Dreamland Lake

I finally found time on a warm, sunny day late in October to visit the duck pond in Fairview Park - officially known as Dreamland Lake, which by the way is the title of a children's book by Decatur native Richard Peck. Many of his books are set in central Illinois. I always enjoy reading books set in places I've lived or visited...there's an added sense of familiarity about the story.

The duck pond is what we used to call it back in "the day". Not too much to say about Dreamland Lake, even today, it's still a little pond. It's a fishing pond for kids in the summer. When I was a kid, they let the pond freeze over in winter and you could ice skate on it. The fountains prevent the lake from freezing now, and the ducks and geese stay year-round now, too.

Don't know when they added the Transfer House replica. It's still a fun place to go, especially with kids, and feed the ducks & geese. Or take your lunch & just relax for a change of pace. There is a nice walking path all the way around the pond, and it is a very relaxing place.

I have a few old postcards from the early 1900's of Fairview Park that I scanned and added below. Unfortunately, I can't find any photos from when I was a kid in the 50's. I can see it all in my mind, but a lot of good that does you! It seems, from looking at the postcards, that Dreamland Lake might have been a bit larger back when it was new...

Till next time~

SIDE TRIPS!

I haven’t been a stay-at-home stick-in-the-mud all this time. I have been to MOONSHINE! for a famous “Moonburger”! If you don’t know where it is, Google it, ‘cause the directions are too convoluted to ever begin to tell you! A few friends & I took off about 9:00AM one day in the general direction of Moonshine in order to get there for lunch.

It takes a couple of hours – if you know where you are going!

Three or more, if you don’t! I think I’m being generous when I say that this place is a “hole in the wall” in the middle of nowhere. I wasn't driving, but it was a good thing I had my Blackberry along - that's all I'll say about that!

But the burgers were good, I will say that. And, after lunch, we hit a few wineries on the way home, so all was not lost!

Oh yeah, there is a neat covered bridge not too far from there.

I think it was somewhere past Greenup.

Rainy day

Wow! I have 2 followers!! Guess I’ll have to get busy and visit a new place. Actually, I was going to go to Fairview Park with a friend and her baby to feed the ducks at Dreamland Lake today, but it was raining. Only the ducks would have been happy. Will try again soon. Meanwhile, let me tell you that Fairview Park has been a Decatur Park/landmark for over 100 years.
Fairview Park, located in Decatur’s historic West End, was established in 1857 by the Macon County Agricultural Society for the purpose of holding county fairs. The name “Fairview Park” was created from the merger of “fairgrounds” and “review” in recognition of the Decatur Review’s contest to name the park. The Decatur Park District acquired the land in 1924. Over the years, Fairview Park has grown to 181 acres. The Decatur parks were actually world-famous at one time, in the early 20th century. There was even a documentary made about the novel concept of large green spaces in the city. I think it is called “Park City USA”. The public library may still have a copy available.

I remember feeding the ducks at the pond in Fairview Park when I was a kid…it looks much nicer now. They used to let the pond freeze in winter and it was a very popular ice-skating place. There were also 2 cages with bears (don’t remember what kind, but my husband will – he remembers EVERYTHING!). And, there was a little train that kids could actually ride in, with a “conductor” and everything. It just went around a track in a circle but it was SO COOL!! Those are long gone, though. Good thing for the bears – those cages seemed pretty small. Now, there is a zoo in Decatur…we will visit there soon.
Anyway, we will feed the ducks sometime soon & take pictures. Till then~
Bye!

OK- Now I’m ready. I have tourist guides in hand – well, at least what I was able to download from the Convention and Visitor’s Bureau. I must say, I am disappointed to find such a brief listing. But, then, Decatur is not exactly a tourist “destination”, no matter how hard they try. I will still try to find a print version of the tourist guide – hopefully there will be more sites listed there. (I should have thought of this a couple of weeks ago when the Farm Progress Show was here…That was a Sight!)

I plan to visit every site on these lists, not in any particular order, as time and my fancy direct me. I checked with my family to be sure I wouldn’t embarrass them with this project. I may enlist assistance from friends or family from time to time to go with me and enter “guest commentary”.
This should be FUN! Off we go…1st stop:

The Transfer House

Located in Central Park in downtown Decatur.

I decided to start here, because I love the Transfer House because it is unique, and, for me, it is the symbol for Decatur. And I think it is just fine where it is in Central Park. (There has been talk for years about moving it back to its original location at the “4 Corners” of N/S and E/W Main Streets.) There’s really nothing to ­do here in Central Park, but the park itself is a refreshing green space with a cool fountain smack in the middle of downtown.

There is a Farmer’s Market here in Central Park on Saturdays in the summer. I think the Transfer House was recently refurbished, painted, etc. It used to be the place where all the buses and streetcars met, hence the name, but that was mid-20th century and before. I do remember it being the home of the Visitor’s Bureau for a while, but it’s not really very big inside. Outside, though, are concrete benches all around it. In the winter, thousands of tiny white lights are strung all over the Transfer House and the trees in the park to create a fairyland effect. It is really magical. I’ll have to come back at Christmas and take another picture for you to see. Click the link if you are interested in reading more history about the Transfer House: http://www.cs.illinois.edu/homes/friedman/decatur/Decatur.htm

Till next time ~ Ann

Welcome to See the Sights of Decatur IL

SEE THE SIGHTS OF DECATUR!


My mission: to visit all the “tourist” sites in Decatur, IL, my hometown, and blog about what I find there. Why? Because I am recently retired and I have lots of free time…I need a project! Because I have not visited all the “sites” in my hometown…because I love local history and I love being a tourist. And, it sounds like fun….


How I plan to accomplish this: I will seek out tourist guides from the local Chamber of Commerce, Decatur IL websites and other sources. I will visit them all, even if I have visited them before, and blog about what I find. I am fortunate to have been able to travel fairly widely and live in different areas around the United States, some of which are definately destination spots. I don’t claim to have any great insights; I just plan to write about my experiences as a tourist in my hometown.


Will anyone read my blog? Will anyone care? Who knows. Will I care if no one reads it? Doubtful, since I'm just doing it for fun. Right now that doesn’t matter. This idea came to me one night as I was washing the dishes after dinner. I had watched Julie & Julia a couple of weeks ago...that must be where the seeds of the idea took root, 'cause it just popped into my head. Seemed like a good idea at the time…. was that what Julie said???



Here Goes!