Thursday, April 7 – We started our day here in Springfield, IL, at the Executive Mansion and Gardens. The Illinois Executive Mansion is one of the oldest residences in the state. Located in downtown Springfield, this red brick Italianate mansion has been the home of Illinois Governors since 1855.
Lovely gardens.
Restored in 1971, the building houses many treasures. Immediately inside is the elliptical stairway which leads to the upper floors. No photos are permitted inside the residency. All inside photos are taken from the Internet.
The governors residency is on the 3rd floor and is not open to the public.
The basement is used as administrative offices, and the first and second floors are furnished with period antiques and open to the public. Included are four formal parlors, a state dining room, a ballroom, four bedrooms (including the Lincoln bedroom), and the library handcrafted from native American Black Walnut.
One of the several parlors.
This mirror was left by the first Governor that lived in the house.
The dining table seats 44 people.
This is the third oldest continuously occupied Governor's Mansion in the country. Seven presidents, including Abraham Lincoln, have been received at the Mansion. Abraham Lincoln spent many hours here during meetings with politicians of the time.
The Mansion is beautiful and free. The tour takes about an hour. Our docent was very informative and shared several personal stories with us. Put it on your list.
Our next stop was the Amtrak Station. This is the station where Lincoln's funeral train arrived back in Springfield. His body was placed on a funeral wagon and transported to the Old Capitol Building where he laid in State.
Click on any photo to enlarge it for better reading.
This station is still in operation today. Curiously, we checked on the train to Chicago.....$40 one-way/person. It is a three-hour trip. May be a nice way to visit Chicago!
Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y’all back real soon. Have a great day!
I love History! It's just too bad most of it has to do with negative events.
ReplyDeleteBe Safe and Enjoy!
It's about time.
What a wonderful tour again, so much history there.
ReplyDeleteWow! You really did do it all in Springfield. I doubt there was much left for you to see by the time you left. It's always nice to find a place to visit where there are lots of interesting places to visit.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful mansion! Not a bad place to live with so much history:) Springfield certainly is a city not to be missed!
ReplyDeleteLooks like a lovely mansion. Glad that Springfield lived up to your expectations.
ReplyDelete