Tag Archives: Illinois

Springfield, Illinois

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This past weekend, I went to Springfield Illinois to see the state capitol. I took the train from Chicago, so I had a bit of time to wander around based on the train schedule. There are a couple square blocks that are now a national park where Abraham Lincoln’s house is, as well as many other maintained old houses. I didn’t have time to really explore the park, but the houses are neat to look at from the outside. Lincoln features prominently across the city, which although I understand he was from there, is still slightly ironic in that there is also a Lincoln, Illinois. Downtown, at least, is very small and walkable, and I enjoyed seeing many of the old buildings.

Old State Capitol

Restored street across from the old state capitol

Restored building in downtown Springfield Illinois

Abraham Lincoln’s house

Illinois State Capitol

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Yet again, I have traveled quite a distance to be confronted with a state capitol where part of the building is off limits, and no one bothered to post that on the website. I am in Chicago for the weekend, so I decided to take the train to Springfield for the day (3 hours each way). Once I got to the capitol, I saw that half of it appeared to be under renovation. Upon entering, it was confirmed that the entire Senate side is under renovation and off limits. This was not a surprise renovation. It has clearly been ongoing for a while. Did they post this on their website? No. I do understand that many people would not care if they can only see half the building. I am not one of those people. So as with Connecticut, I will have to come back here in several years, once I can confirm the renovation is over.

With that gripe being said, the building itself is gorgeous. It is really ornate. In many of the capitols I have seen thus far, there is a lot of symbolism in the ornateness. Either there is not in this one, or the guide did not mention it. Symbolism or not, it is beautiful. The building interior is covered with lots of different stone, mainly marble, in many different colors. The dome is spectacular. The House chambers has lots of dark wood with crystal chandeliers. As is my habit, I asked how the light bulbs were changed. A pulley system is used. Finally one detail I noted is that the exit signs have a fancy font. I found that slightly amusing and a nice touch. With a building this ornate, no plain font with do, even for the exit signs.

Illinois State Capitol exterior

Grand staircase

Interior stone walls

Interior of the dome

Interior of the dome, zoomed

House Chambers

House Chambers ceiling

House Chambers gallery

Atrium above grand staircase

Orante ceiling

Ceiling of hearing room, which used to be state supreme court

Door in hearing room, which used to be state supreme court

Lincoln statute with chair with one-legged eagles for legs

Chicago

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I’ve never been to Chicago before until I did extended layovers between train rides out west and back. Chicago is a pretty neat city. It has a nice mix of old and new buildings. At least one really neat park. [There are probably more, but I didn’t get to them.] It also has a really nice riverwalk along parts of the Chicago River. It is definitely a city that I need to get back to and explore more. Note to any engineers or geeks reading this: If you are in Chicago, go see the historic water tower. It is a gorgeous building that was built to house a standpipe. Across the street is a pumping station in an equally gorgeous building. You can actually go into the pumping station and walk along a small portion of a balcony to see the pipes and pumps.

Jay Pritzker Pavilion

The “L” goes by a downtown office building

Floating gardens on the river walk

On the river walk underneath a bridge

River walk

Historic water tower near the John Hancock Building

Historic water tower

Pumping station building across from the water tower

Inside the pumping station building

Oak Street Beach

Buckingham Fountain

Cloud Gate

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I’m in Chicago on an extended layover between trains coming back from my trip out west. I spent the day wandering around Chicago, and one the sites on my must see list was Cloud Gate, known more informally as The Bean. This piece of art is lovely to look at, but it is just plain fun to photograph. Everyone there takes selfies of themselves, but really the way it reflects with so many different angles, it is just as fun to photograph everything else.

Cloud Gate (aka The Bean)

Cloud Gate (aka The Bean)

Cloud Gate (aka The Bean)

Cloud Gate (aka The Bean)

Cloud Gate (aka The Bean)

Under Cloud Gate (aka The Bean)

Under Cloud Gate (aka The Bean)

Chicago Architecture River Cruise

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I’m traveling to the west for the solar eclipse and vacation, and I decided to take the train. I had to change trains in Chicago, so I decided to spend the night and have some time to explore Chicago. I decided to start with a river cruise focusing on the architecture. Like most old and big cities, Chicago has a lovely mix of old and new buildings. It has classic old stone buildings, modern buildings (as in the modern architecture era), post-modern buildings, and whatever era we are in now. I am also curious about the engineering that must have gone into many of the buildings as they were built right on the river’s banks. A cruise on its rivers is a great way to see some of them. A few photos I took are below.