Central Illinois Bed and Breakfast the Market Street Inn

Brenda and Gary Spurling, owners of Spurling Title Service have embarked on a facelift of their location on the South Side of the Taylorville, IL Town Square. The Square and a block or so in each direction have long been designated on the National Registry of Historic Places and restoration of many of the building facades are taking place.

Facelift for an old building

Please note the date on the peak of the facade as being 1892. This building and the Market Street Inn were both built in the same year, only 400 years after Columbus discovered America.

The pressed metal facade has been scraped of loose paint and is being painted in a complementing color scheme. Prior to this the building front was all white which is still visible in the lower right corner.
If you note the building to the left, a brick structure, you will see a facelift which was accomplished several years ago by Brett Mason.

Architectural enthusiasts will find cast iron facades by Mesker Brothers and Capitol Iron Foundry in our historic district as well. We love it when folks walk and gawk at the remaining beauty of our square. 

We had a house full all weekend and our guests really enjoyed the fare. Memorial Day breakfast consisted of Egg Strada with fresh dill from our garden, sausage patties, watermelon and buttermilk biscuits

This entree was followed by a “sweet ending” of St. Louis Gooey Butter Cake.

We had guests from all over Illinois, New York City and St. Louis

The lovely and little known persimmon is the focus of a festival, known as the Persimmon Party, held annually on the grounds of the Christian County Historical Society in Taylorville, IL.  This is a unique event in that it is one of only 3 such festivals for the persimmon in the U.S.  Persimmons seemingly have diminished in importance and usage to the American public over the years and cultivation of the trees is not as prominent at it once was even though the tasty fruit has many important food and medicinal properties.   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persimmon .

Every year, when the persimmons ripen, members of the Chrisitan County Historical Society http://www.taylorville.net/Historical_Society.htm gather and “pulp” the persimmons and package and freeze the pulp and have it waiting for the folks who attend the Persimmon Party to purchase and take home to use in delectable dishes for their table.  What a great addition to your Thanksgiving Dinner.  This year the Annual Persimmon Party will be November 12 and 13, 2011.  What a great time to come to Taylorville for fun , food and festivities.  There are always a variety of foods, made from the persimmon pulp, to sample maybe including Persimmon Drop Cookies and Persimmon Pudding as shown belowCookies and Persimmon Pudding as shown below.  The Christian County Historical Society has two Persimmon Cookbooks for sale to provide ideas about how to use the persimmon pulp you purchase during your visit.

                                                                                                     

The Christian County Historical Society grounds are comprised of a variety of buildings of historical value including a Bee Castle and the original Christian County Courthouse in which Abraham Lincoln practiced law on the Illinois 8th Judicial Circuit.  Please take the time to pay a visit to our Facebook Page and like us.  http://www.facebook.com/pages/Christian-County-Illinois-Historical-Society-and-Museum/137053123008672

Come to Christian County Illinois for fun, history and good times.  The county seat of Christian County is Taylorville, Illinois where you will find all sorts of restaurants, lodging and even more history.  We are located just 30 minutes from both Springfield and Decatur, Illinois.

The Planets, Springfield Illinois

Here at the Market Street Inn we’re less than 30 miles away from Springfield, Illinois. That convenient location allows our guests to take advantage of the many cultural events that Springfield has to offer, while still enjoying a quiet getaway at Taylorville Illinois hotels.

Saturday, May 2, music and astronomy lovers alike will have a real treat when the Illinois Symphony presents “The Planets”. This is part of the Illinois Symphony Orchestra’s Masterworks Series, which “offers exquisite playing by professional musicians from Central Illinois and beyond along with world class guest artists.” Also according to the Sympony’s website, “The Planets and percussion take center stage… For the season finale our own David Collier shows us what it takes to play eight timpani. Afterwards the orchestra will propel you into outer-space with a multimedia performance of The Planets, featuring Realtime 3D Interactive Video Animation of our Solar System projected over the orchestra. This is a concert for seasoned music lovers as well as for those who have never attended a symphony concert.”

Consider staying at our bed and breakfast Illinois this weekend and attending the symphony in nearby Springfield. The concert and the NASA footage is guaranteed to rock your world.