Today I'm doing a farm tour.
Tickets, please!
We live across the road from the Round Barn Farm.
It was saved as an historical marker by our town, and now they have loaded up
the former farm fields with baseball fields and wine shacks.
The Round Barn Farm itself is constructed from wood that was salvaged
from the World's Fair in Chicago...when they built the White City.
(For anyone interested, there is an incredible book titled, "Devil in the White City,"
a true tale of a serial killer during the World's Fair that hunted farm women
as they traveled to Chicago to find work. It's rich in it's descriptive tale
of the architectural structures that were erected, including the museums still
standing in Chicago and the world's first Ferris Wheel.
I have read it, and I concur it's a great read!)
For years, it was used as a petting zoo and museum and that's why they wanted to save it.
There are only so many round barns in the country of this size.
I have been meaning to take some pictures of the structures
and today I hightailed over there to finally get them.
Why am I in such a hurry now?
They've begun painting.
One day I came home from work and it was done;
no more chippy paint on the barn.
These chippy images are from other structures...ticket booths, etc.
It is a cleaner presentation from the highway,
but there's a lot of overspray on the windows.
Maybe they're replacing those, too, and didn't care.
I found the huge old sign laying behind the barn on the ground in pieces...
...I'm assuming at this point that they will put it back up.
I think at one point, many children made some memories here.
They are trying to bring a little of that fun back
in making this farm a community park and festival center.
Sharing this old barn with...
