Winter Date Nights at the Dana-Thomas House

On select Thursday evenings, you and your date can experience a special evening program at the Dana-Thomas House. Each week will feature a different program topic or theme. This program is recommended for adults and older teens interested in sharing a unique Dana-Thomas House experience with their partner or friend. You may bring your own non-alcoholic drinks and/or light snacks to enjoy while you participate.

The program is offered at two different times each Thursday - 5:30 and 6:30 pm. Choose the time that works best for you. Reservations are suggested as space is limited.

Programs currently scheduled include:

Thursday, January 8 : Lighting the Dana House - Lighting fixtures from the Dana-House recently attracted national attention. Take a closer look at the fixtures around the house and learn more about what makes them special and unique.

Thursday, January 15: Art and Music of Ben Bedford - Local artist Ben Bedford will explore his growth from music into drawing and discuss the exhibition of his pen and ink drawings

Thursday, January 22: Dana-Thomas House Blueprints - Join this rare showing of original blueprints and learn what last-minute changes were made to the house during construction.

Thursday, January 29: Wildlife Photography of Brian Bowles - In conjunction with an Illinois Times digital exhibition, photographer Brian Bowles will discuss his experiences photographing urban wildlife including eagles, hawks, blue herons, and turkey vultures.

Important information

The Dana-Thomas House contains 12,600 square feet of architecture split over 16 varying elevations connected by stairs. Most of the staircases do not have handrails. Access to a few of the rooms via a lift is available. Please keep this in mind when reserving your tickets. If you need a reasonable accommodation to participate, please contact us at [email protected] or 217-782-6776.

Please note that photography and video recording are NOT permitted inside the house.

Parking

A free parking lot is located on the northeast corner of Fourth Street and Lawrence Avenue, immediately east of the house. The parking lot on Cook Street, behind the house and just west of the railroad tracks, as well as the carriage house parking area, is also available.

Photography Policy

Photography, video and other recording are limited to the exterior of the house only; photography, video and other recording are NOT permitted inside the house. A gallery of photos of the site, including interior images, is available at

https://dnrhistoric.illinois.gov/research/photogallery.html

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Host or Publisher Illinois Department of Natural Resources State Historic Sites Springfield