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[click here for Part
1]
The
increased public fascination and popularity of architect Frank Lloyd
Wright’s work, coupled with the home’s restored state, has
sparked increased interest in the Springfield site, which has been
the subject of several television programs and national media
visits. A television crew from the popular Home and Garden
Television station recently filmed at the home for an upcoming
television special on Wright-designed homes.
"We
do get a fair number of visitors each weekend from Chicago just to
see the Dana house. That’s been changing starting in the 1990s. We’ve
had more people from St. Louis or Chicago who come just to see the
Dana house, and they’re staying overnight. We’re on the I-55
path, and that brings us a number of visitors each weekend,"
Hallmark said.
The
home was built for Springfield socialite and women’s activist
Susan Lawrence Dana. Unlike most houses designed by Wright, the Dana
house project is unique because it was built around a 30-year-old
Italianate brick house built by Dana’s father, Rheuna Lawrence, a
local businessman and former mayor of Springfield. Dana lived in the
house until about 1928. In 1944 it was purchased by a local couple
who used it to house their publishing firm. It was purchased by the
state in 1981.
Challenges
faced by the historic site’s administration have changed over the
years, according to Hallmark. In the beginning, it was a minimal
operation. "The staff started growing out of sheer demand of
the public. We were more popular than what people thought we were
going to be. Then we closed to be restored. Then we had a glorious
one and a half years after re-opening, and the site had more
visitors than we could have dreamed of," he said. "The
staff increased to eight people, and then came the great state
budget crash of 1992," during which time the site had
difficulty staying afloat. The site was chosen as one of six
historic sites to be partially closed, "to show everybody the
state was hurting," Hallmark said.
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column in this section]
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That’s
when the state decided to ask for suggested donations — a decision
that’s proven to be successful, Hallmark said. The suggested
donation program has brought in half a million dollars in extra
money for all the sites. "That has been the difference, because
state budgets have never recovered to what they were in 1991
levels," he said. "We have fared. We’re not rich by any
means, but we’re faring well right now and are able to restore
some of the programs and services we used to have."
Also
located at the site is the Dana-Thomas House Foundation Sumac Shop,
which sells art glass, books, china, Wright-related gifts and
reproductions.
The
foundation’s goals are to protect and preserve the site and
promote awareness of Wright and Dana though education programs and
raising funds. The foundation is a separate entity from the historic
site and operates under its own budget, with two full-time
employees.
The
site operates under an annual budget of $300,000 a year, a third of
which is provided through the state budget. Approximately $80,000 to
$90,000 is generated from donations, and about $25,000 comes from 10
percent of sales from the Sumac Shop. During the year, another
$5,000 to $10,000, generated through fund-raisers and other
functions, is also donated by the foundation. The remaining budget
money comes from the IHPS budget. The site also is rented out for
private functions like weddings, which cost between $750 and $1,200
a night.
As
in many businesses, half of the budget is spent for staff salaries.
One of the biggest challenges facing the site is keeping volunteers
— which make up the majority of the people operating the site.
(To
be continued)
[Penny
Zimmerman-Wills]
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Dana-Thomas
House Historic Site
Location:
301 E. Lawrence Ave., Springfield, IL 62703
Phone:
general site information, 217-782-6776; Sumac Shop, 217/744-3598
Fax:
217/788-9450
Website:
www.springfield.il.us/visit
Owner:
state of Illinois, since 1981; administered by the Illinois Historic
Preservation Agency
Site
manager: Dr. Donald P. Hallmark
Assistant
site manager: Richard LaFollette
Designed
and built: 1902-1904. Springfield socialite and women’s activist
Susan Lawrence Dana commissioned architect Frank Lloyd Wright to
design a new house.
Restoration
project: A three-year, $5 million restoration project was completed
in September 1990.
Hours:
9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Wednesday-Sunday. Tours are given every 20 minutes
and last approximately one hour.
Cost:
Suggested donations, $3 for adults and $1 for children
Visitors:
45,000 annually
Number
of employees: six full-time; 140 volunteers
Annual
operating budget: approximately $300,000
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Site
manager Dr. Donald Hallmark said even though a few thousand dollars
are raised each year through corporate donations, he feels more
local support could be given to the site. "Compared to the
corporate money raised by the Frank Lloyd Wright home and studio in
Chicago, ours is piddling amounts. We’re talking just a few
thousand dollars. That’s partly because we don’t have huge
corporations that dominate the Springfield market. But also because
I think a lot of people take advantage of living in and around
Springfield. You can’t imagine the number of people who say they
haven’t been in Lincoln’s Home in 10 or 20 years, who haven’t
been to the Dana Thomas house or even to the Old State
Capitol," he said. "They almost take advantage of it by
ignoring it. There’s a certain amount of that."
Besides
the lack of local interest, Hallmark said he feels the local
architectural firms would benefit from being more involved with the
site. "I would like to see the architectural community be
stronger supporters of the house and the foundation. The foundation
is kind of amazed that there are quite a few well-known
architectural and engineering firms that do a lot of state business
who kind of ignore one of the premier architectural sites in the
country. If I just sat back and wasn’t involved in this, I would
have thought almost every architectural firm locally would be a
member of the foundation and would be sponsors of fund-raisers.
Actually, we get a little better support from the local contractors,
because I think they know where their bread is buttered. Some of the
architectural construction firms are better supporters than the
architectural design firms. I find that kind of surprising."
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column in this section]
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Despite
that fact, the home has found a strong following and is visited by
an average of 45,000 people a year. "It used to be that very
few people knew much about the Dana house. Most people would come to
see the Lincoln sites, ask what else there was to do, and people
would send them over here. Now, we have a following of our own. We’re
well enough known in Frank Lloyd Wright circles that a fair amount
of people come here to see the Dana house, and we’re proud of the
fact that now they ask us what else is there to do," Hallmark
said. "It took 10 years for the site to get well-known enough
in general national circles."
(To
be continued)
[Penny
Zimmerman-Wills]
[click
here for Part 2]
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Sept.
28-30
New Holland Quasquicentennial
New
Holland
Parade,
entertainment, carnival, antique machinery/autos, combined church
service on
Oct. 1.
217/732-8687
Barry Apple Festival
Apple
Basket Farms. (Exit 20, off I-72), Barry
Town
square
Celebrate
the apple, as thousands of people do each year at this event. Enjoy
the fall fruit, made into cider, dumpling, fritters, pie and a host
of other treats. An apple-theme quilt will be raffled, and
activities include a parade, entertainment and queen contest.
217/335-2108
Oct.
6-7
Tuscola Old-fashioned Harvest
Bluegrass Festival
Downtown
Tuscola
The
third annual event offers a real treat for music fans, with a
line-up of bands and jam sessions, plus arts and crafts, food,
pie-eating and cutest pumpkin "baby" contests.
www.tuscola.org
800/441/9111
Oct.
6-8
Pumpkinfest
Decatur
Civic Center, Decatur
Events
for kids and adults, food, live entertainment, pumpkin-decorating
contest and craft show.
217/422-7300
Oct.
7-8
Lincoln Memorial Gardens Indian Summer
Festival
Lincoln
Memorial Gardens, Springfield
Enjoy
the autumn air and beautiful surroundings, while sampling food and
listening to live entertainment. Crafts and children’s activities
are also on the schedule.
Farmer Dave’s Buffalo Fest and
Powwow
Farmer
City
An
intertribal powwow where you can test your tomahawk throwing skills,
eat some fry bread and pick your own pumpkin. Also featured are
Native American dance, arts and crafts, an appearance by
"Cody" from the movie "Dances with Wolves,"
stories about the white buffalo, a corn maze test your skills, pony
rides and petting zoo.
Oct.
7-8/14-15
Spoon River Valley Scenic Drive
Fulton
County’s 33rd annual fall festival is along more than 130 scenic
miles, through the towns of London Mills, Avon, Middle Grove,
Farmington, Bernadotte, Table Grove.
More
than 100,000 people are expected to pack the traditional event, so
be prepared for lots of traffic. Flea markets, entertainment,
historical sites, good food and beautiful fall leaves are all part
of the fun. Watch apple butter made, eat butterfly pork chops at
Mount Pisgah or a plate of chicken and noodles at Smithfield’s Red
Brick School. Re-enactors encamped on the grounds at Dickson Mounds
Museum will recreate the life of colonial Illinois in habit, cooking
and eating, blanket trading, and demonstrations of black powder
shooting and knife throwing.
www.spoonriverdrive.org
www.misslink.net/scenicdrive
309/647-8980
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Oct.
14
Pekin YWCA Fall Festival
315
Buena Vista, Pekin, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Get
both your face and your pumpkin painted at this event, which
includes the Wildlife Prairie Park traveling zoo, a bungee run, a
bake sale, magician, puppet shows and plenty of food. Admission is
$1.
309/347-YWCA
Oct.
14-15
Broom Orchard 10th Annual Pumpkin
Festival
Carlinville
Pick-your-own
pumpkin patch, arts and crafts, pony rides and entertainment.
217/854-3514
Pumpkin Festival
Apple
Blossom Farm, Rt. 91, Peoria
Pick
your own pumpkins, take a hayrack ride, enjoy live music, play
pumpkin games and eat pumpkin treats.
309/ 243-1012
Oct.
21
Auburn Harvest Festival
Town
square
Native
American Living History, hot air balloon rides, chili cook-off, flea
market, craft fair, old time music, Halloween window-painting
contest, car cruise.
217/438-3405
Applefest
Central
Park Plaza, Jacksonville
Come
and see who wins the apple pie bake-off, and enjoy the crafts,
entertainment and food available.
217/245-9917
Oct.
21-22
112th annual Pike County Drive
Pet
Clydesdale horses, walk through three-acre corn mazes, take a
horse-drawn wagon ride, have your own broom made while you wait or
tour the 100-year-old Pike County Courthouse at this event. Hundreds
of crafts and antiques are for sale at booths throughout the drive
and demonstrations include doll making, basket weaving, chair
caning, stained glass and rope making. More than 25,000 visitors
attended the popular event last year.
217/335-2670
Nov.
4-5
New Salem Harvest Feast
Lincoln’s
New Salem Historic Site, Petersburg
Take
a step back in time and watch villagers prepare for Thanksgiving, by
making apple butter and shucking corn. Parade and demonstrations.
217/632-4000
[Penny
Zimmerman-Wills]
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[OCT.
17, 2000]
[OCT.
16, 2000]