Monthly Archives: March 2021

B.H. Luers and Sons Shoe Store

Luers Group, which in 2021 specialized in children’s shoes and school uniforms, can legitimately boast that among the children who have worn the store’s shoes were the sons of Abraham and Mary Lincoln. Luers also might be, as some articles … Continue reading

Posted in Business, Prominent figures, Uncategorized | 3 Comments

Chatterton Opera House roof collapse, 1887

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

Moonlight Garden

Moonlight Garden flourished as an open-air dance pavilion and then an indoor roller rink on Wabash Avenue for more than 35 years. Entrepreneur/showman Roy Dexheimer Sr. founded Moonlight Garden as the otherwise nameless “Open Air Dance Pavilion” in June 1927. … Continue reading

Posted in Amusements, Business, Crime and vice, Social life, Sports and recreation | 6 Comments

St. John’s Hospital

Mary Lincoln may have been one of the earliest patients to benefit from care provided by what is now the Hospital Sisters Health System. The story was handed down by a Franciscan nun, Sister Francis Dreisvogt (1849-1933), who was among … Continue reading

Posted in Germans, Lincoln, Abraham, Medicine, Public health, Social services, Uncategorized | 8 Comments

Walkathon Derby, 1934

When Springfield’s Walkathon Derby shut down on May 18, 1934, it left a mountain of unpaid bills and eight groggy couples. The competition, held in a large tent at Second and Mason streets, started May 5 with several dozen pairs … Continue reading

Posted in Amusements, Spectacles, Sports and recreation, Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Salvation Army band arrested, 1887

Springfield police arrested all 16 members of the Salvation Army Band in July 1887, after a frightened horse careened down Sixth Street, leaving chaos in its wake. The Illinois State Register described the incident, which took place about 8 p.m. … Continue reading

Posted in Churches, Local government, Uncategorized | 1 Comment