The James R. Thompson Center is located at 100 West Randolph Street, Chicago.  It houses offices of the Illinois State Government.  The location of the Thompson Center was previously the location of the Sherman House Hotel.

     The building opened in May, 1985 as the State of Illinois Center.  It was later was renamed in 1993 as the James R. Thompson Center in honor of a former governor of Illinois. The building occupied the entire block bordered by Randolph, Lake, Clark, and LaSalle Streets.

    The building was designed by Helmut Jahn.  Reviews of the building ranged from wonderful to outrageous.  The building is 17 stories high.  The exterior is all glass.  It slopes facing a plaza on the south eastern corner of the property. Single paned curved glass panels were used.  Unfortunately, it is expensive to hear and cool.

     There is an art sculpture at the front entrance by French artist Jean Dubuffet.  The building housed nineteen specially commissioned artworks funded by the State of Illinois Art-in-Architecture Program.  The building also has over 150 of the state’s 600 works collected under the Percent for Art Program.

     Over the years, there have been multiple proposals to sell the building.  In 2019, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker signed a bill to begin the sale of the Thompson Center, with a three year limit to find a buyer.    There has been a recent initiative to save the building.

Recently, the Forum Building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It was built in 1897, at 318–328 East 43rd Street in the Bronzeville neighborhood of Chicago.

The Forum served as the political, social, and cultural center of the neighborhood for 75 years. It later became a popular music center featuring prominent jazz and blues musicians. It also served as a headquarter of the civil rights movement.

     Lakes Regional Park aka Lakes Park is a 279 acre park located along Gladiolus Drive South of Fort Myers.  It opened in April of 1984.

     Its main feature is 158 acre man made lakes formed in a former rock mine that operated in the 1960’s.

     The park also features 2.5 miles of walking and biking trails, scenic boardwalk across the lakes,play ground and large fields.    There is also a miniature railroad Lakes Park and Gulf Railroad.

     At one time a branch of the Seaboard Airline Railroad ran through the park.

     

A building on Magnolia Avenue that served as a convent for Saint Ita Catholic Church since the mid 1950’s has been sold to JAB Real Estate for 1.2 million dollars.

The convent was constructed in 1955. It was built with limestone details.

The plan is to convert the building to multiple apartments with two and three bedroom layouts. Opening is planned for summer 2021.

As a long term resident of the north side of Chicago, I am familiar with a building in Niles on west Touhy Avenue that was built to resemble the historic Leaning Tower of Pisa. However, I knew little of its history.

     Robert Ilg was a successful businessman who owned a business Ilg Hot Air Electric Ventilating Company.  In the early 1920’s, he built a 22 acre park for his employees.  This was located on West Tuohy in Niles, Illinois.  The park had two outdoor swimming pools.   Seeking to preserve the natural beauty of the area, he proposed  a half sized replica of the Tower in Pisa, Italy.  The Niles  building was to conceal the water tower for the outdoor swimming pools.The

     The Niles Tower was to be 94 feet tall, 28 feet in diameter and leaning 7.4 feet tall. It was to be built of reinforced concrete.  Construction extended between 1931 to 1934.

  The Ilg recreation park also featured a wooden toboggan slide which has long since been demolished.

     In 1960,the  descendants of Robert Ilg donated part of the park for the construction of the Leaning Tower YMCA.    Arrangements were made to turn over the Tower to the YMCA.  The Y was obligated to spend $500 annually to maintain the the Tower and adjacent area.

     Over the years, the Tower began showing signs of deterioration.  In 1995,the village of Niles leased the Tower and adjacent area from the YMCA.   A 1.2 million dollar renovation project was started.  Concrete in the Tower was repaired. New lights were added to each of the 8 floors.  A plaza was constructed around the Tower.  This had four fountains, a 30 foot reflecting pool and new landscaping.  The Leaning Tower Plaza was dedicated bin June of 1997.  In April of 2019, the Tower was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

    The historic bells in the top of the Tower were restored and re-installed.  Two of the bells were replaced. There are currently 7 bells in place.The

     Work has been completed on the installation of new railings along the outdoor walkways.  Eventually, it is planned that people will be able to climb the Tower.

     

     Four Mile Cove Ecologic Preserve is located in Cape Coral near Veterans Parkway.  It is 365 acres. It is a brackish water wetland.

     It features a walking trail, visitors center, a Veteran ‘s Memorial area, and kayak rentals.

   On the south side, is the Veterans Memorial Area with several memorials.

     A recent addition to the Shell Factory in North Fort Myers is an antique carousel built in 1927 by the C.W. Parker Company.  The carousel is 36 feet wide and has 20 horses.

    Prior to being at the Shell Facory, the carousel was operated for 25 years at Saint Augustine ‘s Davenport Park.   After its last operating day, the carousel was dismantled and shipped to North Fort Myers.  It was then refurbished with sandblasting the horses, repainting them.  New floorboards were installed as well as LED lights

     Prior to being in operation in Saint Augustine, the carousel was at the Fort Wayne Zoo and the Wisconsin Dells.  The history prior to this is uncertain.

     

Trail Marker

Trail

Trail

    The Calusa Nature  Center  and Planetarium is a non for profit environmental education organization located in Fort Myers.  The facility  is located  0n 105 acres.
     Included in the facility is a natural history museum with live native and teaching animals.  There are exhibits of plants and animals of SW Florida.
     There is a 44 feet in diameter planetarium seating  90.  The planetarium features fulldome full surround.  Shows take place 7 days/week.   Shows change on a monthly basis.
     There are three nature trails, a butterfly house, and a raptor aviary.