Author Archives: editor

Moonlight Garden

Posted on March 17, 2021 by editor

Moonlight Garden flourished as an open-air dance pavilion and then an indoor roller rink on Wabash Avenue for more than 35 years. Entrepreneur/showman Roy Dexheimer Sr. founded Moonlight Garden as the otherwise nameless “Open Air Dance Pavilion” in June 1927. … Continue reading →

Posted in Amusements, Business, Crime and vice, Social life, Sports and recreation | 6 Comments

St. John’s Hospital

Posted on March 11, 2021 by editor

Mary Lincoln may have been one of the earliest patients to benefit from care provided by what is now the Hospital Sisters Health System. The story was handed down by a Franciscan nun, Sister Francis Dreisvogt (1849-1933), who was among … Continue reading →

Posted in Germans, Lincoln, Abraham, Medicine, Public health, Social services, Uncategorized | 9 Comments

Walkathon Derby, 1934

Posted on March 8, 2021 by editor

When Springfield’s Walkathon Derby shut down on May 18, 1934, it left a mountain of unpaid bills and eight groggy couples. The competition, held in a large tent at Second and Mason streets, started May 5 with several dozen pairs … Continue reading →

Posted in Amusements, Spectacles, Sports and recreation, Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Salvation Army band arrested, 1887

Posted on March 4, 2021 by editor

Springfield police arrested all 16 members of the Salvation Army Band in July 1887, after a frightened horse careened down Sixth Street, leaving chaos in its wake. The Illinois State Register described the incident, which took place about 8 p.m. … Continue reading →

Posted in Churches, Local government, Uncategorized | 1 Comment

The Majestic theatre, 1907-35

Posted on February 23, 2021 by editor

“Springfield society assembled en masse on the evening of May 23, 1907, when the Majestic Theatre opened its doors for the first time”, the Illinois State Register reported in 1935. By then, the Majestic, 415-21 S. Fifth St., was no … Continue reading →

Posted in Amusements, Architecture, Business, Prominent figures, Social life, Theaters | 1 Comment

The ‘Tournament of the Big Snow’, 1931

Posted on February 19, 2021 by editor

“(W)hen coaches, players or spectators recall 1931 to their grandchildren, they’ll call it the Tournament of the Big Snow,” Illinois State Journal sports editor Bob Drysdale wrote of the 1931 boys district basketball championships. A blizzard – 14 inches of … Continue reading →

Posted in Disasters, Schools and school districts, Sports and recreation, Uncategorized, Weather | Leave a comment

W.W. Watts, theater impresario

Posted on February 17, 2021 by editor

William Walter “W.W.” Watts flopped the first time he opened a theater in Springfield. But his stepson-in-law persuaded Watts to try again, saying there was “big money in 5-cent picture shows.” The younger man was right. Watts (1868-1937), an Ohio … Continue reading →

Posted in Amusements, Business, Journalism, Media, Prominent figures, Social life, Theaters | Leave a comment

Pekin Theatre

Posted on February 12, 2021 by editor

In segregated Springfield, the Pekin Theatre was the only movie house that not only catered specifically to African-Americans, but was managed by African-Americans as well. The Pekin was at 811-15 E. Washington St. The block, the site of both Black- … Continue reading →

Posted in African Americans, Amusements, Social life, Theaters | Leave a comment

Roxy theater

Posted on February 7, 2021 by editor

“One of the city’s oldest, largest and most reliable babysitters, the Roxy Theater, will fall to the state of Illinois headache ball.” So wrote State-Journal Register critic Paul Povse in September 1978. Indeed, the demise of the Roxy was a … Continue reading →

Posted in Amusements, Architecture, Social life, Theaters | 4 Comments

Jake Wexler murder, 1935

Posted on February 4, 2021 by editor

Jake Wexler was a jeweler in downtown Springfield for 15 years. But when he was gunned down gangland-style in 1935, newspaper stories revealed he had a sideline: slot machines. And, unwisely, he apparently refused to sell his devices and get … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and vice | 6 Comments