14 minute read
YOUR GETAWAY AWAITS
| lodgings |
Y o u r
G et some R&R at these local B&BsA w a i ts Getaway
Story by Diane Krieger Spivak Photos by Shaw Media and provided by Brightwood Inn, Lander’s House and Tiskilwa Inn
If you long for a change of scenery from the same old hotel or motel scene for your next trip, why not check out a bed and breakfast in Starved Rock Country? We’ve located several, each with its own unique charm.
BALDWIN HOUSE
204 E. Kent St., Streator 815-510-0658 • Facebook: @StreatorsBaldwinHouse Looking for a longer stay? The Baldwin House lets you rent the entire historic 1880 home, fully furnished and equipped for your stay up to several weeks. “It offers total privacy because it’s only you and your travel mates,” says owner Toni Pettit. The two-bedroom home sleeps up to six. “It has french doors and a sunroom that everybody loves,” says Pettit. “Its three-sided windows overlook the City Park with beautiful views.” Baldwin House has maintained “Superhost” status from Airbnb for several years and hosts visitors worldwide. “It has a homey feel,” says Pettit. “People have referred to it as feeling like their grandma’s house. That, and the privacy factor, are what sets us apart. You don’t have to share it with people you don’t know. You can stay in your PJs all day and cook when you feel like it.”
315 W. Main St., Grand Ridge Search “Blue Steel Lustron” on Airbnb; you can also book on VRBO. For those who have never heard of a Lustron home, the unique, all-metal, one-story houses were manufactured in Ohio as affordable housing during the 1950s for post-World War II families. “They are 100 percent steel construction exterior, interior and framing,’’ says co-owner Kim Hudgens, who used to take piano lessons in the house as a child, then later bought the home with her sister Karen Meagher. The surf blue house is a fully functioning home, Hudgens says. “It definitely stands out. It’s a charming, brightly colored little blue house that makes you happy to look at it.” The 1000-square-foot, two-bedroom home is well designed with builtins, like the kitchen pass-through and a huge, well-lit vanity in the master bedroom. Guests rent the entire house, which is located on a half-acre with a back patio, fire pit and charcoal grill. “It’s a small town and it backs up to a farm field, so it’s great for star-watching at night,” says Hudgens. “Folks love the peace and quiet. A lot of folks come down who love midcentury modern so they can enjoy the architecture and design.”
BRIGHTWOOD INN
2407 N. IL-178, Oglesby 815-667-4600 • www.brightwoodinn.com Located on 14 acres inside Matthiessen State Park, Brightwood Inn is just 4 miles from the Illinois and Michigan Canal Trail and less than 10 minutes directly south of Starved Rock State Park. Built in 1996, Brightwood offers a romantic, peaceful stay in nine bedrooms, each with an in-suite bathroom and fireplace, six with Jacuzzis. “We also have three common areas,” says Sharon Ryan, who owns the inn with her husband, Kevin. “Our gathering room is set up like a living room.” Both the gathering room and dining room have fireplaces. The common room seats eight and includes a full-size refrigerator and two microwaves. “Everybody loves Kevin’s breakfasts, says Ryan. “They’re second to none.”
LANDER’S HOUSE
115 E. Church St., North Utica 815-667-5170 • www.landershouse.com
A Victorian house dating from 1863, the charming Lander’s House is 2 miles from Starved Rock State Park and 6 miles from guided tours at the Hegeler Carus Mansion. Each room and cottage sports a different theme, from southwest to western, safari, sportsman’s bungalow, log cabin and lodge. “All our cottages have their own entrance,” says owner Peter Wang, noting that works well during COVID-19. “Our courtyard has an easy, no-contact entrance.” Each cottage has its own screened patio for privacy, and the fenced yard includes a firepit for each bedroom. The Lander’s House’s location right in the downtown area puts it in close proximity to restaurants and more. “You don’t need to drive for a good time,” says Wang.
TISKILWA INN
155 High St., Tiskilwa 815-646-1300 • www.thetiskilwainn.com
Guests of the Tiskilwa Inn enjoy partaking in the growing business of agritourism. The renovated 1848 Italianate-style brick, two-story home is located on a farm outside the village of Tiskilwa. “We have five guest rooms, all with a private bath, and we serve farmto-table local meats, eggs and veggies in summer,” says innkeeper Jeremy Gassen. Like all the B&Bs listed, Tiskilwa has COVID-19 restrictions in place for the safety and comfort of guests. At Tiskilwa, that includes breakfast in bed. “Your tray is dropped off at your door,” says Gassen. Starved Rock State Park is about 30 miles away, and there’s “tons of stuff to do between here and there,” says Gassen. Located near Bureau Creek and the Hennepin Canal, the inn also offers bike and kayak rentals.
CS R
Marseilles Montage mural in Marseilles
Welcome to Seneca mural in Seneca
Murals MULTITUDE OF | Arts & Entertainment |
TCompleted in 2019 by muralist John Take a he spinning brick wall seems to first come into Pugh, the mural, titled “Revolution,” tells the story of Ottawa’s Radium Girls self-guided view as the cars exit the Veterans Memorial Bridge, — young women who used radioactive paint to create glow-in-the-dark watch heading north into Otta- dials — and the part those women played tour through wa’s vintage Midwestern downtown. The bridge spans the distance from the in turning the world inside out as part of the women’s rights movements of the Starved Rock bluffs above the south banks of the wide confluence of the Illinois and Fox rivers, early 20th century and beyond. “With the trick of the eye it causes, looking like a
Country down to the valley, to the brick buildinglined streets below. wall is being pushed out, and the story it tells, it’s definitely one people talk to see And as the vehicles come around the bend on Columbus Street and find solid about,” says Bedei. “Revolution,” however, is but the latest ground once more, the eye can’t help but addition to the ever-growing collection more than be drawn up and to the right, to the towering mural depicting a group of flapof towering public murals adorning the walls not only in downtown Ottawa, but 30 outdoor pers from the Roaring ’20s, navigating their way through and around revolving throughout Starved Rock Country. This story began in the early 2000s, works of art sections of the south wall of the fivestory brick structure known to locals as with A Brush with History. Years before Bedei arrived in Ottawa, the Central Life Building. a group of volunteers set to work, Story by Jonathan Bilyk “It really grabs your attention,” says putting together a plan to attract qualPhotos by Tom Sistak Curt Bedei, executive director of the ity muralists to pictorially depict the Ottawa Visitors Center. people, places and events that shaped
The Heritage Park vintage wall mural in Streator
Ottawa’s history — and in the process, revitalize Ottawa’s downtown. The murals tell the story of the community from its precolonial period through the 20th century, with stops along the way at the world-changing Lincoln-Douglas debates, the Civil War and the Industrial Revolution, among others.
In the past two decades, that inspiration spread throughout Starved Rock Country, producing a gallery of outdoor public art from Morris to Marseilles, Seneca and Ottawa, south to Streator and west to Princeton. The works beckon visitors and locals alike to explore these communities.
The movement reached a fever pitch in 2018, when Streator was selected to host the Walldogs event, a gathering of hundreds of muralists from throughout the country and the world, who come together in one community for several days each year to literally paint the town.
In Streator, the effort resulted in an array of new murals, seemingly created overnight, honoring the city’s industrial heritage and historical luminaries like Clyde Tombaugh, the astronomer who discovered Pluto; auto racing legend Bob Tattersall; vaudeville songwriter and entertainer George Evans; and the creator of Hopalong Cassidy, Clarence E. Mulford.
Those built on a collection of murals that had come to adorn the southern La Salle County community over the previous 10 years. That collection included the work known as the Heritage Park Mural. Completed in 2017, the painting covers the entire wall of a three-story brick building, creating the appearance of a historic building facade, frozen in time. To complete the illusion, the mural is even backlit at night, making it appear as if lights are turned on.
The impact of the murals in every town in which they are painted is profound, says Tara Bedei, a Streator City Council member who chaired the Streator Walldogs committee. She and Curt Bedei both note the ways the murals have breathed new life into the downtowns of both Ottawa and Streator, helping to boost new business, economic and civic activity, along with community pride. The difference in Streator, from even just five years ago, is “remarkable,” Tara Bedei says.
“About a year ago, I overheard a conversation between someone who lives in Streator and someone from out of town,” she says. “The first thing the local asked when he found out he was talking to a visitor was, ‘Have you had a chance to go see all of our murals?’
“To me, that shows a sense of pride in not only the murals, but also our history.”
“Revolution” by John Pugh tells the story of Ottawa’s Radium Girls.
To the north and west, a group of artists have turned their eyes to the countryside, as well as the downtowns.
After helping Streator complete the Heritage Park Mural about four years ago, North Central Illinois ARTworks launched its Silo Pathways Legacy Project. It launched with the creation of “Mendota Gold,” a painting of a golden ear of corn on a silo along the Amtrak line in Mendota, in northwestern La Salle County. That work in 2019 garnered a mention in the New York Times Magazine from a writer passing through on a train trip across the country, calling it the best thing she saw on the trip.
The project’s creators say they foresee a series of other paintings, depicting imagery evocative of the culture and history of the region, on other farm silos throughout the region. NCI ARTworks is also working with artist Ray Paseka on a future history mural in the village of Seneca, which would be the Silo Pathway’s fifth installation.
“Everyone has their favorites, and a lot of people have come to develop personal relationships with some of the paintings, for a variety of reasons,” says Curt Bedei. “The people here have really come to embrace these murals.” C S R
For those seeking to explore the murals, here’s a breakdown of what you might find on a Starved Rock Country mural tour:
MORRIS
r I&M CANAL VISITORS CENTER The side of the I&M Canal Visitors Center is adorned by an 8-by-40-foot painting, depicting life as it may have appeared during the operation of the Illinois and Michigan Canal after its completion in 1848. Built largely by Irish immigrants, the canal’s historical significance cannot be overstated, as it was instrumental in both populating the Illinois Valley and leading to the development of Chicago as a national transportation hub and world-class industrial center.
SENECA
r WELCOME TO SENECA Adorning the wall of a downtown building on Main Street, the mural relates some of the history of the village of Seneca, displaying an image said to be of its first settler of European descent, Irish immigrant Jeremiah Crotty. It prominently features tributes to Seneca’s Prairie Shipyard, which during World War II produced Landing Ship Tanks, or LSTs, used during amphibious troop landings, such as in Normandy, France, during the D-Day invasion.
MARSEILLES
r MARSEILLES MONTAGE Completed in 2010 by artist Tim Trumbo on the north wall of 404 Main St., the mural includes a montage of people and places from Marseilles history within its 10-by-40foot frame.
OTTAWA
The city offers 10 gigantic murals, including Revolution (at 628 Columbus St.) and, among others: r PELTIER GLASS FACTORY Located at the corner of La Salle and Jefferson streets, the mural tells the story of the arrival of French glassblower Victor Peltier in 1886, and how his glass products factory forever changed the course of the city’s history. The mural was designed and painted by artists E. Colin Williams and Murals by Jericho. r GENERAL W.H.L. WALLACE (shown above) Designed and painted by artist G. Byron Peck, the mural at 815 La Salle St. shares the history of William H.L. Wallace, a local lawyer and friend of Abraham Lincoln, who became a Union general during the Civil War after fighting in the Mexican War. He ultimately died from wounds suffered at the Battle of Shiloh. The mural also honors other local residents who fought for the Union in the Civil War as well as T. Lyle Dickey, also a close friend of Lincoln’s and Wallace’s father-in-law and law partner. Dickey served as a justice on the Illinois Supreme Court for the final 10 years of his life. r IMAGINE AND LEARN WITH BOB MCGRATH Adorning the wall of Jefferson Elementary School, 1709 Columbus St., the work pays homage to Ottawa native Bob McGrath, who starred on children’s television show “Sesame Street.” The mural includes famous Sesame Street character Big Bird and was designed and painted by artist Vicki Crone. r OTTAWA’S EARLIEST RESIDENTS Designed and painted by Roger Cooke Fine Arts, the mural atop the facade at 812 La Salle St. relates imagery evocative of Native Americans who lived in the Illinois Valley, depicting them hunting bison on the Illinois prairie along the Illinois River. r OTTAWA AS A CANAL TOWN This mural at 909 Clinton St. honors the men who dug and built the I&M Canal, which shaped Ottawa’s future as few other events have done. It was designed and painted by artist Gregory Ackers.
Ottawa Visitors Center director Curt Bedei stands in front of the General W.H.L. Wallace mural in Ottawa.
For more on Ottawa’s murals, visit: www.pickusottawail.com/ attractions/ottawa-murals For more on Streator’s murals, visit: www.streator.org/explore/arts/murals.php
STREATOR
The city offers a total of 21 murals for public view, including the 17 Walldogs murals painted over four days in 2018. Notable entries include: r HERITAGE PARK Towering above onlookers at 222 E. Main St., the mural, painted in 2017 by Westclox Studios Inc. in conjunction with NCI ARTworks, depicts a three-story building facade that is lit at night, capturing like a living photograph a freeze frame of Streator’s past. r VETERANS Finished in 2014 by artist Gene Davis at Streator City Park, the mural depicts a soldier from every armed conflict in U.S. history. r BOB TATTERSALL (WALLDOGS) At 501 E. Main St., the mural pays tribute to USAC midget car racer Bob “Two Gun” Tattersall. r HOPALONG CASSIDY (WALLDOGS) Completed in 2018 during the Walldogs festival by artist Andy Goretski, the mural honors Streator native Clarence E. Mulford, who created the Hopalong Cassidy Western stories of the early 20th century.
PRINCETON
r BE LIKE LOVEJOY Created in 2020 by the group Human Human, the newest entry into the growing outdoor Illinois Valley public art gallery encourages onlookers to emulate the example of Princeton resident Owen Lovejoy. Settling in Princeton in 1838, the Rev. Lovejoy, who also served as a lawyer and a congressional representative, became one of the region’s most famous slavery opponents. His homestead became a renowned stop on the underground railroad. The new mural on Main Street encourages Princeton residents and visitors alike to adopt Lovejoy’s opposition to racism.
