We reserved a free tour at Eventbrite. Jennifer brought 15 of us through this massive, historic…read morehome. She pointed out specific pieces, told stories about the owners & was very knowledgeable about Frank Lloyd Wrights work. We started our tour with a brief video about the glass work. We went into several sitting areas, Dana's bedroom, nursery, dining room, pantry & kitchen.library, bowling alley & billiards room. The 3rd largest home Frank Lloyd Wright ever designed. this remarkably preserve Prairie School icon dates from 1902 until 1904. It's more interesting than his home in Oak Park. The 16 floor home was considered experimental with a duckpin bowling alley & 2 barrel vaulted ceiling's. There is exquisite color shifting art glass & 90% of the furniture is original. Susan Lawrence Dana (1862-1946) was an heiress to a silver mines fortune . She was widow in 1900 & had complete control over her household & fortune. She was a leading philanthropic figure in Springfield. Dana decided to completely remodeled her home commissioning Frank Lloyd Wright. Her new home reflected her flamboyant personality & was designed for display & entertainment. The concept of "expanding space" was evident throughout the house with windows placed to continually draw the attention to the outside. Wright designed approximately 450 art glass windows, skylights, door panels, sconces & light fixtures for the house. The interior Torii gates are magnificent.hallway into two of the largest rooms in the house. The musical gallery for entertaining and the library contains special easels. Wright designed white oak furniture for Dana to display Japanese prints. In1928, Dana had dementia & financial constraints. In1944, the home and its contents were sold to Charles C. Thomas, a medical publisher. Thomas lived here & used this home as his publishing company. He sold the house to the state for a million dollars. It became a historic site. Jennifer shared that the house is still being utilized for social community events.

Absolute perfection! This is one of the best Frank Lloyd Wright houses in the world. It is the…read morebiggest. it also has 95% of the original furnishings inside including a lamp that the state of Illinois had to pay $700,000 to reclaim. They also paid $1 million for the property. It's a bargain at any price. FLW fans cannot miss this one! No pictures are allowed inside, but it is stunning! Look at the pictures on their social media and then go see this place. My wife and I have toured several Frank Lloyd Wright homes including Taliesen West. This one takes the cake. By far. Marcel was our guide and he was amazing. Just go see this place. It's a national treasure!

This was such a nice museum! We were in Springfield for less than a day, but still wanted to check…read moreit out! We are in the Curious Toddler Phase right now so all museums are on our go list. The staff here was VERY welcoming as we entered and explained to us what each floor was. Entry here is completely free! The first floor had a lot of history of Illinois and the common species that could be found. When I say history, it went back millions of years ago. It more of a science exhibit. It was very interactive for little ones with pull out drawers, spinning cranks, and windows at kid level for them to see fossils. We then went to the basement level that was the kid's area. My son loved it. And it was crowded with other kids who loved it. There was a pit to excavate fossils, another area to examine TONS of fossils and bones. My son particularly loved driving the fake jeep lol. It was a very fun experience for us. There was a whole other level dedicated to art that we did not get to see, but maybe the next time we are in the area we will!

Fun spot to go if you are in Springfield, Illinois. Admission is free. They have street parking and…read morea parking lot next to the museum. I enjoyed seeing all of the different exhibits. The Native American artwork was one of my favorites. I enjoyed seeing the beautiful beadwork. They did not have the theater showing anything the day that we went. So I would love to go back to see their theater. They often have kids events, so check their website to see if there's any special items going on. The basement level is a hands-on kids area for kids to play and explore. They also take donations since admission is free. I definitely plan to go back again.

Our candlelight tour was wonderful! Due to the weather, we almost had all the interpreters to…read moreourselves, they are so knowledgeable and a joy to listen to. This is a wonderfully restored and maintained Springfield treasure. Highly recommend you visit once they reopen in the spring or make it to the Candlelight tour next year.

Springfield, Illinois loves it's history. This house is lovingly preserved and has some very nice…read moreexhibits. I didn't have much time to look around as I went there after hours for a lecture. The lecture was so well received that it was standing room only. My Aunt and I got there late but were welcomed in by a staff member. We were walked around through the kitchen to get a better vantage point. There is a side parking lot and street parking. It is near other Lincoln attractions so I recommend checking this historical place out.

What a fun spot to stop. Three Dambo Trolls made by college students. You can explore a troll…read moretrail. Careful to check under the bridges. Spot a fairy house and garden. Visitor center to grab a map and a sack. Donations are always welcomed.

This was such a fun place to go. They have lots of jogging trails. They have both paved and…read moreunpaved ones. Making this place a good handicap accessible place. They also have free community classes. I did a mushroom foraging class, and a maple tapping one. Lots of fun stuff for the kids to do. They have an indoor and outdoor bathrooms. They also have a free parking lot to park. The staff are very nice and helpful in the visitor center. I definitely plan to go back here. It was such a beautiful, nice relaxing place.

This is such a fun place. If you love native plants or monarch butterflies or other pollinators,…read moreyou've GOT to visit the courtyard.

Cute, clean, and plenty to do for a 5 and 7 year old. Was not too busy during winter break and half…read moreof admission with ACM reciprocal network. Parking only on street but meters were not running.

Honestly this one's a tossup between 3 and 4 stars. It seems that the Illinois State Fair, compared…read moreto some of the other state fairs, is kind of boring and doesn't offer a lot. Iowa and Minnesota's state fairs have a better selection of foods to offer, for instance. But I think I'll just stick to the positives of Illinois's. The fair does pay great tribute to the Prairie State, like agriculture, dairy and midwestern life. I'm very surprised and glad that Chicago isn't mentioned all that much, although I wish some Chicago foods would be offered at the fair! The buildings and architecture are nice. The Route 66 Experience (which is open year-round) is a must for everybody. No fair visit is complete without checking out the livestock barns as well as going to livestock judging competitions. Oh and I can't leave out the butter sculptures. As far as the entertainment part, they do have a great eclectic mix of cover bands and popular acts performing there. Again, despite of everything that I said - I do think Illinois needs to step up its game and re-define itself as a popular destination. After seeing what Iowa State Fair has to offer, it definitely made Illinois SF look very weak.

Updated review: I came back earlier in the fair to see the animals which was fascinating, with the…read morefamily culture of camping out by the animals and displaying/competing them. This time around I had a hard time tolerating any of the food, everything I tried other than ice cream just did not seem appetizing. It was hot ! Always fun to see the bustling nature of things here, explored the Route 66 and some of the other parks filled with all kinds of activities.

I went to visit the SAA gallery today on 4th street and found the space to be bright and clean…read more (There's another SAA building for art classes ) and the front desk woman to be lovely and informative about the gallery and classes offered . The art work was a mixture of local artists with ongoing featured artist that change periodically. I'm so happy to have found this wonderful place, I'll be back !

A beautiful property with a Historic Home, Gallery and Classrooms. My children LOVE art camp each…read moresummer and I enjoy the "Canvas & Cocktails" events on Friday evenings!

One of my all time favorite artists! You'll find an incredible variety here. My daughter likes her…read moresteam punk, I prefer her flowers, trees, and wildlife, my son likes her pet portraits. We have a pet portrait she did of our sweet dog who had recently passed. It's a treasured piece in our home. We own a couple more pieces and some prints. I'd love to have one of her gorgeous larger works. Also have taken one of her watercolor classes. It was fun and gave me a good grasp of the basics.

Lovely owners and welcoming environment to make, buy, or talk art. They always have something…read moregoing on and up their sleeves. 5/5, Springfield art and music scene is lucky to have them. Don't let them go the way of Groovy Duck. Finding the perfect artist to commission a painting of my pet snake is a fun, easy and pretention-free process. Kids love the classes, very talented teachers.