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Diversions: Places to Go
Near and far, these places have something to teach about older structures and their settings. America is blessed with literally thousands of historically fascinating sites to visit including house museums, living history farms, archeological sites, botanical gardens, prairies restorations, and many more topical sites to suit your individual tastes and interests. See also our list of other Architectural Warehouses that you may want to visit. Happy travels!
Old House Society Warehouse,
Education Center and Restoration
Center
214 East Douglas Street
Bloomington, IL
(309) 820-0548
Retail store of the Old House Society. Useful to browse as a learning
experience. After you read about hardware styles or building components
such as flooring or period windows in articles
and books, the warehouse store offers an archive of the actual objects
--- the real thing --- so you get a three-dimension image. Includes antique,
restored, and reproduction items.
Arthurdale Heritage
Foundation
Arthurdale, WV
(304) 863.3959
An actual and virtual museum of the first New Deal community in the United
States. Homesteaded in the 1930s. Many houses and some commercial buildings
remain in nearly unchanged condition, giving visual integrity to a twentieth-century
town.
Terrace Hill at Benjamin Franklin
Allen Garden
Des Moines, IA
(515) 280-3980
A large estate garden designed by a renowned 19c British landscape architect
(Job T. Elletson) and later modified by the American, Jacob Weidenmann,
a popular landscape architect and author and a contemporary of Andrew
Jackson Downing. Example of a large, formal garden in British style.
Chicago Botanic Garden
1000 Lake Cook Road
Glencoe, IL
(847) 835-5440
Trees and flowers on 300 acres. Here is a chance to see how individual
species and varieties weather the Illinois climate. Both natural and formal
areas. Extensive educational program.
David Davis Mansion (Clover
Lawn)
1000 East Monroe Drive
Bloomington, IL
(309) 828-1084
An example of a Mid-Victorian home. Completed in 1872 for U.S. Supreme
Court Justice David Davis and his wife, Sarah. Ornamental flower garden
and door step garden are currently under reconstruction. Historic barn,
and 4.1 acres land surrounding mansion remain from the original estate.
Funk Prairie
Home and Rock Museum
McLean County Highway 41
Shirley, IL
(309) 827-6792
1864 Colonial Revival Home built by LaFayette Funk. Family museum dedicated
to documenting life on the prairie.
Morton Arboretum
Rt. 53
Lisle, IL
(630) 719-2433
Fifteen hundred acres of shrubs, trees and other woody plants. Many display
gardens including a Hedge Garden with more than 100 formally laid out
hedges and a fragrance garden of flowers, shrubs and trees.
National Building Museum
Washington, DC
(202) 272-2448
A private museum housed in the 1887 Pension Building. Changing exhibits
on architecture, building styles and forms, and neighborhoods. Talks,
symposia.
Old House Gardens
Ann Arbor, MI
(734) 995-1486
Develops, promotes, and sells vintage and heirloom bulbs. Newsletter.
Parklands Merwin Preserve
700 acre restored nature preserve located 3.5 miles northeast of Lake
Bloomington at intersection of County Roads 1925E & 2550N. Native
prairie, woodland, and savanna.
Seed Savers Exchange and Seed Savers
Heritage Farm
30076 North Winn Road
Decorah, IA
(563) 382-5990
A non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of endangered
fruits and vegetables. Two thousand varieties of vegetables grown each
year from an archive of 24,000 rare varieties. Gardens, vineyards and
orchards plus the largest display of heirloom apple trees in the country.
Shaw Gardens
Missouri Botanical Garden
St. Louis
(314) 577-5100
Extensive grounds that include a 19c conservatory (glass house). The conservatory
and bedding plants derive from the Victorian fondness for exotic plants
and use of space broken by geometric bedding shapes.
Smith
Museum of Stained Glass Windows
700 East Grand Avenue
Navy Pier
Chicago, IL
(312) 791-6049
Two themes of this collection of 150 decorative windows and doors fit
particularly well into the styles and usage of Bloomington-Normal: first,
Victorian residential and commercial windows and, second, Arts and Crafts
designs. A good place to see a group comparison of design and technique.
Spence Farm
RR 1, Box 100
2959N & 2100E Road
Fairbury, IL 61739
(815) 692-3336
Tour the oldest farm in Livingston County. See historic buildings, crafts
and trades, heirloom gardens and restored prairie. Call for reservations.
Thomas Jefferson Center for Historic
Plants
P.O. Box 316
Charlottesville, VA 22902
(434) 984-9822
Researches, collects, distributes information on plants cultivated in
the United States until the end of the 19c. A catalogue and a store on
site sell seeds and plants. Emphasis is on the East Coast but plant materials
are likely to have spread to the Midwest as settlers moved. Internet site
has their annual journal Twinleaf. Center schedules symposia, tours, and
workshops.