Historic Tours

Enrich and Enlighten Issue: Fall/Winter 2010 Author(s): Jessica Esemplare It’s impossible to ignore the symbolism of the Holocaust Memorial Center Zekelman Family Campus in Farmington Hills, Michigan: Barbed wire encircles the building and parts of it are painted in the blue and gray stripes of concentration camp uniforms. Inside, with the help of timelines, memorials and hands-on displays and exhibits, the museum details the history of Jewish life, culture, beliefs and holidays, along with the rise of Nazism and the defining moment Kristallnacht (The Night of Broken Glass) in...

Happy (100th) Birthday, Mr. President Issue: Fall/Winter 2010 Author(s): Paula Carter “There was the life that has shaped my body and mind for all the years to come,” said President Ronald Reagan in reference to Dixon, Illinois, the small town where he grew up. The 40th president would have turned 100 on February 6, 2011, and in honor of the centennial, Dixon is throwing a yearlong birthday bash in Reagan’s honor and inviting visitors to come see where the Gipper began his journey.  The first stop is Reagan’s boyhood home, a two-story white frame house that has been refurbished to it...

Footsteps to the Past Issue: Fall/Winter 2010 Author(s): Amy Bizzarri Bocchetta Chicago’s near south side Bronzeville neighborhood is a vibrant and exciting living lesson in African-American history. Once the home of such greats as Gwendolyn Brooks, Louis Armstrong, Bessie Coleman and scores of other influential residents, it is now booming with community-based revitalization that highlights its rich history. Start your day with a visit to the DuSable Museum of African American History, a unique museum named after Jean Baptiste Pointe DuSable, the first permanent settler in Chicago....

Underground Secrets Issue: Spring/Summer 2010 Author(s): Becky Linhardt History is cool — about 56 to 58 degrees in Louisville’s Mega Cavern — so be sure to bring a jacket for your guided tram tour. Select portions of the 4-million-square-foot facility were opened to the public in 2009. The ride is a bit rough at times and dark. Lights are turned on along the route only as needed and to inspire awe at the vast expanses. “This was an underground quarry from the 1930s to the early 1970s,” says our tour manager, Trey Moreau. “Miners would blast out rock to be used in road cons...

Ohio’s Wild West Issue: Spring/Summer 2010 Author(s): Peter Chakerian Logan County is located in an area referred to as “Ohio’s Historic West” — and not just because the first concrete street in America appeared there in 1891. The county features Ohio’s highest point (Campbell Hill, 1,549 feet above sea level), amazing underground spelunking, the remarkable 19th-century Piatt Castles and a bevy of other scenic and cultural attractions that make for an adventure-filled weekend. The Ohio Caverns Tour in West Liberty examines the largest of all the cave systems in Ohio. The ...

Utopia on the Prairie Issue: Spring/Summer 2010 Author(s): Paula Carter Valkommen to Bishop Hill , a historic Swedish colony on the Illinois prairie where lingonberry tea, handmade rugs and homemade breads are only a few of the delights that have survived since the town’s founding in 1846. Created as a utopian religious community, the idyllic town, registered as a national landmark, is a retreat from modern life. Tours of historic buildings scattered throughout the village give visitors a chance to experience what it would have been like to live in the mid-19th century. The...

Rockefeller Retreat Issue: Spring/Summer 2010 Author(s): Gerald Bartell Like a photogenic film star, the Hudson River seems incapable of taking a bad picture. Splendid panoramic views open up at every bend of the 315-mile river as it flows through Eastern New York. But the vistas from Kykuit (pronounced to rhyme with “high-cut” and meaning “lookout” in Dutch) in Sleepy Hollow, New York , could make even cell phone shots look like a National Geographic layout. Perched 500 feet above the Hudson, Kykuit was the family estate of the Rockefellers for four generations. Now on the...

Wright Style Issue: Spring/Summer 2010 Author(s): Lynne Thompson Oak Park, Illinois , is a mecca for Frank Lloyd Wright aficionados. The tiny Chicago suburb boasts more than two dozen homes designed by the renowned American architect, more than any other location in the world. That number includes Wright’s first home and studio , a two-story cedar-sided-and-shingled abode built in 1889 that served as his residence and workplace for the next 20 years. Thanks to the Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust, which operates the site as a museum, the place looks much like it...

Culture Club Issue: Fall/Winter 2009 Author(s): Jennifer Rogers It can be hard to hit all of a city’s cultural hotspots on a weekend getaway, but in Louisville, Kentucky , they’ve made it easy. Museum Row on Main Street is a must-visit for anyone with a passion for history, science or the arts. With nine museums, each distinguished by first-rate collections and proximity to the exciting hub of downtown, this cluster is on par with the world’s most cosmopolitan museum centers. The Frazier International History Museum features costumed interpreters and hands-on exhibit...

Inspired by Art Issue: Fall/Winter 2009 Author(s): Sherri Telenko Uber-cool meets ancient history at the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto this fall. Newly reopened after completing a $276 million renovation designed by Toronto-born architect Frank Gehry, the art gallery is host to the only Canadian stop of “Tutankhamun: The Golden King and The Great Pharaohs,” open November 24–April 2010. This traveling show shares space with European historical art, antiquities, Native Canadian and Inuit works, both past and present, and diverse contemporary exhibitions. The AGO is t...

Profiles in Courage Issue: Fall/Winter 2009 Author(s): Jill Sell Don’t expect to see a repeating video of the World Trade Center’s twin towers exploding. The 100 images and artifacts displayed in the small but powerful Ground Zero Museum Workshop in New York City focus instead on the incredible spirit of those whose lives were intimately touched by the 9/11 recovery effort. Museum owner Gary Marlon Suson is the official photographer at Ground Zero for the Uniformed Firefighters Association. Suson spent between six and seven months at the site, 19 hours a day, photogra...

Timeless Lessons Issue: Fall/Winter 2009 Author(s): Jenna Schnuer Go beyond passive observation and learn for yourself how things were done in days past. Butler County Community College’s Heritage School at The Conservancy in Butler, Pennsylvania , gives adult students ample opportunities to learn the how-tos of everything from blacksmithing to basket weaving to playing folk music. The school provides the ideal spot to unplug from all things electronic and focus on the task at hand. Housed on the 50-acre grounds of the Succop Conservancy — and in buildings includi...

Wonderful World of Warhol Issue: Fall/Winter 2009 Author(s): Ed Condran Andy Warhol once noted that everyone will be famous for 15 minutes, and the legendary artist may be right, courtesy of the reality television age. However, Warhol failed to comment much on his own fame. Thanks to an enormous and acclaimed body of work, the man who re-invented celebrity and pop culture will be known in perpetuity. The Warhol name and artwork will live on thanks in large part to the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh . It’s the largest museum dedicated to one artist in the world. The quirky ...

Famous Address Issue: Spring/Summer 2009 Author(s): Bob Beasley America is filled with sites that help tell the country’s history, but few places speak to the nation’s enduring freedom better than Gettysburg, Pennsylvania . This, of course, is where Union soldiers outlasted their Confederate foes to help turn the tide in the Civil War and inspire one of the most memorable speeches ever delivered. Even if you’re not much of a history buff, a visit to Gettysburg National Military Park will leave you yearning to learn more about this pivotal period in American history....

Ghosts of History Issue: Spring/Summer 2009 Author(s): Kathy Witt Located at the confluence of three rivers — the Mississippi, the Missouri and the Illinois —  Alton, Illinois, is known as “one of America’s most haunted small towns.” It sits on the Meeting of the Great Rivers National Scenic Byway, 33 miles of road cradled by the rolling waters of the Mississippi River. Alton’s Lincoln & Civil War Legacy Trail, newly opened in fall 2008, is a wonderful way to experience the area’s history through the stories of President Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War. The...

Hilltop History Issue: Spring/Summer 2009 Author(s): Lori B. Murray Two museums, both surrounded by the carefully groomed lawns and gardens of the Oglebay Resort and Conference Center, tell the story of the area once known as “the gateway to the west” from pioneer days to the early 20th century. The museums sit atop a hill overlooking Wheeling, West Virginia , a beautiful backdrop for this one-time estate. The Mansion Museum , built in 1846 by Hanson Chapline, went through seven different owners before Earl W. Oglebay purchased it in 1900 and financed several extensive ...

Lights on The Lake Issue: Spring/Summer 2009 Author(s): Amy S. Eckert When spring arrives, Shepler’s Ferries take to the lake, their telltale plumes of water shooting skyward like rooster tails. These ferries are best known for transporting visitors to Mackinac Island, but Shepler’s offers another way to enjoy the Straits of Mackinac — on historic lighthouse cruises. The Mackinaw City, Michigan , company offers both three- and four-hour journeys from its mainland dock. Westbound cruises travel directly under the Mackinac Bridge for a unique perspective of the Midwest’s fa...

Movin’ On Issue: Spring/Summer 2009 Author(s): Kathy Witt Back in the early- to mid-1800s, when the nation’s first federally funded interstate highway was laid, it was with a whipstitch combination of dirt, gravel, tree stumps and planks. Stretching 824 miles across six states between Maryland and Illinois, the road was often a snarl of carriages and Conestoga wagons, travelers on horseback and on foot, and herds of cattle and sheep, all kicking up clouds of dust and generally ignoring the right-of-way. Talk about road rage. Although still heavily traveled, to...

Simple Serenity Issue: Spring/Summer 2009 Author(s): Becky Linhardt Ah, peace and tranquility. Seeking a life of simplicity and peace, a religious group known as the Shakers began building a utopian community in the unsettled early 1800s wilderness of what would later be called Harrodsburg, Kentucky . Though the Shakers no longer reside at the Village of Pleasant Hill, their peaceful spirit permeates the 3,000-acre property and the 34 carefully restored buildings there. Some dwellings are open to the public for tours while some are reserved for guests who choose to stay...

A Rich Economy Issue: Fall/Winter 2008 Author(s): Betsa Marsh From pressing cider apples to nibbling lebkuchen cookies, visitors can savor a full taste of fall at Old Economy Village , a National Historic Landmark District in Ambridge, Pennsylvania . Old Economy, 14 miles north of Pittsburgh, has 17 restored structures furnished with collections of the Harmony Society, a German communal group known for its prosperity from textiles, manufacturing, railroad investments and winemaking. The village was active from 1824 until the society’s dissolution in 1905. Each fal...

Deck the Halls Issue: Fall/Winter 2008 Author(s): Betsa Marsh As one of the finest small art museums in the nation, the Taft Museum of Art in Cincinnati is accustomed to receiving accolades for its colorful and distinctive collections, displayed in one of the Queen City’s oldest and most elegant residences. That tradition continues this holiday season as rare, blown-glass ornaments, Victorian angels and Christmas trees made of wire and goose feathers adorn the building during “Antique Christmas at the Taft,” November 21 through January 4. Old-fashioned objects and...

Get Your Motor Runnin'... Issue: Fall/Winter 2008 Author(s): Meredith Beverstock Whether it’s the look of that well-worn leather jacket, the feel of the wind whipping through your hair, or the rumbling sound of the motorcycle’s engine, few experiences spark feelings of leisurely freedom like riding the open road on a Harley-Davidson. The company that has long been revered by motorcycle lovers lets them revel in hog heaven during a tour of the Harley-Davidson Vehicle Operations facility in York, Pennsylvania . The assembly facility — Harley-Davidson’s largest one, employing more than...

Hot Wheels Issue: Fall/Winter 2008 Author(s): Sherri Telenko Corvette collectors can recite chapter and verse why their favorite ride is also this country’s coolest car. Powerful and sleek, a romantic symbol of success and possibility, the Corvette embodies the American dream for many automobile enthusiasts. A loving tribute to that vehicle and the lofty dreams that it inspires can be found at The National Corvette Museum , located less than a mile away from the car’s assembly plant in Bowling Green, Kentucky . The cars have been built and designed in this city s...

Run for the Border Issue: Fall/Winter 2008 Author(s): John Patrick Pullen The attractions that await visitors to Canada seem just as numerous and diverse as the millions of tourists who flock there every year. Whether it’s the wineries, the casinos, the family spots or the legendary Niagara Falls, seemingly no visitor’s fascination goes unfulfilled. The region’s military history is also a noteworthy draw, as evidenced by the popularity of Fort George in Niagara-on-the-Lake . From 1812 to 1814, Fort George was fiercely coveted by both Britain and the United States. U.S. forces...

Tracking History Issue: Fall/Winter 2008 Author(s): Kathy Witt Consider it a museum on the move. The Indiana Historical Society and The Indiana Rail Road Company conceived an innovative way for Hoosiers to explore exhibits about their state: aboard the three, 65-foot, renovated freight cars of the  Indiana History Train . This fall, the traveling exhibition, “Faces of the Civil War,” focuses on the life stories of locals affected by the Civil War through hands-on activities and live performances by historical interpreters. That period of history is a meaningfu...

The Other Land of Lincoln Issue: Bonus Online Content Summer 2008 Author(s): Betsa Marsh Illinois will never be overlooked for its prominence in the life of Abraham Lincoln. After all, it was in that state that our illustrious 16th president began his political career and started a family, and a number of tourist attractions memorialize his time there. But history buffs are well aware that Lincoln’s roots lie deep in Kentucky bluegrass.          I decided that this year, the bicentennial celebration of the late president’s birth, was the perfect ...

Dig Deep Issue: Spring/Summer 2008 Author(s): Betsa Marsh Deep, dark and dangerous — coal mining during the early 1900s was all that and more. The Beckley Exhibition Coal Mine & Youth Museum in the southern part of West Virginia , fresh from a $3.5 million renovation, offers a glimpse into this rigorous way of life that once fueled the local economy (and literally fueled America’s modes of transportation). The Beckley mine was known for its deposits of low-sulfur coal, used in domestic and international steelmaking. Those curious about the profession that ...

Curtain Up Issue: Spring/Summer 2008 Author(s): Gerald Bartell When “Street Angel,” starring Janet Gaynor, lit up the screen at the opening of Detroit’s Fox Theatre in 1928, the audience must have felt like they’d been magically transported from Woodward Avenue and into some loftier realm.   After all, they’d entered through an opulent, six-story lobby, its floor covered by the largest wool rug ever made in America. Encircling the space were vibrant red pillars, each bearing the figure of an Arabic god; that figure tied in neatly with the decor of the auditori...

Fred and Ethel, Too Issue: Spring/Summer 2008 Author(s): Jenna Schnuer Thanks to the fame and global appeal of one beloved silver-screen star, Jamestown, New York , has been having a ball for years. The hometown of legendary redhead Lucille Ball, Jamestown is also home to the Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Center , comprising two unique facilities and a gift shop that pay homage to the lives and laughs of the “I Love Lucy” stars. The show may have broadcast only 179 episodes, but the center faithfully preserves its legacy with the Desilu Playhouse, named for the studio where the ...

Island Life Issue: Spring/Summer 2008 Author(s): Lori B. Murray It hardly looks like the Taj Mahal, but Lake Erie’s South Bass Island Lighthouse in Ottawa County, Ohio , was considered luxurious living for a lighthouse keeper at the turn of the last century. The 2-1/2 floors of living space, basement and attached tower — not to mention such conveniences as a laundry room and kitchen range — made the dwelling downright spacious compared to similar ones around the country. Today, The Ohio State University owns the unique property and hosts both South Bass Island Light...

The Man Behind The Mix Issue: Spring/Summer 2008 Author(s): Sherri Telenko Unlike the many revered but fictional food purveyors who line our grocery aisles — Uncle Ben, anyone? — Duncan Hines was a real person. Lest you doubt it, visit Bowling Green, Kentucky , where virtually every resident seems to know the history of the man who was born there in 1880, and whose appreciation for quality food is honored around town with everything from historical plaques and a namesake, 82-mile scenic byway, to an annual Duncan Hines festival. Hines was a salesman whose frequent travels fami...

Three’s A Crowd Issue: Spring/Summer 2008 Author(s): Betsa Marsh Frank Lloyd Wright aficionados tend to crisscross the country like birdwatchers, flocking to the famous architect’s expertly designed homes, churches and offices and then gleefully checking them off their life lists. Fortunately, they don’t have to travel too far once they reach the Keystone State. “I call it the trinity,” says Patricia Coyle, a staffer at Kentuck Knob , a Wright work in Chalk Hill that has joined with Fallingwater , located in Bear Run, and Duncan House , in nearby Acme, to make one 30...

Winter’s Retreat Issue: Spring/Summer 2008 Author(s): Miriam Carey The old man spent most of his time by the sea in a famous novel by Ernest Hemingway, but as a young lad, Hemingway took to the streets of Oak Park, Illinois , drawing inspiration and developing the writing talent that eventually made him an icon of American literature. At the lovingly preserved Ernest Hemingway Birthplace and Museum , fans can explore the roots and early inspiration of the Nobel Prize-winning author. The tour should begin at the museum, an excellent source of background on the Hemingway ...

A Cheer for Yesteryear Issue: Fall/Winter 2007 Author(s): Thomas Connors Tell a cynic that you're headed to a small town in the heartland, and they'll likely envision a sleepy Main Street and an abandoned town square. But pull into Galena in the rolling hills of western Illinois , and you'll see a spot that features both a lively commercial strip of attractive, multi-story brick buildings and a wealth of sites from a bygone era, maintained impressively enough to earn it a ranking as one of America's Dozen Distinctive Destinations by the National Trust for Historic Preservati...

Floating Exhibits Issue: Fall/Winter 2007 Author(s): John Pullen Running 27 miles through the city of St. Catharines, Ontario , the Welland Canal allows ships to circumvent Niagara Falls when traveling from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario. As the Falls suggest, the two lakes are not on even plains, so three locks inside the city limits help lower ships as they move through the canal. The Welland Canals Centre's St. Catharines Museum at Lock 3 features a viewing platform where visitors can glimpse ships from around the world as they move along the St. Lawrence Seaway. The m...

Island Allure Issue: Fall/Winter 2007 Author(s): Kathy Witt It may not warrant as much reverence as the White House in Washington, D.C., but the ivory mansion with columned porticos that holds court on Blennerhassett Island in Parkersburg, West Virginia , lures its fair share of tourists drawn to history and stately architecture. The rebuilt former home of Irish aristocrats Harman and Margaret Blennerhassett — once considered the most beautiful house west of the Alleghenies — defines this island that's just across the river from Marietta, Ohio, accessible throug...

On the Trail Issue: Fall/Winter 2007 Author(s): John Pullen No doubt nearly every West Virginian has, at some point in his or her life, been jokingly asked by an outsider, "Do you have any relatives in North, South or East Virginia?" Actually, the history of the state's existence is an intriguing one — and, 144 years ago, was certainly no laughing matter. West Virginia was the only state born of the Civil War, as well as the only one to have seceded from another state, Virginia (which had seceded from the Union). And when Abraham Lincoln declared it free of Virg...

Reflections of the Past Issue: Fall/Winter 2007 Author(s): Gerald Bartell The past seems to come to life with every brick, plank and plate of glass in Auburn, New York . In 1998, when then-First Lady Hillary Clinton stopped here while on her Save America's Treasures Tour, she declared that "this region of our country is especially important to a very particular, special part of our history." Clinton was referring to the era of slavery, and few places in Auburn evoke it as well as the Harriet Tubman Home and Seward House . In 1824, William Seward, an anti-slavery politician, m...

Tailcoats and Top Hats Issue: Fall/Winter 2007 Author(s): Kathy Witt Back in the day (the day being 1900), a lady wouldn't dare show up unannounced at the front door of a place like Adsmore House — the home of Princeton, Kentucky's prominent Smith-Garrett family — and expect to be received. Rather, she would wait in white-gloved dignity for the appropriate day and time to pay a call, present her card to the parlor maid upon arrival … and then wait. Some of those calling cards still rest in a small tray beneath a Fra Angelico angel print in the front hall of this western ...

War Stories Issue: Fall/Winter 2007 Author(s): John Pullen Long before the battlefields of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania , became a mecca for Civil War experts and travelers interested in seeing the spot where President Abraham Lincoln gave his most famous address, it drew hordes of Americans for far more somber reasons. Within days of the Battle of Gettysburg's end in 1863, families from both Union and Confederate sides of the border flocked to the field to search for loved ones among the 51,000 dead. Today, Gettysburg National Military Park remembers those early A...

Built to Last Issue: Spring/Summer 2007 Author(s): Kelly Aiglon In Chicago's Wicker Park neighborhood, located a 10-minute cab ride northwest of downtown, upscale restaurants and trendy boutiques crop up at a swift pace. But look past the chic new awnings and you'll see that much of the neighborhood's character comes from its historic architecture, which includes everything from Italianate-style manor houses to one of the city's first skyscrapers. "Around the time of the World's Columbian Exposition, which took place in Chicago [in 1893], interesting architecture st...

Delve Deeper Issue: Spring/Summer 2007 Author(s): Gerald Bartell The story behind the Bunker   suggests the plot of an Ian Fleming or Robert Ludlum thriller. Alas, the story is real. In 1956, President Dwight D. Eisenhower launched Project Greek Island, the construction of a 112,544-square-foot underground bunker 720 feet into a hillside on the grounds of the stately Greenbrier resort in West Virginia . The Bunker was to shelter the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives and top aides in the event of a nuclear attack on Washington, D.C. — 250 miles northeast o...

Drink It In Issue: Spring/Summer 2007 Author(s): Betsa Marsh When the ancient Celts dubbed their whiskey "water of life," they couldn't possibly have foreseen that their descendants would cannily adapt Native American grains to the old ways and distill their own amber elixir in the New World enclave of Kentucky. Today we call it bourbon: liquid Southern hospitality. And while bourbon is distilled in other regions, Kentucky is the undisputed king, producing a whiskey river with dozens of labels from Ancient Age to Yellowstone. A new Kentucky Wine and Spirits Tour ...

Nostalgic Nook Issue: Spring/Summer 2007 Author(s): Bob Beasley With 12 presidential visits to its credit, the Golden Lamb is easily Lebanon's signature landmark. That said, this city located between Dayton and Cincinnati boasts much more than the venerable 19th-century inn, where the house specialty is — you guessed it — leg of lamb. The Golden Lamb, which still offers rooms for overnight stays, is located at the city's core, right where Main and Broadway intersect. Just steps beyond its front entrance, you'll find a host of quaint shops and attractions to tempt yo...

River Current Meets Past Issue: Spring/Summer 2007 Author(s): Susan R. Pollack When you think of the Civil War, Illinois generally is not the place that comes to mind. But here, in the middle of the upper Mississippi River, off Rock Island , lies a Confederate Cemetery. Nearly 2,000 Confederate prisoners of war are buried in the historic cemetery that's adjacent to a national cemetery. That's not the only surprise you'll find at the Rock Island Arsenal , a working military munitions complex with a rich history and massive limestone buildings. A museum showcases a large collection ...

Taste of the Past Issue: Spring/Summer 2007 Author(s): Betsa Marsh In most historic homes, visitors need to ramp up their imaginations, wondering what the family had looked, sounded and acted like. But at Liberty Hall in Frankfort, Kentucky, curators will meet you more than half way.   "If I can get you laughing in the first few rooms, I know we'll have a good time," says curator of research Randy Huff, brandishing a chamber pot in an upstairs bedroom of the home John Brown built in 1796. This year, high spirits vibrate through the rooms where the Marquis de ...

The Stage is Set Issue: Spring/Summer 2007 Author(s): Linda Feagler Combine the romance of days gone by with spectacular theater, and it's easy to see why the Canadian town of Niagara-on-the-Lake attracts more than 300,000 visitors each year, eager to stroll streets filled with eclectic shops and elegant 19th-century homes now serving as bed-and-breakfasts. Taking center stage every April through November, the Shaw Festival presents a stellar lineup of diverse productions, ranging from classic dramas and musicals to premieres by contemporary playwrights. The festival wa...