Day-32 all about .. DECATUR
Hi! from the Land of Lincoln! and.. Charlotte's and Tom's beautiful home. Wow! What a neat home!
Also .. Hi! from their exuberant dogs : Abby, Mr.T, Jake, and Mike.
Here's Abby and Mike helping me draft this post :
Decatur - founded in 1823, was the first home in Illinois of Abraham Lincoln. At 21, he gave his first political speech in Decatur. The town is named after .. War of 1812 naval war hero Commodore Stephen Decatur. Charlotte gave me quite a tour in the morning. Ready for a tour? .. pssst .. Marty was born here. Where should I start? Let's start with a look at interesting homes, buildings and murals. Here's some Frank Lloyd Wright (inspired?) homes :
LarryJo, on the way downtown, I think you pumped gas from one of these stations, didn't you ?
The Wabash train station .. now an antiques store ..
Here's an original interior door & clock, ... Matt & David ... enjoy!
Buildings and MURALS, downtown area
left side of this building is a mural ..
this TRAIN one is 'in process' .. being painted by Millikin University students ..
the Chicago Bears NFL football team was first .. the DECATUR Staleys !!
and, I'm sure you need another historical sign ..
The city's symbol is the Transfer House. It was an 1896 octagonal structure that was originally built in the town square where the city's mass transit lines (streetcars and interurban trains) met.
Marty (of Jessica fame .. :) ) .. was born here, went to school here, rode many bikes here, started to mountain bike with his buds here, loves to eat Fannie May 'Trinidads' here (or anywhere!) ..
Tom, after hearing about my blog from Charlotte, thought I would enjoy a book he read years ago.
It's called 'BLUE HIGHWAYS, A Journey Into America' by William Least Heat Moon.
"On the old highway maps of America, the main roads were red and the back roads blue .."
I flipped through several sections and skimmed it and immediately felt a connection to his writing. Here's a sample : in the .. 'South by Southeast' chapter ..
"On Georgia 155, I crossed Troublesome Creek, then went through groves of pecan trees aligned one with the next like fenceposts. The pastures grew a green almost blue, and syrupy water the color of a dusty sunset filled the ponds. Around the farmhouses, from wires strung high above the ground, swayed gourds hollowed out for purple martins. The land rose again on the other side of the Chattahoochee River, and highway 34 went to the ridgetops where long views over the hills opened in all directions.'
Wow! I'll have fun reading this. If only I could write prose like this!
Charlotte and Tom and I are headed over to Springfield to the Abraham Lincoln Museum. We will travel in separate cars, so afterwards I can continue heading west on Hwy.36 through Missouri and on to Leavenworth to visit Robert and Christina and Kayla and Joseph and Caitlyn and hopefully Jason and family.
Also .. Hi! from their exuberant dogs : Abby, Mr.T, Jake, and Mike.
Here's Abby and Mike helping me draft this post :
Decatur - founded in 1823, was the first home in Illinois of Abraham Lincoln. At 21, he gave his first political speech in Decatur. The town is named after .. War of 1812 naval war hero Commodore Stephen Decatur. Charlotte gave me quite a tour in the morning. Ready for a tour? .. pssst .. Marty was born here. Where should I start? Let's start with a look at interesting homes, buildings and murals. Here's some Frank Lloyd Wright (inspired?) homes :
LarryJo, on the way downtown, I think you pumped gas from one of these stations, didn't you ?
The Wabash train station .. now an antiques store ..
Here's an original interior door & clock, ... Matt & David ... enjoy!
Buildings and MURALS, downtown area
this TRAIN one is 'in process' .. being painted by Millikin University students ..
the Chicago Bears NFL football team was first .. the DECATUR Staleys !!
and, I'm sure you need another historical sign ..
The city's symbol is the Transfer House. It was an 1896 octagonal structure that was originally built in the town square where the city's mass transit lines (streetcars and interurban trains) met.
Marty (of Jessica fame .. :) ) .. was born here, went to school here, rode many bikes here, started to mountain bike with his buds here, loves to eat Fannie May 'Trinidads' here (or anywhere!) ..
Tom, after hearing about my blog from Charlotte, thought I would enjoy a book he read years ago.
It's called 'BLUE HIGHWAYS, A Journey Into America' by William Least Heat Moon.
"On the old highway maps of America, the main roads were red and the back roads blue .."
I flipped through several sections and skimmed it and immediately felt a connection to his writing. Here's a sample : in the .. 'South by Southeast' chapter ..
"On Georgia 155, I crossed Troublesome Creek, then went through groves of pecan trees aligned one with the next like fenceposts. The pastures grew a green almost blue, and syrupy water the color of a dusty sunset filled the ponds. Around the farmhouses, from wires strung high above the ground, swayed gourds hollowed out for purple martins. The land rose again on the other side of the Chattahoochee River, and highway 34 went to the ridgetops where long views over the hills opened in all directions.'
Wow! I'll have fun reading this. If only I could write prose like this!
Charlotte and Tom and I are headed over to Springfield to the Abraham Lincoln Museum. We will travel in separate cars, so afterwards I can continue heading west on Hwy.36 through Missouri and on to Leavenworth to visit Robert and Christina and Kayla and Joseph and Caitlyn and hopefully Jason and family.
Wow, looks like you made it to all of the Decatur "hotspots". Great pictures of the houses on Milliken place, defintely a hidden gem.
ReplyDeleteWow, what a beautiful area. Larry and I read Blue Highways many years ago. Think I will re-read it. You are a great writer, Joe. This trip would make a wonderful book. Good weather in Decatur?
ReplyDeleteWish I were there, too! Sounds like a good book recommendation.
ReplyDeleteI never realized that Decauter was so scenic! This is fun to travel along with you through these towns I've only heard about in travel books or history books.
ReplyDelete