Quincy, IL- The "Gem City" Preview

Let it be said that even before we begin this post- I love Quincy. So there you have it. This post might be biased.

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Quincy, IL is a Mississippi River town in Adams Co. Across the river you can see Missouri.

Quincy is rich in history and is full of interesting places to visit (expect a lot of Attractions from Quincy.) The first white settler in Quincy was John Wood, who settled there in 1822. Because of that his name is still prominent in Quincy as the "John Wood Community College" and his mansion is now owned by the Quincy Historical Society.1 I regret to say that I don't have any publishable pictures of the mansion because we got there right at closing and didn't get to take a tour. However, we have lots of other great pictures from Quincy.

In 1834, Quincy became a town and then in 1840 a city. The downtown is full of great architecture.

Like this building with originally a stone facade that's been restored with a lot of plaster.

D and I would love to have these green glazed bricks. You have no idea how much we really want them.

I love the ornate script on the bricks in the State Street Bank Building which has been serving Quincy since 1890.2

This is the view down Hampshire Street which has some amazing architectural details.

Pay special attention to the Washington Theater building.

The theater was first opened in 1924 and was one of many theaters on Hampshire Street. Today it is one of the only ones left although it has fallen into a state of disrepair. The city owns it now and the Friends of the Washington Theater are trying to restore it.3

The terra cotta tiles are amazing.

It seems like almost every downtown facade is intricately designed in Quincy.

Maine Street is one of the main streets in Quincy. (forgive me.)

Even though so much of Quincy's Charm is from the past, there's a lot of charm in the present too. In this store front lies "Ice Scream" which is a ice cream shop with a comic book/ sci-fi theme. I can tell you from experience that the ice cream (which is made in St. Louis) is amazing and all of the different flavors are named according to the unique theme. Check out their facebook page here.

Although I know it would be terrible for my eating habits unhealthy as they are, I would love to live above Ice Scream.

Quincy also has a lot of great old, photogenic factories...

and parks.

In early May every year, Quincy holds the dogwood festival. Dogwood trees are beautiful and they are especially beautiful in front of all the gorgeous old houses and well kept parks in Quincy.

Even though it's somewhat small (compared to a large city) Quincy is definitely worth a visit.

Coming Soon: Quincy, See The Unexpected.
(and numerous Quincy Attractions.)