Category Archives: Buildings

Batterton Cabin, Clayville

Posted on September 29, 2026 by editor

The Batterton Cabin at the Clayville Historic Site, probably built in the late 18-teens, is thought to be the oldest structure in Sangamon County. The cabin is part of a complex of relocated and/or reconstructed historic buildings at Clayville, which … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Buildings, Early residents, Historic Sites, Museums | Leave a comment

Illinois State Armory cornerstone (1937)

Posted on August 14, 2026 by editor

Gov. Henry Horner personally laid the first trowel of mortar for the cornerstone of the Illinois State Armory on Nov. 27, 1936. The 90-year-old Armory, undergoing massive reconstruction following decades of disuse, was renamed the Jim Edgar State Office Building … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Buildings, Historic Sites, Illinois capital, Military, Prominent figures, State government, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Junior Home Economics Building, 1938-2026

Posted on June 12, 2026 by editor

The Junior Home Economics Building and its counterpart, the Junior Livestock Pavilion, were big improvements for the Illinois State Fairgrounds in 1938, the Illinois State Register reported that June. This year, activities formerly carried on in the poultry building will … Continue reading →

Posted in Agriculture, Architecture, Buildings, Illinois State Fair, State government | Leave a comment

Col. John H. Wilson Jr., post office namesake

Posted on April 27, 2026 by editor

A tiny sign above a self-service stamp machine is the only public indication that Springfield’s Cook Street post office is named after a World War II hero. John H. Wilson Jr. (1918-2008) earned a Silver Star, the nation’s third highest … Continue reading →

Posted in African Americans, Buildings, Military, Prominent figures | 2 Comments

The Curve Inn’s curve

Posted on March 3, 2026 by editor

The Curve Inn once sat on an actual curve. The nightspot, housed in a 94-year-old building at 3219 S. Sixth Street Road, was badly damaged by fire in February 2026. The inn originally was near a long curve that connected … Continue reading →

Posted in Buildings, Business, Crime and vice, Fires, Hotels & taverns, Restaurants, Route 66, Social life, Transportation, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Glenwood Park and the Kalb family

Posted on November 16, 2025 by editor

Glenwood Park was a small resort that operated along the South Fork of the Sangamon River from the mid-1890s until the early 1900s. Facilities included a small dam, docks and rowboats, an excursion steamboat and a pavilion with a dance … Continue reading →

Posted in Buildings, Business, Communities, Parks, Sangamon River, Social life, Sports and recreation, Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Pillsbury, 1940: 100 steps between wheat & flour (illustration)

Posted on July 29, 2025 by editor

The Pillsbury Flour Mills Co. celebrated the 10th anniversary of its Springfield plant with, among other things, this advertisement in the Feb. 29, 1940, edition of the Illinois State Register. As this entry is written in summer 2025, the plant, … Continue reading →

Posted in Buildings, Business, Illustrations, Industry | Leave a comment

First game at Reservoir Park/Robin Roberts Stadium, 1925

Posted on May 26, 2025 by editor

On May 12, 1925, 9,000 people watched the very first baseball game ever played at what today is Robin Roberts Stadium. They filled the grandstand, crowded the foul lines and jammed temporary bleachers erected around the outfield. “Not even on … Continue reading →

Posted in Amusements, Architecture, Buildings, Celebrations, Sports and recreation | Leave a comment

Forum 30/Wyndham Springfield City Centre

Posted on April 18, 2025 by editor

Three factors drew attention to Springfield’s Forum 30 hotel even before it opened in 1974: its height, its site and its whiz-kid developer. At 30 stories high, the building was the tallest in downstate Illinois – by most measurements even … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Buildings, Hotels & taverns, Restaurants | Leave a comment

‘German Settlers Row’ (300 block of West Cook Street)

Posted on March 23, 2025 by editor

German Settlers Row, a group of buildings centered around the 300 block of West Cook Street, takes its name from the families who built the first homes there in the 1860s: Mack, Schutte, Lauer, Godenrath, Dressendorfer. From Cook Street today, … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Buildings, Ethnic groups, Family life, Germans, Historic Sites | 2 Comments