Midway between the Quad Cities and St. Louis, Quincy (pop. 40,366) is a modest-sized city, Germanic enough in its heritage to consider Pizza Hut an ethnic restaurant. A bastion of abolitionists before the Civil War, Quincy was also home to anti-abolitionist Stephen Douglas, the incumbent Illinois senator whose campaign debates with Abraham Lincoln put that tall country lawyer on the path to the White House.
The GRR follows the riverfront and again the pilot’s wheel is missing, but the giant span of the Bayview bridge over the Mississippi will leave no doubt as to which way to turn to stay on track. However, most of the city perches on the tall bluffs above the GRR and is worth a drive-through, if only to sample its textbook variety of residential architecture. Check out the Gardner Museum of Architecture and Design (Wed.–Sat. 1–5 pm; $2; 217/224-6873), in the old public library downtown on Maine and 4th, for an overview of both those topics. Then take a walk or drive through the East End, an area roughly bounded by Maine and State Streets between 16th and 24th. Filled with historic mansions along quiet tree-canopied streets, it’s the perfect place to practice distinguishing your Queen Anne from Tudor, and your Prairie Style from Gothic Revival.
If you have thus far avoided the tried-and-true cooking of the Maid-Rite chain, Quincy gives you a chance to fix this oversight: There’s one at 507 N. 12th Street (217/222-7527). For something even more strictly local and down-home, slide back down to the waterfront under the bridge for some fried fresh fish at the Sky Ride Inn (217/222-9703) on Front Street, marked by a multi-colored neon sign.
If you plan to spend the night, you’ll find the national chains downtown out on Broadway near I-172. If you prefer antiques to HBO in your room, try the Kaufmann House ($45–65; 217/223-2502), in the heart of the historic mansions at 1641 Hampshire Street.
For more information, call or drop by their tourist information center in the Villa Kathrine (800/978-4748), that hard-to-miss, turn-of-the-20th-century Moorish residence on the bluffs overlooking the Mississippi, just south of the US-24 bridge.
