Visting Superman’s Hometown

 

Illinois is filled with small towns with their own personality. Even after 17 years of living here, I still have a list of many I have yet to explore. Toward the top of that list was Metropolis, the hometown of the character of Superman.

I recently had the opportunity to visit Metropolis, and it met my expectations. I took along my friends, Amanda and Heather, and my service dog, Teddy.

 

We stayed at Harrah’s Metropolis Hotel & Casino. It’s a large property within walking distance to everything in town. Amanda and Heather shared a room, while Teddy and I had a larger accessible room with two beds and a big bathroom with rails and a chair in the walk-in shower. 

After check-in, we headed downtown to the Superman Museum. The entrance to the museum is filled with photos in the window and something you’d expect the Man of Steel to need—a phone booth. 

You first walk into the store. I can’t imagine there is anything related to Superman you will not find for sale, including clothes of all sizes and kryptonite candy.

Superman Museum is a dream for the superhero lover. It pays homage to every Superman and the actors who played him. A lot of the memorabilia is one of a kind, such as the final script of the first Superman movie with Christopher Reeve, and the original costume worn in Superman III.

 

You’ll see photographs of Reeve, Dean Cain, and all the actors who played Superman, as well as all the actors who played Lois Lane and Supergirl. Branded video games, dolls, and toys are everywhere.

After the museum, they walked and I rolled around the downtown. It’s filled with quirky shops and Superman (and Lois) statues. Metropolis has a uniqueness you certainly can’t match anywhere else.

I found out that you can easily soar through the streets in Metropolis with a wheelchair. The town is also extremely dog friendly and Teddy was welcome everywhere we went. Of course, I had to dress him to fit in.

 
After reading about the restaurants in the town, we settled on Fat Edd’s, for its food reviews and dog friendliness. The food is mostly centered around barbecue, and they have quite a selection.

I cleared with the manager that the shrimp was cooked separately, and I didn’t need to worry about allergy contamination. I ordered the pulled pork sandwich, Amanda got the Lava Chicken, and Heather had the BBQ chicken platter. Teddy was happy with scraps, and French fries.

 
Metropolis isn’t just about Superman. We found some relaxing and historic outdoor spots to check out too.

Dorothy Miller Park is on the Ohio River and a perfect place for a picnic or relaxing afternoon. It’s filled with picnic tables and paths to explore. There is a lighthouse and Teddy found plenty of spaces to enjoy while I wheeled around.

 

Fort Massac State Park is also on the river, but an entirely different park. This one is on 1500 acres and includes a visitor’s center with an extensive collection of Native American artifacts, offers camping, trails, forestry, and recreated buildings.

The history of Fort Massac is quite complicated and includes the original Native Americans, the landing of the Europeans back in 1540, the French and Indian War, Revolutionary War, and Civil War. The park is free to enter, and they have plenty of parking, including handicapped spots.

 

Before leaving Metropolis in the morning, our last stop in downtown was breakfast at Sissy’s, A Sweet Spot. It’s actually more of a bakery than restaurant, but they do have accessible seating. They also have so many treats it was hard to decide to decided what to get.

In the end, we all had breakfast sandwiches for practicality. I also got a pumpkin cream cheese muffin for us to share. It was as delicious as it looked and a great way to end our trip to Metropolis.