Downtown Freeport: A Walking Tour

I had a great time walking tonight! It was about 60 degrees and a little overcast with a nice light breeze. I had been planning to take a long walk tonight and had mapped out a simple route this morning - just a there and back path down one of the main streets in town. Not terribly exciting, but it would get the job done. I changed my mind though when I started walking. It was too nice a night to just walk. I decided to sightsee instead and headed towards Historic Downtown Freeport.

I love Freeport because the town is small enough that I can walk just about anywhere, given enough time Plus, the town has been around since 1827, so there is some beautiful architecture here. Tonight, I got pictures of some of my favorite places that I passed while walking.

This is a church that stands in the middle of the Piety Hill Neighborhood. I am not exactly sure why it is called Piety Hill, but I know from the where I am standing to take the picture, I can see at least 3 churches. This one really stands out, but there's a beautiful brown stone building across the street that always reminds me of a castle. I will have to get that one on my next tour.

This is the Wagner House. It was formally the Wagner Printing Co. and was built in 1903. Apparently, it was the first company in Freeport to have electricity. It was recently renovated and is now a venue for weddings and events. I have seen pictures of the inside, and it looks amazing! I just love that you can still see the old paint on the building.

This is the second and third floor of one of my favorite buildings on Main Street. It was a dance hall at one point and also a business collage. Now the first floor is jewelry store and the second and third floors are an antique mall/consignment store. My family and I have spent many hours wandering around there. There's so much to look at, plus the third floor still has the old ballroom with a balcony for the band and remnants of the business collage that you can see. 

This is not an old building, but my daughter's favorite part of downtown. This metal rooster sits outside her favorite restaurant.

She loves to go to This Is It Eatery for the macaroni and cheese, but I really like the burgers served on pretzel buns. And, the deep fried Oreos are awesome! Had to be included on my walking tour.

Sadly, I am not sure what is in this building now, but it catches my eye every time I am downtown. I think it used to be part of City Hall, but don't quote me.

This is the Masonic Lodge in Freeport. A lot of community events are held here from dance recitals to concerts, even the High School Prom. There is still an active Mason Lodge here as well. I remember dancing there as a candy cane in the The Nutcracker when I was 8.

This lovely lady is one of four statues that stand around the old Freeport Public Library. The library is undergoing renovations and you can see the weather has not been kind to her, but I still think she is cool!

And here is the old Public Library. It was donated by Andrew Carnegie and is the library that I grew up with. There is a new library on the other side of downtown now. It is nice, but this one will always be my favorite.

Total walk time tonight was 1 hour 34 minutes and I walked 5.19 miles with an overall pace time of 3.45 mph!! Woot! Goal is 4 mph, so I'm getting there!

Today's motivation:

My motivation to walk today was the act of walking. It was a crazy day at work, but none of that mattered when I started walking. By the end of the walk, I felt fantastic! The stress was gone and the world was a happy place again.

So, walking is good! Get out and walk. And, feel free to post your pictures in the comments below. I would love to see where you are walking to!