Historic Sites Reopened

Governor Pat Quinn officially reversed another unpopular move by former Governor Rod Blagojevich yesterday, reopening all 11 state historic sites that had been closed since December. About 100 people showed up at the Dana-Thomas House in Springfield yesterday to celebrate the reopening of the 105-year-old mansion designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. To be honest, considering the uproar over the closure of the historic sites, I was expecting a bigger crowd, especially since the weather was so beautiful.

Photo Courtesy: Jamey Dunn, Illinois Issues

The state did a great job planning the event. A brass quintet started things off with a selection of ragtime music that seemed to set the perfect tone for reopening such a popular building from the early 1900s. The crowd was big enough to add some energy to the moment without being so big that it was overwhelming. And to top it all off, although there were gray skies that looked ready to open up and rain on the whole parade, the skies cleared up and the sun was shining just in time for the celebration to start. I worked up a feature on the reopenings that you can check out here. Fair warning, it's 3-and-a-half minutes long.

The sites that reopened are:

• Apple River Fort in Elizabeth
• Bishop Hill
• Hauberg Indian Museum at Black Hawk State Historic Site in Rock Island
• Cahokia Courthouse in Cahokia
• Dana-Thomas House in Springfield
• Fort de Chartres in Prairie du Rocher
• Fort Kaskaskia in Ellis Grove
• Pierre Menard Home in Ellis Grove
• Jubilee College in Brimfield
• Lincoln Log Cabin in Lerna
• Carl Sandburg’s birthplace in Galesburg