Clik here to view.
Corn Crib and Tree, Cooper Road
Something about this abandoned corncrib and this copse of trees drew me to photograph the group as I drove east down Cooper Road near my family’s farm. Surely there is a backstory behind why this...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Campus of the Roman Catholic Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Springfield
The story of how the Diocese of Springfield came into being is perhaps a story of how the locus of social, economic and political power has migrated around the State of Illinois over the last two...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Exterior
The exterior of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception follows the Doric Order, in an interesting late, or as I might call it, terminal Beaux-Arts interpretation of the Greek Revival designed...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Interior
The interior of the cathedral is a simple, basilica style church with no transepts or side aisles, and a rectangular apse at the end, flanked by two colonnades in the Ionic order. The high altar is...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Former MacMurray College, Jacksonville, Illinois
The picturesque church looks like you’re standing in the middle of a Colonial era commons, and Red Coats could march into the middle of the swath of greensward any moment. But in reality, you’re...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Central Park, Downtown Jacksonville, Illinois
Jacksonville was founded by groups of “Yankees,” from New England, many of whom were graduates of Yale University. I can’t help but think the influence of the large town commons and greens of cities...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Civil War Monument, Central Park, Jacksonville, Illinois
Jacksonville was a center of the Abolitionist movement, apparently, and it is reflected in its Civil War Memorial. There are a lot of names listed on its base for a relatively small town. At the top...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Morgan County Courthouse, Jacksonville, Illinois
The Morgan County Courthouse is a massive pile of Second Empire goodness, sitting not in the middle of the nearby Central Park, but tucked away rather unobtrusively on a street radiating out from the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
State Street Historic District, Jacksonville, Part One
West of the courthouse and Central Park, Jacksonville dazzles the visitor with the West State Street Historic District, which is one of the best preserved clusters of Victorian Period houses in the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
State Street Historic District, Jacksonville, Part Two
Moving along down east back towards Central Park in Jacksonville on West State Street, we encounter the August Ayers House, constructed in 1857. That date of construction makes it an incredibly early...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Bethel Church, Logan County, Illinois
Through the randomness of Google Maps, I spotted a new landmark popping up in the countryside north of Lincoln, Illinois. Labeled Bethel Church, I knew the short ten minute drive off the interstate...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Union Illinois Traction Railroad Depot
I’ve written before about the Illinois Terminal or Traction Railroad, which was an electric-powered line that snaked its way around the the Midwest, with St. Louis being a major hub from its...
View ArticleClik here to view.
St. Ann’s Roman Catholic Church, South Side of Peoria
Due to heavy demolition of the South Side, or Near South Side of Peoria in the mid to late Twentieth Century, the remaining churches in the area south of downtown are easy to spot, notwithstanding...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The South Side, Peoria
My trip up to Central Illinois in mid June took me to all sorts of random surprises, including several new churches and other sights, and that is why enjoy doing what I do. It is often totally random....
View ArticleClik here to view.
St. Mark’s Roman Catholic Church, Peoria, Exterior
Up the hill in Peoria away from the South Side is St. Mark’s Roman Catholic Church, which has roots going back to 1891. It is interesting in that it has only two front portals. As is typical of many...
View ArticleClik here to view.
St. Mark’s Roman Catholic Church, Peoria, Interior
I was absolutely stunned and delighted to find some magnificent paintings on the interior of St. Mark’s when I went inside on a quiet Saturday. There’s a long story about how the parish renovated the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Around Woodford County, Illinois, June 2022
I went around and looked at some of the towns northeast of the family farm. I started with Eureka, the county seat of Woodford County. I could have sworn I had featured the courthouse before, but...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Around Marshall County, Illinois, June 2022
North of Washburn is the town of La Rose, which is in Marshall County. The country actually has two parts on either side of the Illinois River. The town is dominated by a grain elevator, a part of...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Family Farm, Deer Creek Township, Illinois, June 2022
I took a short trip up to my family’s farm east of Peoria and the crops were just starting to mature out in the fields. I didn’t expect to find these flowers growing so big on the north side of the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Main Street, Galesburg, Illinois
We’ll be looking at Galesburg, Illinois for the next six days, as part of my continued examination of the cities and towns within the sphere of St. Louis’s economy. Located along the Chicago,...
View Article