A centaur in the middle of the woods can be found at Allerton Park sculpture garden in Central Illinois and was one of the many treasures we found there.
This park has amazing sculptures like this everywhere and it was our destination today.
How the Park Began
Robert Allerton created this park. He inherited a banking and railroad fortune provided by his father Samuel Allerton.
He studied art in Europe then returned home to build a mansion along with landscaped gardens. Allerton is also probably gay since he had a male companion but never married.
Robert Allerton officially gifted his house and grounds, plus an additional 3,600 acres of farmland, to the University of Illinois on October 24, 1946.
The deed of gift stated that the property “be used by the University as an education and research center, as a forest and wild-life and plant-life reserve, as an example of landscape gardening, and as a public park.”
Sun Singer
I had us drive the back way and see the Sun Singer sculpture first. You can walk from the mansion here, but it is a hike.
The Sun Singer is a copy of the modern art sculpture that stands by the Stockholm harbor. This statue depicts the Greek sun god Apollo. His helmet has the winged horse of Pegasus. At the bottom of the sculpture, you can see relief figures of the nine muses. Under his right foot, you can see a tortoise and an allusion to the first lyre made of tortoiseshell by Hermes and given to Apollo. A lyre is a stringed instrument like a small U-shaped harp with strings fixed to a crossbar used in ancient Greece.
At the Mansion
We parked by the mansion near the restrooms and that was our first stop. Especially important to do this with a kid before beginning a walk.
The former home of artist and philanthropist Allerton was completed in 1900. Today, the Mansion houses 17 guest rooms with a variety of configurations and antique furnishings. You can book a night here or just admire the large brick mansion from the outside.
In the back, there is a large patio that looks over a lake and gardens. Here you will find two limestone Sphinxes that are four feet long. The statues look directly towards the house instead of facing the lake. They have lions’ bodies, human female heads, and breasts, and are draped with wide sashes patterned with geometrical Greek key motifs.
The Gardens
Allerton’s formal gardens feature extensive plantings and over 100 ornaments and sculptures to discover. The gardens were designed in the Beaux-arts/Neoclassical style between 1902 and the late 1940s. They are defined by divided ‘rooms’ bordered by pruned hedges and long alleys with statues as strong focal points and brick walls.
Herb Garden
Lavender lines the main pathway of the herb garden, while monarda, Liatris, thyme, chives, and oregano fill much of the area with purple, pink, and white flowers. One of Allerton’s original Fu Dogs statue adds its charm as well.
Brick Walled Garden
It contains lawns, bulbs, and annual and perennial flowers.
Here you find the Girl with a Scarf statue. A sunbather leaning back on a coarse rock, letting a scarf arc around her slim body and through her legs.
Triangle Parterre Garden
This garden has gate posts with Assyrian Lion sculptures and planted with arborvitae. The carving only appears on the front of the figures while the backs are flat to more easily fit a wall or doorway decorations.
Chinese Parterre Garden
This Chinese maze garden has two sets of hedges along with two large fish fountain statues. It is geometrically patterned based on the Chinese symbol for good luck or long life.
Annual Garden
The Annual Garden has colorful flowers with two long annual beds planted each spring with changing displays.
Near here you will find the Three Graces statue. In Greek mythology the Graces – Aglaia, Thalia, and Euphrosyne – personified beauty, charm, and grace. Associated with the arts, they were known as smiling goddesses whose presence brought joy to the world.
Sunken Garden
This garden is my favorite spot and is used for many weddings.
The gateways to the garden include bronze Guardian Fish statues. On pylons in the Sunken Garden, looking very much like glittering sea creatures diving into a vast subterranean world surfaces modeled in wonderful deep and shallow designs, teeth huge and fearsome and are reduced-scale versions of originals at Nagoya Castle, Japan.
If you walk on the steps on each side of the garden you can hear someone from the other side. It is a cool effect that David pointed out for our son Andrew.
Avenue of Chinese Musicians
We head down the Avenue of the Chinese Musicians which has a dozen statues with a variety of musical instruments such as flute, drums, and other stringed instruments. The twelve limestone figures each stand at approximately 27 inches high and was at the end of the garden area.
Death of the Last Centaur Walk
David remembered that the Death of the Last Centaur statue and wanted to do the walk in the woods to it. It is half man and half horse. The story that the statue is sad the centaur sacrificed his own life for Prometheus.
“Sculptor Emile-Antoine BourdelleBourdelle shows that awesome moment of (last centaur) Chiron’s death, as the contorted, pained body-right arm stretched across the lyre he will play no more, hind legs caving in under the muscular, collapsing weight-sinks to the ground,” according to the Alerton Gardens website.
The statue stands almost 10 feet high.
Seeing the statue did involve a long walk along a wide trail that went up and down through the hills so be prepared for a hike.
A Walk in the Woods
From the statue, you can take steps down to a path that heads back to the mansion along the Sangamon River.
We did this and it was a bit muddy if it was dry it would have been a lot easier. I watched the fast current of the brown river right next to us.
House of the Golden Buddas
After lunch, we headed to the House of Golden Buddhas which has golden Buddha statues, and the structure is made up of an octagonal concrete tower built-in 1917. These statues are down a path to the east of the parking area by the mansion.
Near it is the Fu Dog Garden which has 22 blue porcelain Fu Dog statues mounted on concrete pedestals. Each one looks different.
Allerton Park Details
The Drive to Allerton
The sculpture park is about two and a half hours away from St. Louis. We drove up Interstate 55 north than in Springfield we took exit 98 onto Interstate 72 towards Decatur. Then we took exit 156 for Illinois 48 toward Cisco/Weldon. Next, we turned left onto County Line Road then another left onto E. 1400 North Road, and lastly a right onto Old Timber Road to Alerton Park.
Hours: 8 am to sunset
Admission: Park is free
Address: 515 Old Timber Rd, Monticello, IL 61856
Heading Home
After the hiking, we took backroads out of the park to get to Highway 51 going south to Interstate 70.
We passed through Decatur, Ill., near Lake Decatur and saw people out enjoying the out on their boat or swimming.
Ramsey Lake State Park
Then we stopped at Ramsey Lake State Park, a place to stretch our legs and for Andrew to get some running. The restrooms here are open and we use them before walking around the park.
Nearby is the boat ramp with people taking boats in and out and we watched their progress for a bit.
Andrew decides it is a good time to do Hide and Seek. This was fun for him since it has a mowed field with lots of mature trees to sneak behind.
Address: 671 E 2900 Ave, Ramsey, IL 62080
Kaskaskia Dragon of Vandalia
Our last stop of the day is a fire-breathing metal dragon along the highway in Vandalia., Ill.
You make the dragon breathe fire by going into the liquor or hardware store nearby and paying $1 for a token.
The lady at the counter says that the fire only lasts for a few seconds. We head there and I have Andrew put the dragon coin in and hope this works.
It doesn’t. The metal dragon did make noise, but no fire shot out. I thought about going to the store to see if it would help to pay again or if there something wrong with the dragon but it was time to get on home.
We’ll have to leave pretending to slay a fire-breathing dragon for another trip.
Address: 2401-2599 Progress W Dr, Vandalia, IL 62471
A Nearby Midwest Exploration
A Route 66 Journey to Lincoln History
Abraham Lincoln sites, a zoo, and Route 66 are just some of what you can check out on a day trip to Springfield, Illinois. We headed out on Interstate 55 northward to Springfield, the capital of Illinois, for a road trip day.
