Category Archives: Uncategorized

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

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

Route 66: Where are all the people going? (1946)

Posted on March 3, 2026 by editor

Wilford Kramer, chief editorial writer for the Illinois State Journal, saw problems with the post-World War II widening of Route 66 from two lanes to four. This is a reprint of “Upon Reflection,” Kramer’s regular editorial page column, printed on … Continue reading →

Posted in Journalism, Media, Prominent figures, Route 66, Transportation, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Auburn’s double-decker bandstand

Posted on January 18, 2026 by editor

The double-decker bandstand on the Auburn square evokes the early 1900s, when growing pains preoccupied Auburn residents. Today’s bandstand is a 21st-century replica of Auburn’s original two-story bandstand. The first bandstand was built in 1905, shortly after Auburn residents voted … Continue reading →

Posted in Amusements, Architecture, Celebrations, Communities, Historic Sites, Local government, Markers, Prominent figures, Route 66, Social life, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Tuxhorn Mine

Posted on January 12, 2026 by editor

The Tuxhorn Coal Mine, which opened in 1903 in the Round Prairie/Rochester area, produced more than 3 million tons of coal before it closed two decades later. As many as 250 miners worked at the mine during its most productive … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Coal mines and mining, Communities, Labor unions, Railroads, Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Rochester’s Alaskan mountain

Posted on December 13, 2025 by editor

A photo caption below has been corrected. Unlikely though it seems, Rochester, Illinois, elevation 570 feet, has a legitimate claim to a mountain in Alaska. But you have to drive 3,800 miles to see it. Mount Deborah, 12,339 feet above … Continue reading →

Posted in Prominent figures, Uncategorized, Women | 3 Comments

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

Krous Park

Posted on November 7, 2025 by editor

Beer was the lifeblood of Krous Park, which operated west of Amos Avenue in Springfield from about 1878 until the early 1910s. John G. Krous (1847-94), who owned a saloon on the northwest corner of Edwards and Baker streets (today’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Amusements, Business, Celebrations, Germans, Hotels & taverns, Local government, Markers, Prominent figures, Social life, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Kiddie Land amusement park

Posted on August 7, 2025 by editor

Kiddie Land was Springfield’s home-grown amusement park in the 1950s and ‘60s. On opening day, May 27, 1950, every child received a balloon, and rides – on the merry-go-round, ponies, boats and a fire engine – cost 13 cents each, … Continue reading →

Posted in Amusements, Business, Children, Parks, Uncategorized | 3 Comments

Antifreeze drinking party kills five, 1931

Posted on February 7, 2025 by editor

Just after Christmas 1931, a dozen ne’er-do-wells huddled in a boxcar parked along Springfield’s 10th Street railroad line, passing around a bottle of white lightning. Over the next couple of days, passersby found seven of the drinkers – sick, dying … Continue reading →

Posted in Disasters, Public health, Uncategorized | 2 Comments