The publisher and the poet

Old Illinois State Journal Building, Vachel Lindsay Home part of Upper Story Tour

[May 03, 2008]  SPRINGFIELD -- A former newspaper publisher's office and off-limits areas of a poet's residence are two of the spaces featured during the ninth annual Downtown Springfield Inc. Upper Story Tour, scheduled for Thursday from 5 to 8 p.m.

The Illinois Historic Preservation Agency will offer tour participants a look at the former publisher's office in the Illinois State Journal Building. The structure at 313 S. Sixth St. now contains IHPA offices. In addition, the tour will take participants to the IHPA-administered Vachel Lindsay Home State Historic Site, 603 S. Fifth St., including spaces typically closed off to visitors, and the tour will feature some additional Lindsay artifacts on display. During last year's Upper Story Tour, the most popular ever, IHPA offered a rare visit to the Old State Capitol dome.

Also included in the May 8 tour: Lincoln Place Condominiums, 118 S. Fourth; condominiums at 316 E. Adams; an apartment at 617 E. Monroe; Lindsay Flats, 422 E. Edwards; and Town House Condominiums, 718 S. Seventh.

The Upper Story Tour invites visitors to take time to look up and think beyond the ground floors passed every day on the sidewalk in order to examine architectural details and to view the myriad of upper-story spaces and their potential. The tour provides an opportunity to see firsthand the progress that is being made in the city's downtown historic district.

Tickets for the Upper Story Tour are $5 for Downtown Springfield Inc. members and $7 for nonmembers and may be obtained the evening of the event at Lincoln Place Condominiums or the Vachel Lindsay Home. Call 217-544-1723 for more information.

The event is sponsored by the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, Old State Capitol Foundation, Illinois Times, CJP Architects Incorporated, Hughes Housing Solutions Inc. and Logan Development.

[Text from Illinois Historic Preservation Agency news release received from the Illinois Office of Communication and Information]