New Park in Illinois?

This seems a bit off the wall to me, but looks like the people down in Lincoln, IL want to build a HUGE statue of Abraham Lincoln - then surround it with other attractions/rides etc.

From the article in the Sun Times:
"The project near Interstate 55 could expand to include historical exhibits, along with rides, shows and other attractions similar to Six Flags or Disney World, Steffens said."

Seems like a long shot for the "park"....and the statue, well, reminds me a bit of the Jolly Green Giant I saw in Blue Earth, MN -- though sounds like they want to make Abe a LOT bigger than the Giant!

Anyways, just found it interesting that they referred to both Six Flags and Disney.

SORRY, forgot the link to the article:
http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-lincoln20.html

Also, here's a pic of the Giant up in MN:
http://www.mnhs.org/places/other/roadside/images/myjggbe.html *** Edited 1/21/2004 2:16:18 AM UTC by MrSkyWhirl***

Submitted this to news today.

Yeah, this would be an interesting thing to say the least. Having a Lincoln statue the size of the Statue of Liberty would be a site to see.

Crazy....I'm from Springfield, IL originally (about 45 minutes from Lincoln.

This whole thing doens't seem like a smart idea...I don't see it being a realistic thing, knowing the area :)

I hope this goes through! I want a park closer to me than SFGAM!! Only time will tell....

This is crazy... I live in Bloomington (just north of Lincoln) and they have been talking about this for a few years...

I found an old article on their local paper (the copyright on the bottom of the page says 2001). It includes a massive powerpoint presentation with pictures of this thing, with exhibits on what other cities do with big monuments. There is a total of 112 slides, which took forever on my poor modem.

http://www.lincolncourier.com/news/01/02/22/b.asp

I don't know how much of it is true today. When you see the pictures, you can see why this was forgotten for a few years. I don't believe that the Sun-Times actually talked about it.. I thought the idea was dead, or it was a slow news day in Chicago.

-Jesse

Actually Jes, according to the articles from today, this proposal is being brought back to life again by the same people who pitched it a couple of years ago so its new news so to speak.

Its in the Suntimes, Dailyherald, and Tribune today.

It's true...made the local news here in Champaign.

Maybe they are still serious.. Associated Press picked up on the story. I can see why it made all three major Chicago papers. It also made the paper in Peoria. It may be in the paper in Bloomington in the next day or two.

The scary part is that they claim that you can see it for 20 miles, which can happen around here. I live about 25 miles from Lincoln, that even scarier.

-Jesse

Well, the statue they want would be 305ft tall so that wouldn't surprise me to see it that far away

We are talking the same height as the Statue of Liberty. Thats insane.

If they were to put rides around it, I am guessing they would be more like carnival rides such as the spin and puke flats. It would be cool if there were actually a decent sized coaster there. I'm a ways from lincoln, but it would be worth a trip on my way to St. Louis

My mind is full of jokes now about a Forbes Theater themed ride/attraction :)

"Come and ride the new coaster, it's four score and seven stories tall!"

A log ride themed to his old log cabin.

Of course, those from Central IL know that the Lincoln Home in Springfield is where all the hookers hang out....seriously (no, I don't know from personal experiance! :) But I did read the "police beat" in the Springfield paper for years ) Hope this lincoln attraction would be a little less sleazy at night! *** Edited 1/21/2004 6:17:39 AM UTC by Peabody***

Im from Peoria, about 40 minutes from Lincoln, and this sounds absurd. Couldnt see it happening, and if somehow it does, there's no way it could have anything bigger than a few flats and kiddie coasters.

What is with the watermelon next to Lincoln?

Honestly, with the amount of proposed parks in Illinois in the past two years, I wouldn't take this seriously until actual construction began. I hope it comes true, but it doesn't sound like a solid concept for a park.

I would love to see this happen. To bad those of us in Decatur are still waiting for the indoor water park to happen that was promised 2 years ago.

I know what ya mean! I live about 20 minutes away from Decatur! I heard that that was not supposed to be done til summer of 05'. But who knows what could happen with the new "park" here in Illinois!

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jpb said:
What is with the watermelon next to Lincoln?

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I was wondering that too, that would be a huge watermelon!

Simple fact of the matter is there's just not enough people around downstate Illinois to support a large or even not so large amsuement park.(unless we're talking close to STL, but theyve got six flags) Id bet over half of the population of Illinois live within 50 miles of Chicago.

stljason1- Ya, but thats because there are hundreds of suburbs around Chicago! When I ask people where they are from when they say Illinois, they say the suburbs of Chicago. But we people down in Cental Illinois make the trip to Sfgam so if there would happen to be a park down here maybe some would come down to the park here, that is if they had a few decent coasters! :)

Stljason, bet higher... over 65%.

TTD120, Chicago suburbanites go to the Wisconsin Dells for fun. I'm not sure they know there is a Central Illinois. ;)

- Colin "I lived in Cham-bana so I can say that" D.