Hot on the heels of my first local sightseeing occasion of the year, the girlfriend and I attended the Tenth Annual Springfield Upper Story Tour on May 8th. This is another event hosted by Downtown Springfield, Inc.
The Upper Story Tour is a yearly event where various businesses and residences in Springfield's downtown area open their doors to the public. A self-guided walking excursion, the tour enables you to see the upper stories of some of the both historic and modernized buildings that make up our downtown area. It's a neat event because you get to see a lot of places you normally couldn't go.
The first stop on the tour was 413 South Seventh Street, otherwise known as the Young House. It was constructed in the early 1860s as home to Mr. Richard Young, a prominent contractor during Lincoln's time in Springfield. It was completely restored in 1988-89 and was the first property to receive the Landmark designation by the Springfield Historic Sites Commission and the Springfield City Council. A law office was there during the tour, but they're relocating to a larger location in the near future. I'm not sure what the property will be used for next.
Our second stop was the First Presbyterian Church at 312 South Seventh Street. This building was purchased by the church in 1876 and it features seven Tiffany windows, along with a massive 35-pipe organ that was designed specifically for the church in 2000. This church is also home the Lincoln family pew. This is not the building where Lincoln attended services, however. The windows and the organ were really impressive. The Dove window is impressive, in particular, because the organ had be designed to accommodate for its location. I'd like to show you photos of these, but the church wasn't allowing them that day.
Our third stop was a set of homes in the Lincoln Home Historic Site. The homes there included the Jesse K. Dubois House, George W. Shutt House and the Henson Robinson House. The Dubois and Robinson homes are now used by the Lincoln Home staff and other Illinois state agencies as offices. The Shutt House is the Springfield office of U.S. Senator Dick Durbin. Check out the photos because I got to sit in his chair 
. Each of the homes are well preserved on the outside, even though they've been modified since Lincoln's time. The insides, however, have all been modernized and really aren't any different than many "regular" office buildings. Most of them have straight staircases that lead up into a curve, with the handrails being the only original pieces left in the homes.
The next stop was the Illinois Executive Mansion. I've been here before, but I didn't get to see the second story until this tour. In the photos, you'll see a Lincoln bust that was sculpted by Thomas D. Jones after Lincoln's election. It's located on the Library in the first floor. Five of these were made, but a few facts separate these from other Lincoln sculptures. First off, Lincoln didn't have a beard when the piece was created. Secondly, you can plainly see Lincoln giving off the slightest hint of a smile, which is extremely rare for any portrait, picture, or sculpture of Lincoln. The second interesting piece is the Lincoln table, made up of over 20,000 pieces of inlaid wood.
The last stop of the tour was the Illinois State Bar Association building, located at 424 South Second Street. I don't have any photos of the place because it was raining and getting late. From the inside, it's easy to tell this place was built in 1966. This has to be one of the trippiest places I've ever seen. It's a multi-level maze with staircases going up and down in four directions. In the center, you'll find lots of plant life and big comfy chairs. Bright red carpet covers the "main" floor and staircases.
Cost of the tour was $10 for non Downtown Springfield Inc. members. It was a lot of fun and different locations are featured each year.