SPRINGFIELD IL trip
Nov. 4-5 2018
PART 1
This 4-part photo shoot covers a fine trip to Illinois's capital city! I didn't chew bubble gum, nor did I bubble, but this outing has a lot of road scenes, some of which are Abraham Lincoln-related!
West on I-74 approaching Crawfordsville, Ind. At right would be County Road 100 S. The billboard says, "Real Christians obey Jesus' teachings." I'm not religious, but this saying would seem to apply to all the people who claim to be so pious but never actually live by what he taught.
I-74 west of Crawfordsville. Zoning does solve problems. But it doesn't always solve the problem of unattractive billboards placed by someone whining about how the world is so unfair to them because they have to follow zoning rules like everyone else.
Well, yeah. That's what I've tried to tell people about the media. Too bad that billboard looks like it's from the same person who posted the one against zoning. This is on I-74 near Covington, Ind.
I-74 goes under this rail bridge in Danville, Ill., just past the US 150 exit south of downtown. The billboard reads, "Social Security, with you through life's journey." That is, until Social Security gets raided to pay for wars, bailouts, or tax handouts to the 1%. Also notice how all these YouTube videos these days are always a "journey." They're always things like "My strabismus journey." Not Journey, but "journey."
I-74 goes under this rail span past the US 150 exit west of Danville.
I-72/US 36 near Illiopolis. The road at right is Long Point Road, which apparently was not the old US 36. Illiopolis sounds like the name of some exotic ailment: "I had to miss school last week because I had illiopolis."
I-72 near Illiopolis.
I-72 approaches Springfield!
We lose I-72/US 36 as this becomes a surface road - IL 97 (Clear Lake Avenue). Old maps say this was once US 36 and earlier IL 125.
IL 97 uses this viaduct. Viaduct is a funny word like ruin or tirade. The viaduct doesn't appear yet on a 1966 map when this was still IL 125, nor on 1973 and 1978 maps when this was IL 29. In fact, this highway's street pattern changed all the way through downtown west of here.
Descending the viaduct.
IL 97 goes under this elaborate footbridge.
IL 97 west uses one-way Jefferson Street. This one-way couplet actually has us traveling on the left.
South on 7th. The tall building is the Wyndham Springfield City Centre (formerly the Hilton), the tallest building in the city.
Continuing on 7th.
East on Edwards.
North on 9th - Biz I-55. This was Biz US 66 when Alt US 66 used a surface road bypass east of town and US 66 used I-55 just east of that. This was once IL 29.
West on Capitol Avenue, which has a smooth brick pavement here. The Illinois State Capitol is straight ahead.
The area around 8th & Jackson makes up the Lincoln Home National Historic Site. Much of it is preserved to look as it would have back when Honest Abe lived in Springfield. This is east on Jackson. These streets are closed to auto traffic.
East on Jackson at 8th.
This was Lincoln's house at 8th & Jackson. Shortly before I posted these photos, I read an article about how Lincoln was a good friend of Karl Marx. I knew Lincoln was a critic of capitalism, but the piece showed how Marx had a positive influence on Lincoln's policies.
The William Beedle House. Beedle-dee-deedle! Beedle-eedle-eed! Beedle-deedle! Beedle was a railroad firefighter and a neighbor of Lincoln.