Parallax Scrolling Sites...great stuff!

http://webdesignerwall.com/trends/mind-blowing-parallax-scrolling-sites

Just beware a new page does not open when you click on the example sites.

Mill Race sketches, rough wire frames, etc...

Another article on the Mill Race closing...nostalgic :( and sad...

http://patch.com/A-d2QF

wow

http://www.level2d.com/home.html

Footer fun...

Cupcake website...very fun

Mill Race Inn site map and design brief

I guess this may have something to do with the closing...the first of 2 really bad floods.

Some Mill Race History....

In 1837, brothers Julius and Edward Alexander arrived in Geneva where they planned to build a blacksmith shop from where they would forge the tools and plows to farm the rich soil of Kane County. Julius Alexander wrote in his memoirs: We moved to Geneva, arriving there about July I, 1837...came with wagon and oxen, bringing tools and a little iron and steel.

They chose the east bank of the river to build their blacksmith shop. A dam had been planned to furnish power for a small grist mill built by the Bennett brothers. Water was diverted from the river through a narrow channel to turn the mill wheels. This was called the mill race.

In 1891, a fire destroyed the blacksmith shop. The building was quickly rebuilt by the spirited Alexanders and over the years, served as Carlson' s laundry, a wagon shop, a carriage shop and later a plumbing and heating business.

During the Great Depression, Kate Raftery, creator of the Little Traveler on Third Street, urged two spinster sisters from Aurora to open the old blacksmith shop as a restaurant. On May 12, 1933, Ann and Marjorie Forsythe opened the doors of their new summertime tea room. They named their place the Mill Race Inn.

One of the Forsythe sisters' first customers was Ray C. Johns, a Chicago businessman and restaurateur. Mr. Johns frequently visited the Fox Valley area, often accompanied by his wife, Myra and daughter, Rae. He so loved the area that he moved his family from Winnetka to Wayne to retire as a "country gentleman." In 1946, retirement no longer suited Mr. Johns, and he decided to buy the Mill Race Inn from the Forsythe sisters. He convinced his favorite Hungarian cook, Malava Park, to move to the Fox Valley to help manage his recent venture.

Mr. Johns' daughter, Rae, remembers Malava as capable and undaunted. She cooked when needed, baked when there was no baker, and even arranged flowers. She arrived at 7 :00 in the morning, stayed until mid-afternoon, then returned in the evenings dressed spectacularly to welcome quests. With
Malava' s help, the business increased and eventually the dining room was expanded. When Mr .Johns died in 1964, his daughter took over her father's beloved Mill Race Inn. By adding her vision to his, Rae continued to expand Mill Race Inn, making it the popular place it is today. Over the years, the entryway was enlarged and the building was winterized. The decks were added and the Gazebo was built. Tthe Mill Race Inn's personality developed further with the addition of the Mallards and the Duck Inn.

Research for Project 2

Thinking about this project made me want to do some sort of bike rental & roller blade rental business.  I used to live in Warrenville and went to Geneva quite a bit and my husband and I bike on the path along the Fox in the summer.  So I was looking at the bike shops to see if they had rentals available and specifically Mill Race Cyclery, because it's such a cool shop.  Their website was awful, but when I was looking I noticed that the Mill Race Inn had closed and was CRUSHED!  That place was so unique and awesome and after some research found out it has been a restaurant for 75 years.  Sadly it has been closed since January.  Anyway...I figured this place that I almost had my wedding reception at needed to be reborn, so I will be using it for Project 2.

My daughter and I drove to Geneva on Saturday afternoon, perfect with the setting sun to take some photos. Then she got mad at me for never taking her there when it was open :(

The last pic is her running to the jeep...I told her there was a ghost...he he he!