Category Archives: Business

The Lake Club

Posted on July 14, 2016 by editor

NOTE: This entry has been edited. See below. The Lake Club, 2840 Fox Road, brought top national performers – Mickey Rooney, the Mills Brothers, Guy Lombardo, Pearl Bailey, Lawrence Welk and many more – to Springfield in the 1940s, ‘50s … Continue reading →

Posted in Amusements, Buildings, Business, Crime and vice, Hotels & taverns, Law enforcement, Prominent figures, Social life | 23 Comments

Dudley Hotel

Posted on July 11, 2016 by editor

The Negro Motorist Green Book, a nationwide guide for the African-American traveler, for 20 years listed only one hotel in Springfield as open to blacks: the Dudley Hotel, 130 S. 11th St. The Dudley and its predecessors at the same … Continue reading →

Posted in African Americans, Buildings, Business, Hotels & taverns, Prominent figures | Leave a comment

Oriental Cafe

Posted on June 1, 2016 by editor

The Oriental Café was Springfield’s most popular Chinese restaurant for more than 40 years – and, when it closed in 1955, the only one. The café, on the second floor of the buildings at 424 and 426 E. Monroe St., … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Prominent figures, Restaurants, Social life | 1 Comment

Mid-Day Luncheon Club

Posted on May 22, 2016 by editor

Springfield’s Mid-Day Luncheon Club played host to world leaders, past and future presidents, philosophers, magnates and monarchs in a speech series that lasted more than 50 years. And then there was that totem pole. The club was made official in … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Media, Native Americans, Prominent figures, Social life | Leave a comment

Springfield Brewing Co.

Posted on May 10, 2016 by editor

The Springfield Brewing Co. operated at 11th and Madison streets from 1933 until late 1946, when it closed in the wake of wartime grain shortages, a federal tax lawsuit, and an embezzling scandal. The grain shortage was unavoidable. The United … Continue reading →

Posted in Breweries, Business, Crime and vice, Prominent figures | 5 Comments

DICKEY-john Corp.

Posted on April 9, 2016 by editor

Auburn-based DICKEY-john Corp. got its start in 1960, when Chatham-area farmer Robert Dickey was in the hospital recuperating from a lawn-mower accident that had cost him his right eye. One of his visitors was a minister. “In talking about farming, … Continue reading →

Posted in Agriculture, Business, Farming, Industry, Prominent figures | 2 Comments

Hotel Normandie

Posted on April 3, 2016 by editor

The Hotel Normandie, 311-15 S. Fourth St., opened in May 1896 under the management of “old hotel man” M.M. Armstrong, the Illinois State Journal reported. The interior of the building has recently been thoroughly remodeled and renovated, finished off with … Continue reading →

Posted in Auto dealers, Buildings, Business, Hotels & taverns, Prominent figures | Leave a comment

The Extraordinary Ordinary — 113 W. Mulberry St., Chatham

Posted on March 21, 2016 by editor

Note: This entry has been revised, thanks to information provided by Chatham-area Facebook users. Buildings customarily gain historic reputations from their age or because of their connections to a prominent person or event.  We also like them decorated in an … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Auto dealers, Buildings, Business, Prominent figures, Transportation | 2 Comments

Ben Victor (pharmacist, Thrifty Drugs chairman)

Posted on March 3, 2016 by editor

Benjamin “Mr. Ben” Victor (1908-88) was a Springfield pharmacist, founder and chairman of Illinois Thrifty Drugs, and philanthropist. The fall 2000 edition of Aspects magazine, published by Southern Illinois School of Medicine, synopsized Victor’s business and charitable activities. The profile … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Medicine, Prominent figures | 3 Comments

‘Dodds’ Corner’

Posted on March 3, 2016 by editor

A fortuitous location made “Dodds’ Corner,” named after a drugstore on the northwest corner of Fifth and Monroe streets, one of Springfield’s best-known landmarks for more than 70 years. Richard Dodds (1851-1921) went into business at the corner when he bought … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Prominent figures, Social life | 4 Comments