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Category Archives: Prominent figures
Southern Illinois Medical School 50th anniversary (2020)
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Southern Illinois University School of Medicine indefinitely postponed its 50th anniversary alumni gala, which had been scheduled for April 4, 2020, at the Crowne Plaza in Springfield. The gala was a minor casualty of the … Continue reading
Posted in Education, Medicine, Prominent figures
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Washington Iles, civic leader
Washington Iles (1800-71) was often overshadowed by his older brother, Elijah, Springfield’s pioneer merchant and civic leader. But Washington also was a respected, active citizen of the city. The brothers were in step with each other in many of their … Continue reading
The Palace Hotel
In the late 1800s, Springfield’s Palace Hotel had a great location at Fourth and Washington streets, a half-block from the Chicago & Alton railroad station (today’s Amtrak station). For a while, the Palace was one of the city’s premier hostelries. … Continue reading
‘Huyler’s Ghost,’ a poem by ‘H.’,1832
“Huyler’s Ghost” is by an early Springfield poet whom scholar John Hallwas considers “the finest poet of the frontier, in not only Illinois but the entire Midwest.” The poet signed his works, which were printed in the Sangamo Journal from … Continue reading
Posted in Amusements, Arts and letters, Early residents, Prominent figures
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Earle Baker Perce, Antarctic explorer
Perce Point, a headland on an island on the west edge of Antarctica, commemorates a Williamsville man’s role in exploring some of the last unknown places on earth. Earle Baker Perce (1910-68) was a U.S. Navy radioman and pilot when … Continue reading
Posted in Air travel, Military, Prominent figures, Science
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Coe’s Book Store
In 1898, brothers Louis and Harry Coe, together with Ward Carter, organized Coe, Carter and Coe, a retail book and stationery store on the northeast corner of Fifth and Monroe streets. The business, at two different addresses and under three … Continue reading
Posted in Business, Prominent figures
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Broadwell’s building
This entry has been edited to correct information in a photo caption. The building on the northwest corner of Fifth and Washington streets in Springfield was a drugstore for about 125 years. While that tradition ended in 1981, the old … Continue reading
Posted in Architecture, Buildings, Business, Historic Sites, Medicine, Prominent figures
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Brinkerhoff Home
The Brinkerhoff Home, which in 2020 sat buttoned-up and unused on the former campus of Benedictine University Springfield, was designed in the 1860s by Elijah E. Myers, who would go on to be one of 19th-century America’s best known, and … Continue reading
New Year’s news, 1920
Good news dominated Springfield newspapers on New Year’s Day 1920. The pages of the Illinois State Journal and Illinois State Register were full of predictions about the year to come. Businesspeople were optimistic. Among those the Register quoted was Joseph … Continue reading
Italian Villa fire (1932)
The explosion that wrecked the Italian Villa nightclub on East Monroe Street in 1932, killing two, was never explained. Suspicion, fueled by testimony from passersby, the track records of the club’s owners, and a rash of explosions around central Illinois … Continue reading