hotels, have ornate ballrooms which haven't been used in 50 years. A couple of them are now parking garages-- years ago the Tribune Sunday magazine ran some great photos of cars parked under stunning lapis-lazuli arched ceilings-- while others just sit as empty, ignored floors in otherwise busy buildings.


    Check out these stunning pics -- link given to me by my girlfriend -- of the Michigan Theater in Detroit now serving as a parking lot:

    Image
    Image
    Image
    Ed Fisher
    my chicago food photos

    RIP LTH.
  • Post #25 - January 20th, 2005, 4:01 pm
    Post #25 - January 20th, 2005, 4:01 pm Post #25 - January 20th, 2005, 4:01 pm
    A theatre as a parking lot? Great pictures and an interesting use!

    I actually work in tourism, marketing suburban attractions etc. and some of our places still aren't places people think of frequently. Just took a group of German journalists up to the Volo Museum actually and I loved it. They're doing an expanded army/war exhibit right now too that's pretty good. If you're heading up that way I highly recommend visiting Cuneo Museum too which is such a beautifully preserved home complete with one of a kind works of art furniture...Tomorrow I'm headed out to Joliet and am going to try and take a look at some of the Mosaics they have around the downtown area.
  • Post #26 - January 20th, 2005, 8:52 pm
    Post #26 - January 20th, 2005, 8:52 pm Post #26 - January 20th, 2005, 8:52 pm
    I have one, i have one!!

    In the Galewood section of chicago, on a northeast corner that I think is probably Sayre & Bloomingdale is a house officially called The Miracle House. As kids in the hood we always called it the Spider House because of its exposed steel exo skeletal structural supports. The official name came because everyone thought the only thing holding it up was a miracle.

    I never thought as a child that in my adulthood the architect of that house would become a business associate and then close friend of mine, but it happened.

    The house was designed by my dear friend and compadre, the late Edo Belli. He was also the designer of my alma mater St Patricks High school and my church, St Beatrice in Schiller park as well as many other churches and a palace for a saudi king.

    The design and construction of the house was done as a fundraiser for a local church and someone actually won it in a church raffle in 1962 if memory serves. At some point it was tax delinquent and a local car dealer owned it for a while. If you have never seen this gem it is worth a side trip on your next johnnies visit. In my opinion it is as much a flagship for Eames/mid century design as the prairie homes are for the arts & crafts period. I am away from my home or I would post up a nice picture of it.

    We lost Edo a few years ago and I miss him and his working lunches at Bob Chinns in wheeling. He has 2 sons ,both award winning architects themselves that are carrying on the family practice. His son Jim recently took a 100 year old battered farmhouse in Wadsworth, IL and converted it into his personal residence. By the picture below you can tell these guys did a lot of churches. The front framing and stone foundation are about all that remain of the original farmhouse. However, when Jim bought the property he vowed to the aged owner that he would restore the century old dairy barn to its original splendor. I am glad to say Jim made more than good on his word.


    Bob


    Jims Farmhouse


    Image
    Bob Kopczynski
    http://www.maxwellstreetmarket.com
    "Best Deals in Town"
  • Post #27 - January 22nd, 2005, 8:54 pm
    Post #27 - January 22nd, 2005, 8:54 pm Post #27 - January 22nd, 2005, 8:54 pm
    Mike G wrote:Volo, Illinois. A tiny smudge on the map way up north of Chicago that exists mainly for its one attraction: an antique car museum.


    I don't know about Volo having only one attraction. When I think of Volo, I think of the Volo bog. But I like bogs.

    http://www.richard-seaman.com/USA/State ... s/VoloBog/

    Tim
  • Post #28 - February 23rd, 2005, 2:44 pm
    Post #28 - February 23rd, 2005, 2:44 pm Post #28 - February 23rd, 2005, 2:44 pm
    HI,

    Some years ago when returning from a weekend in Iowa we visited Bishop Hill, an experiment in Utopian life by Swedish immigrants in the late 1840's.

    A librarian once told me she was studying geneaology noting her family came to Illinois in the 1840's from Sweden; though she didn't know why. I told her about Bishop Hill, which did provide some solid links on her search.

    Yesterday, I saw a dialogue which has additional places to see and food to eat in largely unexplored northwest Illinois.
    Cathy2

    "You'll be remembered long after you're dead if you make good gravy, mashed potatoes and biscuits." -- Nathalie Dupree
    Facebook, Twitter, Greater Midwest Foodways,
  • Post #29 - February 23rd, 2005, 6:49 pm
    Post #29 - February 23rd, 2005, 6:49 pm Post #29 - February 23rd, 2005, 6:49 pm
    Rockome Gardens, a major attraction in Arcola, IL will be auctioned off Saturday afternoon. http://www.rockome.com/
  • Post #30 - February 23rd, 2005, 7:48 pm
    Post #30 - February 23rd, 2005, 7:48 pm Post #30 - February 23rd, 2005, 7:48 pm
    Hi,

    I've been to Rockome Gardens. I hope, though I doubt, someone will buy it intact and continue on. Selling it in bits of pieces will be a pity.

    It's an old fashioned tourist trap, said with reverance, which defies description. I was hunting around for a photo album with none catching the vibrancy of the place. I found this site, though it hardly captures the eccentricities of the place. There are garden sculptures made of bottle caps embedded in cement. You can see nobody tosses anything away when it can be reworked into an exhibit.

    From the auctioneer's website wrote:Nestled in central Illinois in the Heart of Amish Country is a beautiful 29 acre park, known as Rockome Gardens. For nearly half a century, Rockome Gardens unique stonework & sprawling gardens have attracted vacationing families from all over the world. Purchased in 1958 by Elvan Yoder, the park has been a family operation with Elvan's son's, Dale & Allen carrying on the tradition of the park. By combining a touch of whimsy with serious craftsmanship & setting the result amid the natural beauty of the Midwest, Elvan & his son's have created a memorable destination.

    Visitors will see an amazing array of wonderful craftsmanship in the hand crafted fences, archways, large hearts, birdhouses & a variety of other designs made of native rock & cement, as well as some other odds & ends. These wonderful items are set among oceans of beautiful floral gardens. Visitors will find more than 5 acres of formal flower gardens, herb gardens, & cacti gardens as well as the water gardens at the south end of the park.

    Guests to Rockome Gardens can experience that simpler life firsthand by visiting a true Amish home of the 1950's, with sparse furnishings & a focus on living for the Lord rather than for worldy things. Paths are provided throughout the park, perfect for a leisurely stroll, & children can spend a day riding a horse that provides power for the saw, petting animals in the petting zoo, playing in the tree house, creeping through the haunted cave, or watching the G-gauge model train as it winds through the hills, flowers, & buildings. If your feet get tired, just hop on a horse & buggy for a ride through the park or climb aboard the train for a ride.

    While at the gardens, take a stroll back in time to the late 1800's village with a working blacksmith shop, livery stables, one room school house, & a wonderful Calico & Quilt shop.

    A large wonderful old red barn holds much to see with it's Antique Museum, Look-Out Tower, & Rock Shop.
    There are a variety of specialty shops that offer an array of products, like beautiful hand crafted dolls at the Sugar & Spice Doll Shop, unique southwest-style gifts at the Indian Trading Post, delicious baked goods & confections from the Bagdad Bakery & Candy Haus Shop, cornmeal, cheeses, & summer sausage from the Grist Mill, which has an operating mill, & much more! These specialty shops are the link between Rockome Gardens & the Amish neighbors, whose farms border the park.

    Rockome Gardens is a combination of the best of nature's beauty & the best of man's handiwork.

    The Yoder's have owned & operated the park as a family business with their father & mother since 1958. They say the park has been good to them, but it is time to retire! If you are looking for a wonderful investment, be sure to check this one out!


    Retirement fire sales are not the best way to sell, but they didn't ask me!
    Cathy2

    "You'll be remembered long after you're dead if you make good gravy, mashed potatoes and biscuits." -- Nathalie Dupree
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