Elsah is top scenic spot in Illinois Top 200 project

Sorry Chicago, the rest of Illinois took the top spots on the state’s list of Top 200 Scenic Spots.

Chicago’s lakefront is seventh on the list. The Bean didn’t even make the top 10.

Chris Wills with Illinois’ Historic Preservation Agency said Elsah, a tiny village not far from Alton in the Metro East, took the top spot.

“I’m pleasantly surprised that Elsah came out on top,” Wills said. “I didn’t expect so many people to vote for it, because it is a little less well known. But it is a wonderful spot, and I hope this voting result encourages people to go see it.”

Wills said part of the point of the Illinois Top 200 project is to highlight parts of Illinois that don’t always get the most attention.

The latest bicentennial best of list proves that, he said.

“Number two is the Great River Road. That’s the byway that treks along the Mississippi River from Galena down to Cairo,” Wills said. “There is the huge Black Hawk statue up around Oregon, Illinois [which placed third]. Garden of the Gods in southern Illinois [is fourth], and at number five there is Starved Rock State Park.”
Wills says Top 200 voters are now choosing the state’s top museums.

– From the Illinois News Network

PHOTO: A scene courtesy of the Historic Elsah Foundation.