Lake Decatur

Scovill Zoo in Decatur, Illinois, is one of 210 zoos accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums with 96 species spanning six continents and around 500 animals in residence. The zoo originally started out as a farm in 1967 when the Kiwanis Club donated money for its construction. Scovill Zoo has its own chapter of the AAZK or American Association of Zoo Keepers. The zoo participates in a large number of conservation projects and education.

Staley Field in Decatur, Illinois, United States, was the home of the Decatur Staleys club of the American Professional Football Association in 1920, coached and managed by the young George Halas, who also played for the team. The team was owned by the A. E. Staley Manufacturing Company, for which Staley Field was the company athletic field. Staley Field was also used by the company baseball team during the summer months, and Halas also played on that team. The field was also used by the Decatur entry in the Three-I League in 1915 and 1922–23.Although the Staley football team was popular in 1920, it struggled financially, partly due to Staley Field's 1,500 seating capacity. Fans were charged $1 to attend games and company employees received a 50 percent discount, which was not economically feasible for the Staleys and prompted Halas to move games to Cubs Park (now Wrigley Field) in Chicago.The Staley company sold the team to Halas and his partners, who transferred the team to Cubs Park in 1921. As part of the deal, they operated under the "Staley" name for one more season. They proceeded to win the APFA championship that season. For 1922, they renamed themselves the Chicago Bears in order to associate themselves with their landlords.

The Macon County Courthouse is a government building in Decatur, the county seat of Macon County, Illinois, United States. Completed in 1940, it is the fourth courthouse in the county's history.

The Sand Creek Conservation Area is a 755-acre (3 km2) natural area in the U.S. state of Illinois, located in South Wheatland Township south of Lake Decatur. The conservation area preserves tallgrass prairie and prairie-savanna acreage and serves the people of Macon County and the Decatur metropolitan area. The area is operated by the Macon County Conservation District.

The Transfer House is a historic building located in Central Park in Decatur, Illinois. Built in 1896, the building originally served as a transfer point for Decatur's electric streetcar system. Architect William W. Boyington's design for the building was influenced by a number of Victorian styles, particularly the Richardsonian Romanesque. The building was ultimately moved to Central Park and is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The Decatur station, also known as the Wabash Railroad Station and Railway Express Agency, is a historic railway station located at 780 East Cerro Gordo Street in Decatur, Illinois. Built in 1901, the station served trains on the Wabash Railroad, the most economically significant railroad through Decatur. Architect Theodore Link designed the Classical Revival building. Service to the station ended in the 1980s, and it has since been listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Decatur ( dih-KAY-tər) is the largest city and the county seat of Macon County in the U.S. state of Illinois, with a population of 70,522 as of the 2020 Census. The city was founded in 1829 and is situated along the Sangamon River and Lake Decatur in Central Illinois. Decatur is the seventeenth-most populous city in Illinois.The city is home to Millikin University and Richland Community College. Decatur has an economy based on industrial and agricultural commodity processing and production, including the North American headquarters of agricultural conglomerate Archer Daniels Midland, international agribusiness Tate & Lyle's largest corn-processing plant, and the designing and manufacturing facilities for Caterpillar Inc.'s wheel-tractor scrapers, compactors, large wheel loaders, mining class motor grader, off-highway trucks, and large mining trucks.

The Decatur Downtown Historic District is a historic commercial district located in downtown Decatur, Illinois. The district includes 75 buildings, 61 of which are considered significant or contributing to its historic character. While downtown Decatur was platted in 1829, it did not experience significant commercial development until 1854, when two railroads built lines through the city; all but one of the district's contributing buildings were built between 1854 and 1916. The district includes many of the commercial buildings which were built in the economic boom following the railroad's construction. These buildings represent several popular commercial architectural styles of the period, including Classical Revival, Italianate, Romanesque, and Chicago School. The district also includes several sites connected to Abraham Lincoln's legal and political career.The district was added to the National Register of Historic Places on May 9, 1985.

Stephen Decatur High School was a public high school in Decatur, Illinois, which existed from 1862 to 2000. Stephen Decatur High School was simply known as Decatur High School until 1957, when the city's only high school was joined by Lakeview High School (a small rural district absorbed by consolidation), and MacArthur and Eisenhower High Schools, which were newly constructed to accommodate the student population that was exploding as a result of the post-World War 2 "baby boom". The school, like the city, was named after Stephen Decatur, Jr. one of the great naval heroes of the post-Revolutionary War era. He battled pirates off the Barbary coast of Africa (twice), fought in the War of 1812, and at 25, is still the youngest person ever to achieve the rank of captain in the history of the U.S. Navy. He eventually attained the rank of commodore (a flag officer rank roughly equivalent to rear admiral) but was killed in a duel with a fellow naval officer.

Elwin is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in South Wheatland Township, Macon County, Illinois, United States. It was first listed as a CDP in 2020, with a population of 119.The name "Elwin" is an amalgamation of the surnames of founders Elwood and Martin.

The Decatur Historic District is a residential historic district in the Millikin Heights neighborhood of Decatur, Illinois. The district encompasses the city's historic Near West and Southwest neighborhoods and was formed beginning in the 1850s and continuing through the 1920s. Nearly all of the popular architectural styles from this period are represented in the district. A number of professional architects, including Frank Lloyd Wright, designed homes in the district, giving it exceptionally high-quality architecture. The earlier houses mainly have Italianate designs; several Gothic Revival buildings from this period are also included. The Queen Anne and Classical Revival styles were popular in houses built in the late 19th century, though Romanesque and Tudor Revival houses were also designed in this period. The early 20th century brought the district the Colonial Revival style and several independent styles associated with the more prominent architects such as Wright.The district was added to the National Register of Historic Places on November 7, 1976.

The James Millikin House is a historic house located at 125 N. Pine St. in Decatur, Illinois. The house was built in 1876 for James Millikin, a wealthy Decatur businessman who later founded Millikin University. The house has a towered Italianate design which has been called the "most imposing Victorian remnant" in Decatur. A mansard roof on the tallest tower provides a Second Empire influence to the design. The house's interior decorations include colored marble fireplaces, art glass windows, and a fresco above the main staircase.The house was added to the National Register of Historic Places on December 3, 1974. Millikin University currently owns the house, which is open to the public as a museum.