I've been living in the Kankakee, IL area ever since my family moved here from a small town in central Illinois in 1970. At the time I was furious with my parents since having to leave all my grade school friends at the age of 13 was super traumatic. I went through my junior high and high school years without any deep friendships. My best friends are from various jobs I've had over the years. Recently, we celebrated our 50th high school class reunion and I actually attended the reunion from the school I graduated from, as well as the reunion of the school I would have graduated from with many of the friends I still stay in contact with. But, without our family moving in 1970, I would have never met my wife, had a family with amazing kids and grandkids and lived a really fulfilling life.
So aside from all the great family reasons of living in the Kankakee area, we also have an amazing natural history with beautiful natural resources to go along with some very important and prominent architectural sights as well as events and experiences to enjoy every season of the year. So here are some of the best of the best for Kankakee County, Illinois.
So, did you know that.....
The Kankakee River is the cleanest river in the state of Illinois. Over the years it's been the home of some state record trophy fish like walleye and smallmouth bass. It's a great river for kayaking, canoeing and has a six mile long "pond" for bigger powerboats. There's another great PBS documentary called the "Everglades of the North", about the days before people had any idea how they could destroy nature with foolish rules trying to make nature better for a select few.
Frank Lloyd Wright designed and built his very first Prairie Style home in Kankakee, IL. It's called the Bradley House, named after B. Harley Bradley. This home has had an incredible history. You can even see story about it on your PBS channel in a film The American Home. Here's a link. Bradley Home PBS
Interesting facts about the home. It was a restaurant in the 1970's called The Yesteryear. The owners were losing money and decided to start selling the original stained glass and furniture to raise cash. Barbara Streisand purchased a giant sized piece of stained glass from the ceiling in the dining room. At one point, the local newspaper owned the property and were renovating the home and tragically, the owner Steven Small was lured to the home by a killer posing as the police. He kidnapped Mr Small for ransom and buried him in a makeshift coffin with minimal breathing allowed. He died during the time in the coffin and the kidnappers were captured, but by the time they got to Mr Small, it was too late.
As years went by, Illinois Governor Jim Thompson travelled the country buying Wight pieces he could procure and returned them to the homes they belonged in. Fun fact, I knew someone that owned 2 of the chairs that were later returned to the Dana Thomas house in Springfield Illinois. I actually sat in one of the chairs, which are worth $250,000. My comment after sitting in the chair? "This chair is so hard to sit in, what kind of an idiot would design a chair like this?"
Today the Wright in Kankakee Foundation owns the property and conducts numerous events throughout the year from regular tours to art shows and Christmas events. It's been restored to it's original beauty even having a local stained glass expert recreate the Streisand ceiling.
The house right next door is the Hickox house and was also designed by Wright, but it's a privately held property.
Next time you're passing through central Illinois, stop by Kankakee and see why it's a great place to call home.
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