Category Archives: Amusements

First moving picture/first full-time movie theater

Posted on December 1, 2023 by editor

It’s impossible to know for sure when Springfield residents saw their first “moving picture,” but the likely dates are Jan. 1-2, 1897, when the Stephenson Post of the Grand Army of the Republic held a fundraiser at the Central Music … Continue reading →

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First talking movie

Posted on November 21, 2023 by editor

Harry T. Loper (1860-1948), historically linked to Springfield’s race riot of 1908, also introduced talking movies to Springfield. Loper went into the restaurant business when he moved to Springfield from Greenfield in 1883, and Loper’s Restaurant at 223 S. Fifth … Continue reading →

Posted in Amusements, Architecture, Buildings, Business, Prominent figures, Restaurants, Social life, Theaters, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Springfield, “The Flower City”

Posted on November 8, 2023 by editor

Springfield’s sometime-nickname, “The Flower City,” apparently originated with a Chicago newspaper story published in 1857. But it didn’t catch on for another 20 years, at first mainly when local improvement advocates complained that the city – particularly its muddy streets … Continue reading →

Posted in Amusements, Celebrations, Illinois State Fair, Local government, Spectacles, Women | 2 Comments

‘The Big O’ fire, 1908

Posted on October 31, 2023 by editor

The Olympic theater – better known as “the Big O” – advertised “strictly refined vaudeville.” But newspaper reporters and state regulators suspected patrons got a bit more for their 15 cents. So the Illinois State Journal saw some justice in … Continue reading →

Posted in Amusements, Business, Crime and vice, Disasters, Fires, Hotels & taverns, Social life, Theaters | Leave a comment

“The Gay ’90s” in Springfield

Posted on September 13, 2023 by editor

In 1943, V.Y. Dallman, longtime editor and columnist for the Illinois State Register, published a three-part reminiscence of the “Gay ‘90s” – at least, as they were experienced by Springfield’s upper crust. The series was written by a certified member … Continue reading →

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Springfield hotels turn away Black singing group, 1881

Posted on September 2, 2023 by editor

Springfield hotels refused to house America’s best-known Black choral group in 1881. The result was nationwide condemnation, a rebuke from President James A. Garfield, and a scramble by embarrassed local residents to repair the city’s reputation. The group was the … Continue reading →

Posted in Abolitionism, African Americans, Amusements, Arts and letters, Hotels & taverns, Presidential candidates, Prominent figures, Social life | 3 Comments

‘A Palatial Barroom’ (1898)

Posted on August 27, 2023 by editor

When Harry Lane opened his new saloon at 415 E. Washington St. in 1898, he wanted you to know: It was no bucket of blood. Rough-and-tumble tipplers patronized the workingmen’s bars (and worse) that lined the streets of “the Levee” … Continue reading →

Posted in Amusements, Buildings, Business, Crime and vice, Hotels & taverns, Prominent figures, Restaurants, Social life, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Sangamo Club

Posted on July 9, 2023 by editor

The very first Sangamo Club boasted a technological marvel: a telephone that could be raised and lowered between the first and second floors. The Sangamo Club, founded in 1890, closed, apparently permanently, in June 2023. Over 133 years in existence, … Continue reading →

Posted in Amusements, Buildings, Prominent figures, Social life, Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Grunendike delivery prank, 1936

Posted on July 4, 2023 by editor

The deliveries began at 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 7, 1936. One after another, merchants, tradesmen, delivery people and cab drivers, even a veterinarian,  knocked on the door of the Grunendike home at 500 S. Sixth St. They brought cakes, … Continue reading →

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Saloon free lunches

Posted on May 18, 2023 by editor

In November 1927, Illinois State Journal writer A.L. Bowen embarked on a three-day series of columns remembering the restaurants, saloons and hotels that dotted downtown Springfield when he arrived in the city at the turn of the 20th century. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Amusements, Business, Hotels & taverns, Prominent figures, Restaurants, Social life, Uncategorized | Leave a comment