If you like hotdogs or history, Springfield, Illinois, is the place for you. Smack dab in the Land of Lincoln and birthplace of the corndog, there’s a lot of meaty history here to explore. Visit the only home President Lincoln ever owned or a gem of a Frank Lloyd Wright house with one of the most complete collections of his original craftsmanship. Or take in both – everything feels close in Springfield.
The city lies directly west of the location we featured last month, Indianapolis, and slightly southwest of the first city we featured on our microsite, Chicago. Lying in the center of the state makes it a natural for the designation as capital and well-situated for great sports and recreation activities. Parks abound.
Throw a fishing line in at Lake Springfield to see what you catch, or catch a few locally made beers in a Lincoln-era building that was saved from demolition. Take the kids to the zoo or your recently retired parents to a nearby winery where Grandpa Grape is one of the blends.
Your soon to fly-the-nest teenagers may want to do some campus visits with a handful of great universities in Illinois’ second largest city providing great educational opportunities, some with the state capitol as a backdrop to campus. What’s more American than that? Visit the heart of the Land of Lincoln and revel in the area’s history and present, and maybe eat a corndog or two, for history’s sake, of course.
Check out our microsite on Springfield with content updated weekly on subjects including sports, recreation, food, wine, culture and educational opportunities for those of you who love it too much to leave.
