Lincoln Home National Historic Site

Today, we visited Lincoln Home National Historic Site.  This was also in downtown Springfield, Il. and is the only home Lincoln even owned.  Here he and his family resided for seventeen years before he became the 16th president of the United States. A four block zone has been set aside and neighborhood homes that were there during Lincoln's time have been restored to the era of the 1860's.  This site is run by the National Parks System and we had a ranger who gave us a narrative tour of the house.

Above is Lincoln's parlor, and below is Lincoln's bedroom.  Mary Todd had her own room.  The kitchen is also pictured below, without microwave or dishwasher.

In the afternoon, we went to see the Dana-Thomas house that was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and build between 1902 and 1904.  This is perhaps is the best-preserved example of famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright's "Prairie period" dwellings.  It was built for feminist socialite and heiress Susan Lawrence Dana.  It covers 12,600 square feet, with 35 rooms and 16 major spaces.  The house contains more than 100 pieces of original Wright furniture, 250 examples of art glass doors and windows, and more than 100 art glass light fixtures.

The front door.

My book club read Loving Frank, and it was very interesting to see one of Wright's design.  Bob and I decided we would try to see more on our travels.

It was a long day, but we went home well satisfied with our visits.