Springfield, Illinois, is a small city but it is Illinois’ state capitol and has the history to go with it. Among its varied historic sites you will find a Lincoln mecca. If you stop through, don’t just stop by the Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum (though definitely stop there–it’s great). The hidden gem of a… Read More 5 Reasons to Visit the Lincoln Home Historic Site
Come for the animals, stay for the architecture. Lincoln Park Zoo is one of Chicago’s best places. It is an award winning zoo in the heart of one of the city’s most beautiful parks, it is free and open year-round, and it features a handful a carefully crafted, early 20th century buildings. The Zoo’s centerpiece,… Read More The Architecture of Lincoln Park Zoo
Just a mile from downtown Austin, Texas, in the heart of the 358-acre Zilker Park, is a half-mile-long swimming hole known as Barton Springs. The Springs have been popular for hundreds of years, serving first as a camping location for Native American tribes and later a site for a temporary mission established by the Spanish… Read More Barton Springs: Where Nature Meets City
I often focus on architecture, or specific buildings, but in truth it is the spaces these buildings inhabit and create (and the people that inhabit and create them) that interest me most of all. My blog title including “spaces” is no mistake! In light of this (and the fact that I’m traveling this week), I… Read More Chicago Snapshots
Bryce Canyon National Park is located in southern Utah and is notable for stunning landscapes. The Park sits along the rim of a steep-edged valley that drops away to reveal a maze of sunset-toned hoodoos, ridges and nobs of rock that form an alien and endlessly interesting landscape. Trails zigzag down into to the… Read More Landscape Design Meets National Park
Tucked close to the water between steep granite slopes and the azure water of Lake Tahoe is a 1929 Scandinavian estate known as Vikingsholm. The wood and stone castle-like summer home was commissioned by millionaire Lora Josephine Knight. The estate sits within Tahoe’s picturesque Emerald Bay, which reminded Knight of the Scandinavian fjords. Although… Read More Vikingsholm: Tahoe’s Piece of Scandinavia
I came across this cottage-like building on a walk through Lincoln Park recently and ventured over for a closer look. Turns out this modest cottage packs a punch: not only was it built in 1888, it was designed by Joseph Lyman Silsbee. Silsbee designed a wealth of buildings in Chicago and beyond but… Read More Spotted: Joseph Lyman Silsbee in Lincoln Park
I spent the last few weeks traveling around Florida and I was excited to find so many cool places, from stunning historic buildings to white sandy beaches. By far one of my favorite spots in Tampa was Bayshore Boulevard. Located in south Tampa on the water, the boulevard features a linear park with a beautiful historic balustrade… Read More Tampa’s Historic Bayshore Boulevard
I’ll be upfront and say, I generally gravitate towards fiction (I’m currently reading this with my bookclub and my favorite book last year was definitely this one). I like to always have a architecture or preservation book on the back burner, but I take my time with them. Recently, however, I’ve found myself excited by multiple… Read More 2017 Preservation-Themed Reading List
Oregon Caves National Monument and Preserve is located in the steep and rolling hills of southern Oregon, on a dead-end highway 20 miles east of the town of Cave Junction. The cave itself, reportedly discovered in 1874 by Elijah Davidson, is the namesake and highlight of the park. However, due to the long history of… Read More Oregon Caves: More Than A Cave
Susie Trexler 