Dana-Thomas House State Historic Site — Attraction in Springfield

Who knew the state of Illinois offers plenty of free tours in Springfield, IL?! We made a day trip to Springfield and filled the day with free activities. One of those activities was a tour of the Dana-Thomas House. You will need to get your tickets through Event-Brite but they are free. The tour size is kept small. This Frank Lloyd Wright home is impeccable and filled with original furniture. The tour focuses more on the original owner, Susan Dana and her life. The tour does discuss Frank Lloyd Wright and his design attributes but when a question came up about where the red brick was located our guide refuses to answer the question simply stating that was not the focus of the tour meaning the focus was on Susan Thomas. That is fine however, I’m not sure why when the question was asked at the end of the tour that the guide couldn’t answer the question. The house is filled with several elevation changes and several staircases are ascended and descended. A few have handrails but the most do not simply because Frank didn’t like obstruction to his design, he liked clean lines. So if stairs aren’t your thing, please keep this in mind. The tour lasts a little over an hour and you do walk approximately a mile altogether during this tour. We were there on a cooler summer day and the home was still relatively warm despite there being air conditioning. Not a huge deal at all, just thought I would people know. If it is a hot day, I would imagine the temperature would be even more toasty. All in all this was a great tour and even better because it is free.

The gentleman who asked the question about the red brick did have an idea of where the red brick was located. We found the red brick and I have included a photo of...

This residence, house, structure is a must see for every person enthralled by and informed about the work of designer and architect Frank Loyd Wright. According to our excellent host and guide this is the second largest of his buildings in America. Sumac September / fall glass adorns the windows throughout the three floor structure, a prominent statue greets you,, stairs lead quickly to a room with Wright designed chairs, he designed all the furniture, a fireplace invites you to sit down, a large dining room with a barrel ceiling is surrounded by a sumac original mural painted on the two walls, gotta see it, still in tact, not painted over, 4 floor to ceiling light fixtures, stairs lead to a small gathering area where musicians would sometimes play while you enjoyed dinner, then a hall lleads to an amazing large bedroom, oak trim, cubbies for clothing, wood floors,, bathroom includes a soaking and smaller bath tub, then sharply down stairs to large kitchen, two stoves, a whole wall ice box, then a large enclose front porch you could dance in and a lecture hall/ music hall/poetry reading room for 35 people, a surprise bowling ally in tbe basement, definitely japanese influence and beautiful, #1 place to visit in springfield besides lincoln library and museum and his...

We have visited many structures/ homes designed by Frank Lloyd Wright to include Fallingwater, Taliesin and Taliesin West. This one is, by far, the most enchanting.

Upon entering, you pass through a time portal in which you are transported back to 1904, the year the house was completed. The rich wood and art glass speak of the opulence of a bygone era.

The home is unique because of the wood and glass but also because the furniture designed by Wright, is still pleasantly present. The fact that this is so is a credit to the second owners of the home. They were amazing stewards to keep the furniture when it could have been sold for a fortune!

I highly recommend this FREE tour. You will need to reserve a spot, but that is easily done online. Free parking is across the street. Our docent was an extremely personable historian. I might add he was extremely patient and answered all questions.

They do have a policy of no photos/ videos inside. This is the first Frank Lloyd Wright home we've visited with such a policy. We have made videos of our visits to Taliesin and Taliesin West. If you would like to view those videos, you may see them on our YouTube channel (non-monetized). We are...