Springfield: The Tourist Traps
Thursday, December 27, 2007
Well in the last week or so I have managed to see the three major tourist traps here in Springfield, IL. Due to me being a lazy hobo, half the free world being closed for the holidays, and cheap wine I have not yet got around to publishing anything much about my visits to these fine locations. So without anymore pointless buildup or fluff here it is.
I'll start with the Lincoln Tomb, the final resting place of our 16th president. For a reason that escapes me at the moment one of the things I added to my 'list' was seeing the grave sites of all our dead presidents. Lincoln earns the honor of being the first to get crossed off my list (quicker then you can say Ford Theater!). I could go into some history of the tomb, but if thats what your after just click the Wikipedia link I have provided as they have done a much better job then this scribe is capable of doing. I had seen this once before on a field trip when I was a young kid. Visiting it as an adult (or at least a man child masquerading as one) the monument and tomb seemed much smaller then I remembered it. The large statue of Lincolns face with the worn nose was what I remembered most clearly. Somewhere over the years people have decided that rubbing it brings good luck. Maybe this is what stuck with me because I adapted the idea for a Jesus head back in my parents home. Anyway, the inner tomb has a very somber feel to, that I think is fitting for what many say Lincolns personality was. Here are two videos I took at the tomb.
Shot in the tomb, very dark.
Shot outside, on top of the tomb.
More pictures on my Flickr Account.
Next up the Abe Lincoln home in Springfield. They have a whole block restored and preserved the way it was in Lincolns day. I recorded nearly the whole tour. So enjoy if thats your thing, also a few pictures, with more at the before mentioned Flickr Account.
Lincoln Home Tour Video 1 of 4
Lincoln Home Tour Video 2 of 4
Lincoln Home Tour Video 3 of 4
Lincoln Home Tour Video 4 of 4
An old home just is not the most thrilling thing on earth. However, the tour guide did a great job and really knew his stuff.
And last but not least in any way The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum. This is without a doubt the crown jewel of the Lincoln tourist traps in Springfield. This cost five dollars for students and seven dollars for non students. The day I had free to go see this I had 1 dollar of disposable income to my name. I knew this was not going to get me into the Museum, so I instead spent in on a black marker. I made this sign and tried my hand at panhandling my way in. It took me about 15 minutes to get in. Despite a security guard running me off the property and calling the police on me (apparently panhandling is not legal in Springfield) I was able to get in pretty easy. The man who ended up paying for the remaining portion of my ticket was very helpful and willing to help out once he realized I actually wanted in the Museum and was not trying to get booze on his nickel.
To make a long story shorter, this Museum rocks. It uses a lot of cutting edge technology in its two theater exhibits. I think most younger people would really enjoy it. I am really not giving justice to how cool it was, and how great of a time I had (Been up since around 3am and its now 5pm so I am one tired hobo). I think it is well worth the admission price and if I had to name the one must see thing for a tourist in Springfield, this is it.
I have quite a few good pictures and a lot of poorly recorded video of this place. The video is poor quality but I had to shoot much of it on the downlow as shooting was not allowed in all the cool areas. Here are the videos if you would like to see them.
And the rest. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
2-6 Are all pretty much 'bootlegs' of copyrights material, so I get some 'hax0r' points for that even if the quality of the video is horrid.
Here are some of the pictures with more, once again at my Flickr Page.
Well this whole post should have been a bit more in depth. However I just do not have the energy to properly describe it all for my hoards (or at least a few hundred) readers. If I ever get a laptop these post will be much easier. In fact my clicking on the link below you could help me with that effort by donating a dollar or two!
posted by Cory @ 4:21 PM,
8 Comments:
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At December 28, 2007 at 8:32 AM,
sharqi said...
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Hey, welcome to Springfield. Just wanted to mention some good dumpsters while you're here. There's an artisan bakery on 7th and Clay, and they usually have very clean very tasty treats in their dumpster. They're nice people too. For goodies, go to GrabaJava on 6th and Spruce (I think it's Spruce, just north of Laurel). They have some great muffins they'll leave you on the dumpster, or get there when they close. They're also real nice folks.
I highly recommend visiting the Vachel Lindsay home if you're in a touristy mood. If you're not familiar with Vachel, he was a hobo poet from the turn of last century, a rich man's son who had other thoughts for the world and for himself. He wrote the Golden Book of Springfield, which is due to land in Springfield in 10 years, and transform our city and its citizens. I think there will be many Golden Books, and people alive right now will not even be able to recognize the Springfield of the future--we'll have parks that people would rather starve in than leave, architecture that insights riots of beauty, edible forest gardens as far as the eye can see--paradise to be sure.
Until then, we have brutal police, uncaring government, dippy tourists and maniac drivers. Be careful crossing the street.
Take care,
sharqi -
At December 28, 2007 at 8:33 AM,
sharqi said...
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Hey, welcome to Springfield. Just wanted to mention some good dumpsters while you're here. There's an artisan bakery on 7th and Clay, and they usually have very clean very tasty treats in their dumpster. They're nice people too. For goodies, go to GrabaJava on 6th and Spruce (I think it's Spruce, just north of Laurel). They have some great muffins they'll leave you on the dumpster, or get there when they close. They're also real nice folks.
I highly recommend visiting the Vachel Lindsay home if you're in a touristy mood. If you're not familiar with Vachel, he was a hobo poet from the turn of last century, a rich man's son who had other thoughts for the world and for himself. He wrote the Golden Book of Springfield, which is due to land in Springfield in 10 years, and transform our city and its citizens. I think there will be many Golden Books, and people alive right now will not even be able to recognize the Springfield of the future--we'll have parks that people would rather starve in than leave, architecture that insights riots of beauty, edible forest gardens as far as the eye can see--paradise to be sure.
Until then, we have brutal police, uncaring government, dippy tourists and maniac drivers. Be careful crossing the street.
Take care,
sharqi -
At December 28, 2007 at 9:31 AM,
Unknown said...
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That sounds like something I am going to have to check out for sure! Thanks for the heads up and kind comments :)
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At December 28, 2007 at 10:12 AM,
said...
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Welcome! You've probably heard it already but panhandling is only illegal in the downtown area, defined by certain streets, but the only one I can remember for certain is Madison is the northern boundary. Also, homeless people used to sleep around the Lincoln Library, but the city wanted to save face and just outright banned that. How's that for treating the homeless? I work at a "real nice folks" kind of place, and I think if you look hard enough you'll find incredibly helpful and interesting people in Springfield. If you are in town for much longer, you might want to go out way west on Old Jacksonville Road. There's a small farm run by some Dominican nuns. I think they offer an artists' studio, perhaps in exchange for feeding chickens? Or for my favorite bit of central IL, Allerton Park in Monticello. It used to be the estate of an eccentric man who collected statues. It takes a full day to get through the trails, and the whole experience is rather eerie. Happy Trails! This is my hometown and I hope you find some worth in it, because I like to think it's not beyong salvaging. Have you been to Madison, WI yet? You would love it, but go when it is warmer!
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At December 28, 2007 at 7:19 PM,
Luna81 said...
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If you have time before you leave you may want to check out the Dana Thomas house (Frank Lloyd Wright house) and the state Museum. The Museum is free as far as I remember and I think the DT house just asks for a small donation.
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At December 28, 2007 at 8:14 PM,
sharqi said...
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Oh yeah, I forgot. For places to see, the Illinois State Museum is pretty cool. I think they still have their collection of Napolean-era milleflora glass paperweights. Sounds boring, sure, but it is a trip. In the basement, and very cool.
Been to Kanichiwa on S. Grand b/w 11th and 12th?
Yeah, there are a lot of cool people in Springfield. Where are we?? -
At December 28, 2007 at 10:33 PM,
said...
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I see your donate sign and I thought about it but thought it might take away from your lesson
what it is like to live homless
not every homless person has a blog
to ask money from they do it on the
streat or they check out the help
areas for te homless, I was homles
for one month and that was enough for me good luck and god bless -
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