Category Archives: Buildings

Larkin Mead, Lincoln Tomb designer

Posted on October 15, 2013 by editor

Larkin Mead (1835-1910), who designed the Lincoln Tomb State Historic Site, got his artistic start from a snow angel. Not the kind children make by lying down in snow, but an 8-foot-tall, highly detailed snow statue of the biblical Recording … Continue reading →

Posted in Arts and letters, Buildings, Historic Sites, Lincoln, Abraham, Museums, Presidents | Tagged | 1 Comment

Pillsbury Mills

Posted on October 13, 2013 by editor

Note: This entry was significantly expanded in 2021 and slightly updated in 2022. 2025 note: With demolition under way, the Pillsbury Project issued its own 128-page history of the Springfield plant, along with documentation of the plant’s buildings and processes. … Continue reading →

Posted in Buildings, Business, Industry | Tagged | 33 Comments

Robin Roberts Stadium

Posted on October 12, 2013 by editor

This entry has been updated. Robin Roberts Stadium, then named Reservoir Park, opened on May 12, 1925. About 12,000 people watched a Three-I League baseball game between the Springfield Senators and the Terre Haute Hottentots. (The Senators lost, 6-4.) The … Continue reading →

Posted in Buildings, Sports and recreation | Tagged | 1 Comment

Sangamon County Jail, 1914 (Springfield Survey photo)

Posted on October 9, 2013 by editor

The Springfield Survey was a massive study of local schools, prisons, and other institutions undertaken in 1914 by the Russell Sage Foundation with the help of hundreds of local volunteers. Topics covered included schools, care of “mental defectives, the insane … Continue reading →

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Westminster Presbyterian Church

Posted on October 8, 2013 by editor

See Second Presbyterian Church.

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Second Presbyterian Church

Posted on October 8, 2013 by editor

Springfield’s Second Presbyterian Church (now known as Westminster Presbyterian Church), was founded in May 1835, when 30 members of First Presbyterian Church split from the parent congregation. Although some researchers ascribe the split to a dispute over slavery, with Second … Continue reading →

Posted in Abolitionism, Buildings, Churches | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Springfield in 1867 (map)

Posted on October 7, 2013 by editor

Although not to scale, the 1867 bird’s-eye view of Springfield drawn by A. Ruger for the Chicago Lithographing Co. is considered accurate in its placement and depiction of city buildings and streets. Note that the map is oriented with north … Continue reading →

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Springfield Woolen Mills

Posted on October 6, 2013 by editor

The Springfield Woolen Mills produced woolen cloth and textiles for Central Illinois and consumers around the United States.  The mills operated from 1834 until 1906. For much of that time, the operation was housed in a three-story brick plant on … Continue reading →

Posted in Buildings, Business, Industry, Mills, Prominent figures | 3 Comments

Ss. Peter and Paul Church

Posted on October 6, 2013 by editor

Ss. Peter and Paul Catholic Church, 426 N. Sixth St., completed in 1866, was closed in 2001 and demolished in 2002. St. Pete’s, as it was known, was formed when Irish and German Catholics decided to form separate parishes in … Continue reading →

Posted in Buildings, Churches | Tagged , | 19 Comments

Frank Lloyd Wright’s Dana-Thomas House

Posted on April 26, 2013 by editor

The Dana-Thomas House, designed by famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright, was built at 301 E. Lawrence Ave. for Springfield hostess Susan Lawrence Dana. Dana gave Wright his first “open checkbook” commission, and the result, as described by the Springfield Historic Sites … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Buildings, Historic Sites, Prominent figures, State government | Tagged , , | 3 Comments