Saturday was our 34th anniversary. Freaking shocking. We decided to celebrate with an overnight wander. We managed to get out of the house at a respectable time and struck out for Pittsfield, Illinois.
We heard from both boys. Owen and Trinity had a party Friday night and it was reportedly a great success. Leo went up to a show in Chicago Friday night. It was a Pendulum DJ set with El Hornet. It was at Concord Music Hall. Doors opened at 10:00. He texted me and said he’d had no problem finding it or parking and was already in line. He texted after the show (he is so good to me).
So I was happy as a clam….both my boys had good nights and were happy and Ernie and I were on a wander.
We took the interstate until about Springfield and then got off onto some back roads. Our first real stop was in Winchester, Illinois which was delightful. A lovely square with a statue of Stephan Douglas I believe. Looking toward the Hotel Winchester, which I was quite smitten with.
I couldn’t find a ton of information on it. It appears that it did not have a peaked roof in the 2000’s as well as in the 1970s but got one somewhere along the way. Oh, and it seems to have lost its Hotel Winchester sign. I sure hope that’s in storage somewhere. I did find a proposal from an architecture firm:
Provided architectural design and construction drawings for a renovation project
for a 150-plus year old hotel in Winchester, IL. Proposed project consisted of a
new restaurant & bar on the 1st floor and hotel rooms on the 2nd floor. The
proposed exterior design is based on the exterior of the Abraham Lincoln home
in Springfield, IL. According to historical record, Abraham Lincoln once visited
this hotel.
So. They decided to restore a brick hotel to look like Lincoln’s SpringfieldHouse? Cover it with siding (what are the odds on vinyl?) and make it yellow…and put shutters on it? Am I crazy, or is that plan utterly crazy?
More to come from Winchester later. We moseyed on to Detroit, Illinois. I give you the East Pike Lending Library. In a town of under 100 people, some folks got together to create a lending library. No fees, no requirements, computer access. Just incredible. These wanders are good for my heart.
Lots more to follow.