sandwalk

Galena, Illinois (Warning: Lots of Photos) The county seat of Jo Daviess County, Galena is located in the Mississippi River Driftless Area of where Illinois, Iowa, and Wisconsin come together. President Ulysses S. Grant kept a home here. Today the population is just shy of 3500, but it was once the 2nd most populous city in Illinois behind Chicago. Galena is now a busy tourist destination with shops, restaurants, golf, and ski resorts. Nearly all of the downtown and historic districts have largely remained unchanged. This is a VERY photogenic town. Enjoy :-) Typical street scene Up one of the ridges Inside one of the art/crystal shops Ice Cream Shop Complete with 1930's Soda Fountain DeSoto House Hotel (oldest operating hotel in Illinois, 1855) Grant and Lincoln both stayed here Catholic Church United Methodist Church Up the stairs to the top of the bluff View overlooking the town Bench Street scene Residence on High Street Galena Post Office (built in 1857, still in use) Old school: Views from Galena's Grant Park (aptly named): Future Amtrak Route (Chicago to Rockford to Dubuque) The local grocery store! LOL

Great shots! I love how Lake Erie always appears to get "bluer" as the years go by.....or am I crazy?!

^Geauga Lake is still there. The park really isn't though. LOL

Great White Egret....so magestic! Great photos....I love the view of Sandusky from the Power Tower. Whenever I am home visiting, I make it a point to ride the Red/Drop-Down side....I can still scope out my old house across the bay :)

Amazing! Thank you very much!!!

Cool stuff!

Very nice! Thank you!!!

Wow! The downtown areas appear to be new and/or very clean and well-kept. Looks like a great town! I hear the beaches/dunes/scenery along the eastern shore of Lake Michigan is beautiful as well. West Michigan shines on....

Some of my father's cousins live on the outskirts of Oak Harbor; I've never been to the town though. And apparently this season's American Idol Crystal Bowersox is from the area and went to Oak Harbor schools....

Awesome photo tour! Good to see the Hosford/Octagon House!

Thanks for the great pictures! Growing up, I had always heard the stories of how bad and run-down Youngstown was. Well, when my job brought me to Trumbull County, I had to meet with a few people in downtown Youngstown....and I was pleasantly surprised. It was cold and snowy in February, but there was a lot of pedestrian traffic and as KJP mentioned, parking spaces filled up quickly! Although some of the neighborhoods surrounding downtown are a little rough around the edges, my first visit to Youngstown was a good one. It's not a bad town!!!

Kent looks like a nice little college town. I was in Ravenna for the first time a couple of months ago.....nice little town as well. Aren't those two towns considered sister cities or something?! Thanks for the tour!

How very cozy! The neighborhood looks warm and welcoming even during winter! Thanks!

The Keller Building here, has been the subject of back and forth bickering. A plan will pop up to have the building revitalized, then all of a sudden the project will stop. Some of the bricks occasionally fall to the street (they actually had to close off a block of Water Street for a month or so last year for safety reasons) and then the building is commissioned for demolition. Then a group of individuals resurrect a plan to have the building restored again; things fall through....you get the idea. Personally, I hope it can be restored; but at this point (it's been crumbling for years), it may be beyond repair. I am unsure of the status of this building at the moment. Here's a link to a website with a video tour (kind of interesting if you have a few minutes to spare): http://eriewire.org/2009/06/02/sandusky-oh-the-keller-building-tour/

Thanks! It's always nice to see pictures of home :)

Well that looks like a fun mess to clean up! Thanks for the pics!

That's pretty much what I was thinking: necessity, comfort, and convenience.

American Legends Park opening delayed By SHAWN FOUCHER Friday, April 9, 2010 1:08 AM EDT PERKINS TWP - The developer of a sprawling baseball complex under construction is aiming for a grand opening in spring 2011. A possible "soft opening" is planned for later this summer. The full lineup of original investors is still backing the project, said John Russell, CEO of American Legends Park. Investors have agreed to shift the facility's grand opening to 2011, giving the project more "wiggle room" for construction, marketing and financing. Full Story: http://www.sanduskyregister.com/articles/2010/04/09/front/2001401.txt

This is an old thread, but I have a few suggestions.... * Plymouth, has more of a town triangle than a town square, (half of downtown is in Huron County, the other half is in Richland County); population 1800 * Monroeville (Huron Co.), needs some TLC, but there is an old Civil War camp, an Octagon house, and some nice churches; population 1300 * Crestline, located on the Crawford-Richland County border (I've been here once during high school about 10 years ago, don't know much about it); population 4800 ....maybe hit these up on the way to Cedar Point sometime LOL

Interesting analysis! Thanks for taking the time to formulate this!

^ I applaud you :clap: haha

I always pronounce his name phonetically :wink:

If I still lived in Ohio, I'd probably vote for Strickland again. However, since I live in Illinois, I get to observe the Rod Blagojevich fall-out election. :D

Very cool! Thanks for sharing!!!

Thank you, Bruce Kalinowski! :D LOL