 Dec. 19 from 4 to 8 p.m. is Family Night, with everyone admitted
free, although a donation of $1 per person is suggested. The site
hours on Dec. 19 and 20 will be 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., with live music
filling the house during the afternoon and evening. Evening tours
allow the public to see this pristine example of Wright's American
architecture with its 1910-era light levels and to enjoy the many
illuminated holiday trees and decorations.
The season's most popular event at the Dana-Thomas House,
Luminaria Evening, will be Dec. 20 from 4 to 8 p.m. One thousand
luminaria will line the sidewalks and horizontal ledges of the
sprawling, 12,600-square-foot Prairie style structure. Conducted
tours on Luminaria Evening are silent except for the live music
being played in the house. There are no architectural narrated tours
that evening. Regular holiday tours will be conducted until 3:30
p.m., and the luminaria display starts at 4 p.m. Now in its 24th
year, this event attracts hundreds of visitors, as well as hundreds
more who drive or walk by to see the lighted home. The suggested
donation is $5 for adults and $3 for children.
Another special event, Children's Story Hour, will be on Dec. 31.
Call 217-782-6776 for reservations for both children and
accompanying adults.
The Dana-Thomas House will be closed on Christmas Day and New
Year's Day. The site is closed Monday and Tuesday throughout the
year, including the month of December. Dec. 31 is the final day to
see the house decorated for the holidays, and hours that day are 9
a.m. to 3 p.m.
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All holiday events at the site are sponsored by the Illinois
Historic Preservation Agency, which administers the Dana-Thomas
House, and the Dana-Thomas House Foundation.
The
Dana-Thomas House State Historic Site was designed by
world-famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright and built in 1902-1904 for
Springfield socialite Susan Lawrence Dana. The restored house is the
most complete of Wright's early Prairie style dwellings, with more
than 100 pieces of original Wright-designed furniture and more than
450 art glass windows and fixtures. Susan Dana unveiled her newly
constructed house in December 1904.
The Sumac Shop in the Carriage House Visitors' Center carries a
full assortment of Frank Lloyd Wright items, architectural-related
gifts, and early 20th-century arts and crafts and holiday objects.
The shop is open the same hours as the site, Wednesday through
Sunday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., including extended hours until 8 p.m.
on Dec. 19 and 20.
[Text from file received from
the Illinois Historic
Preservation Agency]
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