A Tourist’s Guide to Springfield, Illinois
If you’re at a complete loss for what to do in Springfield, your first stop should be the Springfield Convention and Visitors Bureau (109 N. 7th St,), where you can pick up maps and brochures and find out if any seasonal events are going on. Be sure to check out when the attractions you want to see are open; many sites tend to be closed on Sundays and/or Mondays.
As the home of Abraham Lincoln for seventeen years, Springfield’s tourism industry relies heavily on Lincoln sites. If you’re into Presidential or Civil War history, you’ve come to the right place. A good place to start would be Lincoln’s house itself, The Lincoln Home National Historic Site (426 S. 7th St.) Run by the National Park Service, the Home is actually a beautifully restored neighborhood centered on Lincoln’s house and made to look of the time period in which the Lincoln family lived there (1844-1861). Walk the wooden sidewalks and gravel streets, see the period homes, check out the exhibits at the Visitor’s Center, and take a guided tour through the Home itself. For a more modern, hands-on treatment of Lincoln history, go to the new Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library & Museum (212 N. 6th St.), where you’ll see life-size statues of the Lincolns, a recreation of the White House circa 1861, a log cabin display, and various interactive, computerized exhibits. Lincoln’s Tomb is in Oak Ridge Cemetery and is open to the public; if you’re traveling in the summer, try to visit on a Tuesday evening, when the 114th Illinois Volunteer Reactivated Infantry performs a flag retreat ceremony.
Into politics? Take a tour of the Executive Mansion (410 E. Jackson St.) The state dining room, Lincoln’s bedroom, and about a dozen other rooms are open to the public. If you’re in the downtown area, you may also tour the Old State Capitol, where Lincoln practiced law in the 1850s. On Fridays and Saturdays, the staff gives tours in period costume (but call for availability; they don’t do it from mid-April through mid-June.)
Other popular museums in town include the Dana-Thomas House (301 E. Lawrence Ave.), a prairie-style house designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. An unusual but fascinating site about a subject few of us really think about, the Museum of Funerary Customs (1440 Monument Ave.) displays a variety of mortuary equipment and historical information on the funerary profession. Poetry lovers, or anyone with a taste for historic homes, will want to stop at poet Vachel Lindsay’s Home (603 S. 5th St.) The Illinois State Military Museum (1301 N. MacArthur Blvd.) is all about Illinois’s military history; among its showpieces are a target board shot at by Abraham Lincoln; and Santa Ana’s wooden leg (not shot at by Abraham Lincoln.)
If you want to show the kids a fun time in Springfield, you’ll be happy to know there’s a water park, Knight’s Action Park/Caribbean Water Adventure (Chatham Road and Recreation Drive.) In addition to the usual wading pools and water slides, they offer go carts, batting cages, and mini golf. Or take them to the Henson Robinson Zoo (1100 East Lake Dr.), where peacocks roam freely, and for 25 cents, your kids can feed the goats and geese. The Illinois State Museum (502 S. Spring St.) has some hands-on activities for the younger set, as well as an impressive fossil display (think gigantic wooly mammoth!) If you’d like to spend a family day (or a romantic date) at a park, Springfield has several beautiful ones from which to choose. Washington Park is a large one, containing a conservatory, several gardens, nature areas, and the Thomas Rees Memorial Carillon. Washington Park, as well as the smaller Douglas Park, both have 18-hole frisbee golf courses. The most beautiful place in Springfield, however, is arguably the Lincoln Memorial Garden & Nature Center (2301 E. Lake Dr.) Situated on Lake Springfield, this lovely wooded area has miles of nature trails to walk. The Nature Center has a gift shop, as well as a small museum for the kids.
Dining in Springfield requires a bit of hunting around and word-of-mouth to find the good restaurants. The big thing in town is a sandwich called the “horseshoe”; if you’d like to try this open-faced sandwich, covered in fries and then drowned in nacho cheese sauce, head over to Darcy’s Pint (661 W. Stanford). You can get a horseshoe almost anywhere, but Springfielders voted Darcy’s the best in the Illinois Times’s 2005 Best of Springfield. For Italian, Saputo’s (801 E. Monroe St.) is a popular option (and I can vouch for their homemade ravioli, myself.) One of the best burgers you’ll ever have is at Amber Jack’s Alehouse (3150 Chatham Rd.); they also make a wicked reuben sandwich! Cafe Brio (524 E. Monroe St.) is a good spot for Mexican food. Pizza lovers will want to try Vic’s Pizza (2025 N. Peoria Rd. or 1531 W. Wabash Ave.)
Attention Springfield Shoppers! If you’re just looking for the mall, it’s the Simon White Oaks Mall (Veteran’s Parkway and Wabash Ave.), but you should know that Springfield offers a lot of fun, unusual shopping options too. If you’re into antiques, there are several antique malls out there, containing everything from period furniture to goofy toys you haven’t seen since the 1970s. Sangamon Antique Mall (3050 E. Sangamon Ave.) is really a huge warehouse of all manner of old things, as is the Springfield Antique Mall (3031 Reilly Dr.) Unusual used goods, including all manner of used music, movies, bar signs, furniture and memorabilia, can be found at the somewhat deceptively titled Springfield Furniture Co. (625 E. Adams St.) This place has two floors worth of cool stuff; see the nice lady at the back of the first floor if you want to peruse a wealth of costume jewelry, knick-knacks, and old issues of “gentlemen’s” magazines. Elf Shelf Books & Music (413 E. Adams St.) is a great, dusty, crammed-with-stuff used books and music store which should not be missed. Alternative types, music lovers, teens and punks will love Penny Lane (2901 S. MacArthur Blvd.), a two-story cross between a hippie shop and Spencer’s Gifts.
Finally, one of the most popular attractions which Springfield is known for is the State Fair, held on the Fairgrounds in mid-August every year. Bring the family; ride the rides; learn about Illinois wildlife, industry, and farming; and eat deep-fried foods on a stick. (Try a deep-fried Snickers bar; you cannot go wrong with this sinful yet heavenly concoction.) Some pretty impressive bands play at the Grandstand; check ahead to see which will be there on the night you plan to go (2005’s lineup included Lynard Skynard, Cheap Trick and Blue Oyster Cult.)
Whatever you decide to do in Springfield, you’ll encounter friendly people and be charmed by all the Victorian homes and green spaces. Enjoy your stay!
