Category Archives: Architecture

Chatterton Opera House roof collapse, 1887

Posted on March 20, 2021 by editor

There was no audience inside when the roof of the Chatterton Opera House collapsed on Aug. 9, 1887. “The blue sky is now the only covering that shelters the auditorium of the once beautiful interior,” the Illinois State Journal reported. … Continue reading →

Posted in Amusements, Architecture, Arts and letters, Buildings, Disasters, Theaters | Leave a comment

The Majestic theatre, 1907-35

Posted on February 23, 2021 by editor

“Springfield society assembled en masse on the evening of May 23, 1907, when the Majestic Theatre opened its doors for the first time”, the Illinois State Register reported in 1935. By then, the Majestic, 415-21 S. Fifth St., was no … Continue reading →

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Roxy theater

Posted on February 7, 2021 by editor

“One of the city’s oldest, largest and most reliable babysitters, the Roxy Theater, will fall to the state of Illinois headache ball.” So wrote State-Journal Register critic Paul Povse in September 1978. Indeed, the demise of the Roxy was a … Continue reading →

Posted in Amusements, Architecture, Social life, Theaters | 2 Comments

Old Capitol restoration, 1960s

Posted on October 27, 2020 by editor

Before the Old State Capitol was restored to the way it looked in the 1850s, the building housed Springfield’s public restrooms. You could tell by the odor. Earl “Wally” Henderson (1931-2016), co-founder with Don Ferry of the Ferry & Henderson … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Buildings, First Citizens, Historic Sites, Illinois capital, Local government, Museums, National Register, Prominent figures, Sangamon County, State government | Leave a comment

Alfred Booth, grocer, developer

Posted on June 13, 2020 by editor

Alfred Booth was a grocer and property developer in Springfield for more than 60 years. His most obvious legacy is the eight-story Booth Building at 516-18 E. Monroe Street. At the height of his career, Booth (1853-1939) developed single-family residences, … Continue reading →

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Carnegie library pillars

Posted on May 5, 2020 by editor

The five limestone columns that face the courtyard of the Washington Park Horticulture Center make up the last exterior remains of Springfield’s old Carnegie library. Andrew Carnegie paid part of the construction cost of the old library, which opened in … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Arts and letters, Parks, Uncategorized | 3 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

Brinkerhoff Home

Posted on January 24, 2020 by editor

The Brinkerhoff Home, which in 2020 sat buttoned-up and unused on the former campus of Benedictine University Springfield, was designed in the 1860s by Elijah E. Myers, who would go on to be one of 19th-century America’s best known, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Buildings, Historic Sites, National Register, Prominent figures | 7 Comments

DeWitt Smith Building fire, 1918

Posted on September 3, 2019 by editor

When the DeWitt Smith Building caught fire in 1918, modern firefighting equipment saved the building, and a heroic elevator operator rescued many of its tenants. Even so, the top floors of the building, on the southeast corner of Fourth and … Continue reading →

Posted in African Americans, Architecture, Auto dealers, Buildings, Disasters, Local government | 2 Comments

St. Patrick Parish, Springfield

Posted on August 22, 2019 by editor

The flag of Ireland lay draped beside the Stars and Stripes at a banquet held at the St. Nicholas Hotel on St. Patrick’s Day 1915. Springfield’s Irish Fellowship, led by the Irish-born Rev. Timothy Hickey, had organized Lá Fhéile Pádraig, … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Churches, Ethnic groups, Irish, Irish, Schools and school districts | 1 Comment