Does anyone know the actual address of Ray's childhood home in Waukegan, IL.? Or any other locales in Waukegan pertaining to Ray? Is his house even still standing?

I live close enough that I'd like to check them out.

Thanks!!!

Ray's house is at 11 South St. James. His grandparents' house is at 619 Washington. And almost right behind those homes is the Ravine.

The library is in a new building but the old building exists and may be undergoing renovation. The old courthouse, with the clock, has been torn down. It was replaced with a new skyscraper the upper windows of which afford a very good view of the town, but with the new post-September 11 security, it may no longer be possible to get in. The Genessee Theater was still there when I visited.

I grew up in Waukegan. My aunt is the same age as Ray, although they never crossed paths. I teach middle school language arts and I have gotten my little angels addicted to his stories.

Living in Phoenix, AZ they haven't had the chance to experience the change of seasons and what the area in Waukegan was like. I have the audio tapes of Ray reading the Martian Chronicles. The most interesting part of the tapes is when Ray talks about dreaming about Mars while looking at the night sky in Waukegan. I use to do the same thing... the parks were the greatest.

Having made a pilgramage many years ago to those two very sites, may I say that reading about Douglas Spaulding's neighborhood in the Green Town stories was much more gratifying than visiting those addresses in Waukegan. The homes are very ordinary and uncharming, even to a romanticist's eyes like mine, no matter how much I squinted. The only interesting part of my visit was to see the foliage-covered Ravine, which is indeed deep and forbidding.

Agreement here. The Ravine exactly lives up to the stories. It is as described--no more, no less. The buildings, including the houses and original library, are not as impressive. The only thing more impressive than the stories was the Lake. I've wondered since whether it was Ray's poor eyesight which caused him to describe it on less than its grand scale--although it is large enough to fade into perspective even with good eyesight.

Reviving this rather old thread to post this info on the 150th birthday of Waukegan itself:

http://lakecountyhistory.blogs...waukegans-150th.html