 There will be special evening hours the weekend of Dec. 19-20, when
the site will be open until 8 p.m. and live music provided. Family
Night is Dec. 19 and the annual Luminaria Evening is Dec. 20.
Children's Story Hour is on New Year's Eve.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 the decorations.
Family Night, evening tours with music
Saturday, Dec. 19, from 4 to 8 p.m. is Family Night, with
visitors admitted free, although a donation of $1 per person is
suggested. Regular holiday tours will be conducted during the
daytime with the usual suggested donation of $5 for adults and $3
for children.
Luminaria Evening
The season's most popular event at the Dana-Thomas House,
Luminaria Evening, will be on Sunday, Dec. 20, from 4 to 8 p.m.
About 1,000 luminaria will line the sidewalks and horizontal ledges
of the sprawling, 12,600-square-foot Prairie-style structure. Tours
on Luminaria Evening are silent except for the live music being
played in the house. Regular holiday tours will occur until 3:30
p.m., with the luminaria display starting about 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.
Children's Story Hour
Children's Story Hour, reminiscent of the times a hundred years
ago when Susan Lawrence Dana would invite children into her home for
reading and fun, will be on Dec. 31 with sessions at 9:30 and 11:30
a.m. and 1:30 p.m. This year's storyteller will be Mike Anderson of
Jacksonville, and each child will receive a treat at the end of the
session. Space is limited, so reservations are required. Each
session lasts about 45 minutes.
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The Dana-Thomas House will be closed on Thanksgiving Day, 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.
All holiday events at the site are sponsored by the Illinois
Historic Preservation Agency, which administers the Dana-Thomas
House State Historic Site, and by the Dana-Thomas House Foundation.
The Sumac Shop
The Sumac Shop in the Dana-Thomas House Visitors Center is open
from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday, and until 8 p.m. on
Dec. 19 and 20.
In existence for 26 years, the Sumac Shop is managed by the
Dana-Thomas House Foundation, with profits benefiting foundation and
site programs, lectures, tours, acquisitions and related educational
activities. The store has gained a national reputation for the
quality and uniqueness of its products, which include books and
monographs, cards and postcards, Wright reproduction and adaptation
items, jewelry, period decorative arts, and related gift items.
___
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.
[Text from file received from
the Illinois Historic
Preservation Agency]
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