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Published: January 16th 2012
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Galena
General Ulysses S Grants House Our holiday was coming to an end - only another three days and we would be back on the plane heading home for home and work .We were not looking forward to our flight which was set for 6.30 in the evening. I dont like flying at night and although you can go to sleep I dreaded the long night with no view from the windows. We hoped to enjoy our last few days and travelled via Galena a small town in Illinois to Chicago where we intended spending a few days sightseeing again and having a last few days with our relatives..
Galena is known for its history and its association with the war general Ulysses S Grant. Once one of the most important cities in the state, Galena was the hub on the Mississippi River north of St Louis and St Paul but these seemed a very quiet place very much with a small rural farming community.
Our main reason for visiting the town was to see the home of Ullysses S Grant. Grant was a Civil War General and later became the 18th president of the United States . The Italianate style home was given to
Galena
Main Street the general by the townspeople to thank him for his part in the war between 1859 and 1860. It was interesting to compare it with the Springfield home of Abraham Lincoln . Lincolns home built of wood in a clapperboard style and this one brick.It seemed unusual to see brick built homes in this part of the country. Wood being the favoured building material. We were lucky as the home was relatively empty and it was full of furniture and fittings from the period.. The house was quite small and it would have been a tight squeeze if the place had been full. Well worth a visit and scored 10/10 for originality.
We left and headed to Chicago in the pouring rain. It fell like stair rods with water running down the road like a river. Driving was difficult in such awful conditions, we could hardly see out of the window. Cars and lorries rushed by and we wondered how on earth they could see their hands in front of them. We had to get down to Tinley Park and the miles seemed to chug by very slowly, Ist to 4th Street - we wondered how long it would
take to get there. 5th to 10th the thunder rumbled - 11th to 20th the lightening crashed. It felt like the longest journey we had even taken 21st to 30th with no Sat Nav had to rely on old fashioned maps to find our way. By this time we couldnt wait to arrive and finally we arrived. Guess what - it stopped raining and the sun came out.
We spent two days in the city winding down before coming home . Chicago was rebuilt after the Great Fire of 1871 - the only buildings remaining was the Water Tower. Most of the city had been destroyed which gave the city fathers the opportunity to rebuild in a modern style. The first skyscraper in the world was built here in 1885 built in steel. Many of its skyscrapers were built in a neo -gothic style. Chicago very much felt like a walking city.
One surprise was the Chicago Picasso. It's not everyday you come up to a Picasso statue in the middle of a street . Picasso is not an artist I particularly like but what a strange feeling to be confronted by this very odd statue. The sculpture was
dedicated in 1967 and is place in the Daley Plaza outside the office block of our friend Betty. It was monumental 50 high It apparently is a local landmark and a piece of public art in downtown go, and has become a well known landmark.
Unlike many statues you can climb on this one and up it. It is not sterile and is well used by the Chicagoans. We saw the Chicago River which was wide and muddy and shopped. We ate bagels with bacon and egg in the local mall.
We promised to come again . Pencilled in was to be a trip to New York, Niagara and Toronto to the north and then down to the Civil War states. Perhaps next year .....................
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