Cairo's better side

Last week on Marathon Pundit I blogged about the sad town of Cairo, Illinois--and what I wrote for certain will never be linked to by the town's chamber of commerce web site.

But Cairo is not just a rotten borough--although I believe it could end up beconing a ghost town.

Cairo is situated just north of the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. Because of its strategic location, it served as an important supply station for Union forces during the Civil War. The peninsula town's population peaked at 15,000 in 1920, it has been declining since then--just 3,600 people call Cairo home now.

Much of Cairo is literally crumbling. Things are a little better on the west side of town, and in this post I'll focus on the better parts of Cairo.

Magnolia Manor, pictured on the upper-left, counts Ulyssess S. Grant as among its overnight guests. the Italianate-style home was built in 1872, and in 1880, the owner of the house held a celebration in Grant's honor. In 1999, a Magnolia Manor tour guide told the Chicago Tribune's Alan Solomon, "A lot of places say 'Grant slept here,' we've got the actual bed."

On the upper left is a mansion built in 1865, The Riverlore, built in 1865. The Second Empire style home has had only four owners, the latest of which is the City of Cairo. Like Magnolia Manor, The Riverlore is open to the public.

In Barack Obama's Audacity of Hope,he wrote about a barbecue held in his honor by the Laborers' Union Ed Smith. Obama doesn't identify the location in his book, but I can't see any other place in town that could have handled the crowd other than St. Mary's Park. Last year I blogged about Obama's trip to Cairo, which you can read about here.

The red brick building on the right is the A.B Safford Public Libary.

On the left is the Cairo Customs House. It was constructed in 1872, and like Magnolia Manor, it is listed by the National Register of Historic Places. It's now a musuem. It's architecht was Alfred B. Mullet, who also designed the Old Executive Office Building in Washington, (now known as the Eisenhower Executive Office Building), and St. Louis' Old Post Office.

Obviously Cairo is a town of contrasts. There are the jewels pictured here, but there is also the rubble of Commercial Avenue.

Next: My pentulimate post in Marathon Pundit's My Mississippi Manifest Destiny series, Jonesboro, site of a Lincoln-Douglas debate.

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Marathon Pundit comes to Metropolis

Back in Metropolis, circuses and elephants
Where the oranges grew
Back in Metropolis nothing can ever topple us
When I'm standing with you
The Church, "Metropolis," 1990

Near the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers is Metropolis, Illinois. Superman's hometown. Of course Superman's real hometown is the mythical Smallville, Illinois, which of course isn't too different than Ray Bradbury's equally mythical Green Town, Illinois. Clark Kent, Superman that is, moved on the the make-believe Metropolis, a stand-in for New York..


The people of Metropolis came up with a unique idea to market their town, which predates the casino boat there. Since the southern Illinois town is believed to be the only municipality named Metropolis, they declared themselves the home town of the immigrant from the planet Krypton. So they erected a statue of the superhero, in front of the courthouse, this statue. Across the street from the statue is a Superman memorabilia shop--this statue makes a contribution to the economy of the small town. Of course, once in the town, Superman fans might fill up their gas tanks, grab something to eat, or try their luck in the casino.

The late Senator Paul Simon (D-IL), once remarked on a town in Illinois that turned a gravesite of a circus elephant into a tourist attraction, claiming it added to jobs to the town that wouldn't have been there otherwise. Simon said something like this, "Find out what is unique about your town, and capitalize on it." I couldn't figure out what town the bow-tied one was talking about, as Taylorville and Oquawka have circus elephant memorials. The Oquawka elephant was killed by a lightning strike, my guess this is the town Simon was referring to--the memorial is in the center of the small town.

Later in this series, I'm going to touch on a similar theme about a larger town in Mississippi.

Related Marathon Pundit post:

My Mississippi Manifest Destiny--The Trail of Tears (in Illinois)

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Zook Roof house in Western Springs

Personal business this afternoon took me Western Springs which is about 10 miles west of Chicago's city limits. So I have a slightly-off topic post, but one that is perfect for a Sunday.

This house has a Zook Roof, named for prolific Chicago area architect R. Harold Zook, the man who came up with the concept of a shingle design resembling a thatched roof.

Click on the photograph so you can fully appreciate the genius of Zook's vision.

He died in 1949, which doesn't make this a true "Zook Home," Marathon Pundit reader Brian P, who lives next door to this home, told me the roof of this house was placed on top of the existing structure about ten years ago.

Zook was a resident of Hinsdale, which is just west of Western Springs, during the latter part of his life, many of his homes can be found there.

However, his most famous project is Park Ridge's art-deco Pickwick Theatre, which he designed with William F. McCaughey.

As far as I know, Ron Zook and R. Harold Zook are not related.

And Chicago's suburbs are not a cultural wasteland.

Related Marathon Pundit post:

Part 3 of Hillary's Park Ridge photoblogging: The Pickwick Theater

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