Springfield, Illinois

The drive from St. Louis took us straight north through endless, flat farms. The scenery hardly varied, but the clouds dotting the enormous blue sky were nothing short of spectacular on that chilly March morning. As we came into town, the clouds turned dark and covered the sun, giving the impression that it was about to rain.

We went to Café Moxo for lunch. It was a locally owned sandwich place that seemed to be quite popular. After waiting for a short while in the line, we ordered our sandwiches and sat at a small table. When our lunch came, everything was tasty and prepared well, but the portion size seemed a little bit small, and we both left the restaurant still feeling hungry. Several weeks later, when I wrote as much in a review of the Café on Yelp, the owner replied that, “I would recommend the bag lunch option (full sandwich/chips/cookie/­drink for $9.75 or the half sandwich/chips/cookie/­drink for $7.50),” and I couldn’t help but think that I shouldn’t need chips and a cookie to fill me up after buying a full sandwich. Oh, well.

           After our bite to eat, we went to the Capitol and managed to find parking extremely close to the magnificent looming edifice. The architect, Alfred H. Piquenard, also designed the Iowa Capitol, which is another one of my favorites. Illinois’ 6^th Capitol was completed in 1888 with final costs totaling $4.3 million. It is primarily constructed of limestone, granite, and both domestic and imported marbles. The building underwent a major restoration (as almost every state Capitol has, at some point) in 2011; the major focuses were ADA accessibility, utilities, and returning the structure to its 1880s appearance.

            As we walked up to the courtyard, the first statue was of Abraham Lincoln. His towering figure and the wall behind it obscured anything behind it, so as we approached all we could see was Lincoln and the Capitol. The grey clouds and leafless trees magnified his somber face, that of a man who was exhausted, haunted, and weary. Deeper in the courtyard, closer to the Capitol steps stood another man worth mentioning. Dwarfed in comparison to Lincoln’s stony form, the stocky statue of the “Little Giant,” Stephen A. Douglas glowered up at the stormy sky. Douglas ran against Lincoln for Illinois State Senator in the 1858 election. The Lincoln-Douglas debates were held in 7 different towns, and became iconic after Lincoln edited the texts and had them published in a book, which led to his nomination in the 1860 presidential election. The debates revealed each of their senses of humor, marked with spontaneous jabs, like when Douglas accused Lincoln of being two-faced. Lincoln calmly responded, “I leave it to my audience: If I had two faces, would I be wearing this one?” In their ideology, they both believed slavery should be abolished, but Douglas felt strongly that the states needed to decide the situation independently.

Douglas’s statue had a pensive face with a furrowed brow, watchful and yet preoccupied. Even through their frozen expressions, the differences in his and Lincoln’s demeanors were apparent. Though Douglas was a great man and an important figure in Illinois and US politics and was given a place of honor in front of the Capitol, I think it is fitting that when one is standing on the sidewalk Lincoln’s statue fills your vision. Lincoln truly earned his unique place of honor in our history and our state Capitol courtyards. It seems only right that at first approach, all you can see is Lincoln and the Capitol.

            We continued inside, checked in at the tour desk, and were informed that the next tour began in about 15 minutes. While we waited, we decided to wander around the breath-taking first floor. Springfield was only my 37th Capitol, but I knew as soon as I walked into that rotunda that it was definitely my favorite. It was indescribably beautiful. The soaring columns, stained glass windows, and carved bronze relief murals that stretch around the entire circumference surpassed any other state Capitol.

In the center of the main floor of the rotunda, which is the other prominent place of honor in almost every Capitol, was a statue of a woman in classical, Romanesque garb standing with her arms outstretched. Julia Bracken created Illinois Welcoming the World for the 1893 Chicago World Fair. The tall figure stood with her back to the grand staircase, facing Lincoln’s statue in the courtyard in front of the building. The statue nods to the metropolitan might and cultural importance of Chicago, particularly during the end of the 19^th century when the Midwestern cities were expanding rapidly. Between 1850 and 1900, Chicago’s population exploded from 29,963 to 1,698,575. Newly built railroads and canals expedited transportation and allowed for a truly nationalized economy, which led to massive immigration and population growth.  Chicago has always been known for its diversity, and it was this period in the late 1800s that earned the city that reputation. These late 19^th century arrivals mostly consisted of the Irish, Germans, Italians, Russian Jews, and Slavs. Because of the diversity resulting from this period of rapid immigration, it was especially fitting that Illinois Welcoming the World was created for the 1893 Chicago World Fair, and that the statue was in the center of the rotunda.

The guide informed us that the tour was about to start. He was a dignified, stern man of few words who could not have had a more different demeanor than his jolly, grandfatherly counterpart at the Iowa Capitol, and he took very seriously any comparison I made between “his” building and Iowa’s Capitol. That being said, he was a wonderful guide and gave an informative tour of a gorgeous building.

We visited each of the Chambers as well as the Governor’s office and the Hall of Governors. The Chambers were breathtaking, particularly the moldings, carvings, and paintings that adorned every inch of the ceiling. The House Chamber was larger and had a stunning stained glass window in the center of the ceiling.

The second floor of the rotunda revealed some of the other works of art that are scattered throughout the building. An enormous mural that stood at the top of the Grand Staircase depicts George Rogers Clark negotiating with Native Americans at Fort Kaskaskia in 1778. Statues of other important Illinoisans dotted the circumference of the rotunda, including two other statues of Stephen A. Douglas and Abraham Lincoln, which seemed to be eyeing each other daringly. The other statues were of Illinois Governor John Wood; Speaker of the House David E. Shanahan; 48-year state Senator Richard J. Barr; the first woman elected to the House, Lottie Holman O’Neill; Chicago mayor Richard J. Daley; and the first African American to be elected to the state Senate, Adelbert H. Roberts.

The tour ended in the Hall of Governors, which had the portraits of all of the Illinois’ Governors, except Rod Blagojevich, who was convicted in 2011 and found guilty of 17 federal charges, including extortion, and is currently serving a 14-year sentence in federal prison. He was impeached by the Illinois General Assembly in 2009, so the state decided that if Blagojevich would like a portrait of himself in the Hall of Governors, then he must pay for it himself.

After the tour, we drove a half-mile to the Lincoln Home. It sits amid a historic neighborhood that has now been designated as a National Park. We went to the visitor’s center first and purchased tickets for the tour of the Lincoln Home. As is typical in the Midwest, everyone we encountered was incredibly friendly, and enjoyable company. After taking a look around the gift shop, we exited the visitor’s center and walked back down the block to the benches where the tours began.

Over the next several minutes, a group began to assemble, and the guide got everybody’s attention. After he described the additions and renovations that the Lincolns did on the structure, we all walked inside the house and into the formal sitting room. As was traditional in those days, the children were not allowed in the formal sitting room. Some of the furniture in the room that day was originally the Lincolns’, but not all of it. After they went to Washington, the home was used as a rental property for a while, and much of the furniture ended up elsewhere. Still, it was impressive to think that some of the furniture was there when Lincoln received the news that he had won the Presidency. The formal sitting room was also used to entertain Abraham’s guests and business associates.

Next we filed through the dining area to the family room where the children could play with their toys in the evening. Our guide pointed out some of the toys in the room, and informed us that the Lincoln children had some of the most sought after toys of the time. After taking a look, we ventured upstairs to see the bedrooms.

Abraham and Mary had separate bedrooms. Mary suffered from severe headaches and would have to retreat to her room to recover if she had one. The writing desk and the armoire in Abraham’s room were original to the house, and the wallpaper was – how should I say?  vivid. There were also two other bedrooms for the children and a small room at the back of the house for the hired girl, who was usually a young woman in her middle to late teens working for modest pay as well as room and board, typically until she got married. At the end of the tour, the entire group squeezed into the tiny kitchen to admire the then-state of the art appliances that the Lincolns had. On the way out, I thanked the guide earnestly. I enjoyed the tour immensely, and if you find yourself in Springfield with time on your hands, I strongly recommend a visit to both the Lincoln Home and the Capitol.

Abraham Lincoln was one of our most important Presidents because he faced the hardest challenges of all. During a time when the country was the most divided than it ever has been, he managed to maintain the union. Chicago’s diversity and love of cultural celebration, as well as the kind, hospitable Midwestern mentality, are a few things that come to mind when thinking of Illinois’ culture, and because of that it makes sense that a man like Abraham Lincoln had his roots in Illinois.

St. Louis Gateway Arch

In addition to visiting state capitals, another major goal in my journey was visiting cultural capitals, icons, and monuments. One of the better-known monuments in our great nation is the St. Louis Gateway Arch, which was completed in October of 1965.

The arch, commonly referred to as the “Gateway to the West”, symbolically marks the spot where certain regions of the US meet. For one thing, it sits on the Mississippi River, which is almost universally recognized as the division between the “West” and the “East” of the US. My rule of thumb is that if you live within two states of the Mississippi River, than you are technically in the “Midwest”. Any more than that, and you are definitely either a “Westerner” or an “Easterner,” at least within the confines of our wonderful country.

Furthermore, the arch also rests very close to the parallel 36°30’, the dividing line laid out by the Missouri Compromise of 1820, which was designed to draw a clear boundary between the Northern, free states and the Southern, slave states. The Compromise was one of the many last legislative efforts to stave off the Civil War, and as with many of the other pieces of legislation passed during that same period, it fanned the flames of conflict further rather than doing much to resolve them. Because the arch stands so close to this line, it is not unreasonable to say that the arch also symbolizes the border between the North and the South, effectively making the St. Louis Gateway Arch the confluence point of the 4 geographical and cultural regions of the United States.

This symbolism is important for many reasons. One is that the arch was built during one of the most turbulent decades in recent history. It was the 1960s, and the Civil Rights Movement was gripping the country, making the arch’s placement on that line of “compromise” very poignant. Considering the recent incidents of police brutality in Ferguson, MO, it is apparent that compromise will never be enough. In order to maintain true social progress, we can not give any concessions when demanding equality, due process, and accountability for our police. Although we have made some progress since the 1960s, recent events have made it painfully clear that we have not done nearly enough, and there is still plenty of room for improvement. Because of this, I find the arch to be not only a symbol of social progress, industry, and innovation, but also of the ceaseless struggle for growth and equality.

The second reason that the placement of the arch is incredibly important is because it marks an unspoken, but nationally recognized, boundary of culture. The North and the South are the two regions of the United States that are spoken about the most in terms of cultural differences, likely because of the Civil War. The South has a culture of honor, which refers to a culture in which people avoid intentionally offending others and in turn, maintain a reputation for not taking intentional offenses from other people. Men are also expected to act chivalrous and treat women with respect. It’s not to say that these are not important things in Northern culture, but they carry far more weight in the South. The importance placed on honor, personal respect, and manners contributes to “Southern Hospitality,” because it would be considered an intentional offense to not be as hospitable as possible. Northern culture is much more competitive. Rather than knowing your place in society, it is about independence, individuality, and consistently striving to use all available opportunities to rise to the next level. Partly because of that mentality, Northerners generally do not have the same standard of manners that is starkly apparent as soon as you cross the Mason-Dixon line. It is this difference that makes it easy to understand why the competitive culture of the north would clash with the culture of honor in the South.

The other large, regional difference is between the fast-paced culture of the East, and the more relaxed pace of the West. Historically, the Western frontiersman were some of the hardiest and hardest working people of their time, scraping by on a living off of the land, whether it be raising livestock, growing crops, or mining. But somehow, despite the hard working nature of the pioneers, the breakneck nature of the East did not translate to the West. Perhaps in part this was because most people made their living off of the land, and there was always plenty of it.  The space was not crowded, so competition was less necessary, and it could actually work against you, since your neighbor might be the only one who can help you in a time of crisis. I believe that much of it had to do with the individuals themselves; those that didn’t care for the hustle and bustle of Eastern cities became our Western pioneers. They dreamed of something more lying over the Mississippi River, somewhere in the Great Plains and beyond. That dream of the pioneers and their long journey west was partly why the placement of the St. Louis Arch was so significant.

Whether as an engineering marvel, or a symbol of culture and social progress, the St. Louis Arch has become one of our most treasured American monuments. It is imperative that we examine the origin and meaning of these monuments and symbols, as they illuminate who we truly are as a country, as well as the ideals and history that we all have in common. Riding to the top of the Arch and gazing 30 miles in each direction, I was filled with pride knowing how different we are as Americans and seeing the beauty and unity of the nation that we have created.

Columbus, Ohio

The winding ride through the sun struck mountains of Pennsylvania brought us to Columbus, Ohio nine long hours later. That day was the beginning of the last large portion of our trip; we had visited 36 states and had only 14 left to see, mostly in the western half of the country. We had grown weary of the relentless winter battering the East Coast and were thrilled to be back on the road. Spring was coming, and the west was calling our name.

The first day in Columbus was brisk, the city still trying to shake off the talons of winter. We woke up early and cooked breakfast before heading downtown to visit the Capitol. After battling fierce traffic and circuitous one-way streets in downtown Columbus, we finally found the entrance to the public parking garage directly below the Capitol. That is a convenience that we definitely appreciated, and this was the only Capitol so far whose underground parking has been available to the public as well as legislators and staff. 

We parked and entered the building, searching for a tour desk and information on the ground floor. We found the map room, which has a mosaic of all the Ohio counties in six types of marble from around the world, and discovered that the tours began on the far side of the room. The guide informed us that a school tour was about to arrive momentarily, so we decided to take a pamphlet with a map and wander around on our own. First we climbed the nearest staircase, looking for the rotunda.

One unique feature of Ohio’s Capitol is that it was originally two buildings. The ‘Statehouse’ and the ‘Senate building’ used to be separate, with an open-air porch occupying the space between them. Before the atrium was built, the space was called “pigeon run” because of the pigeons that were always perched on the roofs of the two buildings. Since it has been enclosed, the atrium, with all of its glass and natural light, is used for any and all large events, groups, or gatherings. This alteration was the perfect solution for a treacherous outdoor corridor that was unpleasant and even dangerous to traverse in the winter months. While we were there, there was some sort of function for the new lawyers in the state, and the entire room was packed with people in their late twenties wearing suits, so we slowly worked our way across the atrium and into the rotunda.

This Capitol rotunda was unlike any other. For one, it was the pinkest rotunda we had seen so far on this trip, and secondly, you could only view it from the main floor. There was no balcony or gallery allowing access on the floors above, so the main floor was the only vantage point. The entire room was a giant cylinder rising up to the dome and stained glass window above, with tall, narrow stone arches adorning the entire circumference. On four sides of the room, the arches led to other hallways with the chambers, governor’s office, and historical exhibits. The floor was a white and black tile in a circular pattern that almost looked like an optical illusion.

When we were finished remarking on the unusual aspects of the rotunda, we moved on the Governor’s Office. Unfortunately, we were unable to enter without a tour guide (it seemed, in fact, as if the room might not be accessible to the public at all). To make up for not allowing access, they kindly placed a photo of the formal reception room on an easel in the hallway so we could still get an idea of what the room looked like.

We went upstairs and visited the Senate Chamber. I was immediately amused by their choice in carpet, which can only be described as vivid. Somehow after seeing all of the pink in the rest of the building, I was still surprised. There were other aspects of the room that were much more tasteful, however. The columns in the rear of the room are Pennsylvania marble with Corinthian capitals. The chandeliers were gorgeous, black and gold metal with a gothic design. I really liked them, but they seemed sort of out of place in this “Greek Revival” chamber. The walls were painted a tan color that complemented the plentiful carved woodwork around the windows and doors. The desks were reproductions of the originals and wired with voting buttons and microphones, but handsome nonetheless. The ceiling had intricate carvings around the tops of the chandeliers and stained glass skylights brightening the spaces in between. There used to be balcony seating for the gallery, but the balcony was removed in the early part of the twentieth century, so the public seating was moved to the edges of the room on either side of the Senator’s desks. It was a beautiful chamber, no doubt, but some of the design choices were certainly a little surprising.

The House Chamber was much larger to accommodate its 99 members, but otherwise it looks very similar. The balcony in this room was still intact, however, and it was actually the only way to gain entry to the chamber. The desks date back to 1909, unlike the reproductions in the Senate Chamber, but they have been wired for modern voting technology. Again, I enjoyed the architecture and design of the ceiling, and the stained glass skylights. Unfortunately, the same carpet and chandelier choices continued into this room.

After visiting the chambers, we decided to check out some of the rooms with historical exhibits. One of the rooms was the George Washington Williams Memorial Room, which honors Ohio’s first African-American legislator. The room is styled in the 1880s, with various portraits of other African-American legislators. There was also the Ladies Gallery, which was a room that pays tribute to first six female legislators. It also had some displays with information on legislators, activists, and other people that have contributed to the women’s rights movement. Although I appreciate exhibits that commemorate members of disadvantaged groups and the people that worked tirelessly to improve their position, it always strikes me as being a gesture that could be described as “too little too late.” It’s all well and good if there is a room in the building commemorating African American legislators, but since they are still grossly underrepresented in Ohio, the room doesn’t really do much to actually promote equality. And furthermore, why did The Ladies’ Gallery have all sorts of displays describing the many trials they faced and their bravery in fighting for equal rights, but the George Washington Williams Memorial room did not? The rooms just seemed like a symbolic gesture to me. Instead of passing legislation or trying to do things that actually promote equality, did the state government just put up a couple of historical exhibits and told themselves that they’ve done enough?

After we finished touring the main parts of the building, we returned to the ground floor and explored the gift shop and Capitol museum. We bought a state postcard and key chain, as well as some locally produced tomato sauce for dinner that night. After making our purchases, we went to the museum, which we discovered was mostly about the legislative process. There was also a café that served the employees, but instead we decided to try a sandwich place across the street that had promising reviews on Yelp.

We braved the bitter wind and crossed the street to Market 65, which was a soup/salad/sandwich place. Immediately I noticed that this must be a popular restaurant, because it was just after the lunch rush, and the employees seemed as though they had just won a tremendous battle. The assembly line for the food was a little, eh, chaotic, but the food itself was pretty good. After eating our meals, we went back over to the Capitol to take some pictures of the outside before climbing back in our Subaru and driving to the museum.

The Ohio History Center is a few miles from downtown Columbus by the police-training academy. It’s a large, modern building, housing a number of offices as well as the museum on the main floor. Admission was $10 per person, which is pretty steep for a museum, but luckily the exhibits did not disappoint us.

The first area was dedicated to the natural history and geology of Ohio, and included various semi-precious stones like quartz that are native to the Ohio area. Then there was a room of battle flags, mostly from the Civil War. As we exited the flag room and rounded the corner, we came upon an exhibit about the 1950s, which was extremely interesting.

The first wall showed an info-graphic with various statistics comparing everyday life from the 1950s to present. For instance, the median age in America was 30.2 years in 1950 and 37.1 years in 2013; the percentage of women in the workforce was 28.8% in 1950 compared with 58.6% in 2010; and the average household debt was less than $2,000 in 1950 and a whopping $22,615 in 2012. Some other facts that the display illustrated included the US population, median household income, and the minimum wage. I was disappointed that the graphic did not include some other important facts, like the cost of higher education, percentage of households with only a single parent, and the average percentage of income spent on consumer products versus living expenses. On the other hand, it did provide some interesting tidbits, such as the number of drive-in movie theaters, television sales, and the number of polio cases in the US. I’m not sure if the display was merely an objective look at the differences, or if there was some ulterior politic motive, but it occurred to me that many of the facts presented fall in line with comparisons that the Republican Party makes from the 1950s to now. Considering Ohio’s political demographics, it wouldn’t surprise me if there were some correlation.

The next portion of the 1950s exhibit was extremely cool. Somehow, they managed to accommodate an entire 1950s two-bedroom house. It was stocked with every appliance, product, and trinket from the time period, down to the vacuum cleaner in the hall closet. I had to wonder how they found all of this stuff, because there was literally everything a family would need over the course of their daily life. The sheer scope of the collection was impressive, and I have to say that it was definitely one of the most unique exhibits that we have encountered so far.

The rest of the museum focused primarily on Ohio industry. Like much of the northeast and northern Midwest, Ohio was a manufacturing hub from the formation of the railroads up until about the 1960s, when new innovations and outsourced jobs reduced the industrial operations to a shadow of their former selves. To emphasize the importance of the railroads in the Ohio economy, the exhibit included one antique train car inside, and a number of others just outside the huge windows along the exterior walls. The railroads and canals greatly expedited transportation in the late 1800s and led to the manufacturing boom known today as the Industrial Revolution. As the western parts of our country were in their infancy, life in the east transitioned from widespread subsistence to the middle-class merchant life of factory work and small business. Suddenly, the have-nots were presented with real opportunity for social mobility, and the wealth gap slowly began to close. In our history, 1870 to 1970 was the century of greatest innovation and improvement in the lives of the majority of Americans, and much of it had to do with the Industrial Revolution.

In Ohio, manufacturing mostly consisted of furniture, porcelain china, and textiles. One of the more interesting and unusual companies represented was the Harris & Bros Carriage Makers, whose height of popularity was undoubtedly in the last few decades of the 19th century. The small display showed a number of their tools, and described their history and manufacturing process. Among the items in the rest of the room, there was an antique fire truck, Edison bulbs, and an area describing the importance of water and steam power.

The last two rooms were dedicated to textiles and fine china. In the first, vivid quilts hung from the ceiling all around the walls of the room, a railing separating the fabrics from the greasy hands of the museum’s visitors. The second room was more like a hallway leading to the museum’s lobby, with glass cases in the walls on either side. The china tea sets in these cases were beautifully painted, and they were so colorful and ornate that it looked like the kind of thing you would see in a movie about the American elite.  Each one was certainly more fancy than anything I have ever drunk tea from.

After several hours of exploration and research, we were definitely ready to relax. It was wonderful to see a Capitol building that had its own personal style compared to others we have visited, and the museum was one of the most interesting ones that we had seen on the trip. Learning more about the 1950s and Ohio’s robust manufacturing history, provided greater insight into the struggles of today’s world and economy, as well as the drastic degree of the improvement of everyday life.

The next day, we set off for St. Louis and Springfield, Illinois, which was the final capital city left for us to visit east of the Mississippi River. The call from the west was intensifying with each and every day.