Category Archives: Business

Telephones in Springfield, 1939-84

Posted on April 14, 2020 by editor

Dial telephones went into use in Springfield in dramatic fashion on Aug. 20, 1939. Four minutes before midnight, crews of workmen in two separate locations simultaneously disabled the old operator switchboards and plugged 21,000 telephones into the new one. “With … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Communications | 2 Comments

Dual telephone service in Springfield (1903-19)

Posted on April 9, 2020 by editor

Sangamon County was a hub for early telephone development, thanks partly to its geographic position between St. Louis and Chicago and partly to the county’s relationship with Bell Telephone. In 1881 a newly formed company, American Bell Telephone, bought a … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Communications | 1 Comment

Graybar Electric

Posted on March 29, 2020 by editor

On March 7, 1877, the Illinois State Journal published an article informing readers how to operate a telephone invented by Alexander Graham Bell, the Scottish-born inventor today credited with patenting the first operational telephone device in 1876. The first telephone … Continue reading →

Posted in Business | Leave a comment

The Palace Hotel

Posted on March 21, 2020 by editor

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 →

Posted in Buildings, Business, Hotels & taverns, Illinois capital, Prominent figures, Uncategorized | 4 Comments

Danube Swabians in Sangamon County

Posted on February 16, 2020 by editor

In February 1903, the SS Pennland docked at Philadelphia, offloading scores of immigrants. One of the newcomers walking off the ship that day was Josef Kohlrus, a 31-year-old miner from Central Hungary.  With $14 in his pocket, Josef’s final destination … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Swabians | 21 Comments

Coe’s Book Store

Posted on February 6, 2020 by editor

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 | 8 Comments

Broadwell’s building

Posted on January 30, 2020 by editor

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 | 2 Comments

New Year’s news, 1920

Posted on December 30, 2019 by editor

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 →

Posted in Amusements, Business, Celebrations, Crime and vice, Prominent figures, Public health, Social life | Leave a comment

Bank holiday scrip (1933)

Posted on November 23, 2019 by editor

Springfield kept its economy going during the “bank holiday” of 1933 by printing its own money. State and federal officials ordered banks across the nation to close in early March 1933, amid a wave of bank collapses caused by the … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Depression, Local government, State government | 1 Comment

First self-service grocery (1918), first supermarket (1940)

Posted on October 14, 2019 by editor

The opening of Springfield’s first self-service grocery in March 1918 meant lower prices – thanks to the layoffs of three clerks. The innovator was Moran Market on the northwest corner of Eighth and Washington streets, whose manager, Clyde McElroy, announced … Continue reading →

Posted in Buildings, Business, Grocery markets | 10 Comments