Author Archives: editor

Prince Sanitarium fire, 1923

Posted on August 21, 2020 by editor

Twenty-five patients and five nurses escaped unharmed when a fire destroyed the top two floors of the David Prince Sanitarium on Aug. 23, 1923. But a Springfield Fire Department aerial truck was also a near-casualty. The Prince Sanitarium was founded … Continue reading →

Posted in Buildings, Fires, Medicine | Leave a comment

Sangamon Fair and Springfield Exposition, 1890

Posted on August 17, 2020 by editor

The Sangamon Fair and Springfield Exposition of 1890 would be “one of the grandest events in the way of a local fair that has ever been held in the state of Illinois,” the Illinois State Register proclaimed that August. Everybody … Continue reading →

Posted in Agriculture, Amusements, Illinois State Fair, Spectacles | Leave a comment

Fishman Sporting Goods

Posted on August 9, 2020 by editor

Fishman Sporting Goods was an institution for 99 years in downtown Springfield. Founder Louis Fishman emigrated to Springfield in 1887, fleeing anti-Jewish pogroms in his native Russia. He went into business on the smallest of scales, as the Illinois State … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Sports and recreation | 4 Comments

William Dodd Chenery, impresario

Posted on August 4, 2020 by editor

The dedication of Lake Springfield on July 12, 1935 featured an elaborate pageant involving more than 100 participants – among them city fathers who portrayed themselves in a drama depicting the planning and construction of the lake. The Illinois State … Continue reading →

Posted in Amusements, Arts and letters, Celebrations, Hotels & taverns, Prominent figures, Social life, Spectacles | Leave a comment

Killing of police detective, 1938

Posted on July 26, 2020 by editor

A work disappointment sent James Young into an emotional crisis on Jan. 11, 1938, culminating in the deaths of both Young and Springfield Police Detective Patrick Gilmore. Florence Young told officers later the incident began that morning, when her husband … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and vice, Law enforcement | Leave a comment

First computer (1954)

Posted on July 24, 2020 by editor

The Franklin Life Insurance Co. had to tear out windows and walls to accommodate Springfield’s first computer. Then it had to hire a derrick to hoist the “electronic brain” five floors up. Franklin Life ordered the $1 million Univac from … Continue reading →

Posted in Business | Leave a comment

Good Will Girls (1920s)

Posted on July 19, 2020 by editor

The Good Will Girls were the brainchild of a convicted con man, but they became the stars of a Springfield Chamber of Commerce bid to attract out-of-town shoppers in the 1920s. The chamber periodically sponsored car caravans to outlying communities … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Springfield, Women | Leave a comment

Murder-extortion gang, 1932

Posted on July 13, 2020 by editor

A wild shootout in Christian County in 1932 ended the bloody history of a Springfield-based murder and extortion gang. Authorities claimed their followup investigation solved a half-dozen area slayings. But Springfield’s chief of detectives struggled to explain why police hadn’t … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and vice, Italians, Law enforcement | Leave a comment

Bachmann & Keefner Pharmacy

Posted on July 10, 2020 by editor

When it closed in 2003, Bachmann & Keefner Pharmacy, with its black-and-white mosaic floor, handsome walnut paneling and fire-engine-red bar stools, ended a 90-year tradition at the southeast corner of Sixth Street and Capitol Avenue. The corner building, under various … Continue reading →

Posted in Buildings, Business, Medicine, Restaurants | 4 Comments

Rev. Charles Dresser (Lincoln marriage, Lincoln Home)

Posted on July 5, 2020 by editor

The man who built the cottage that became the Lincoln Home also officiated the marriage of Abraham and Mary Lincoln. His life’s work, however, was formation of the church that became Springfield’s Cathedral Church of St. Paul. Rev. Charles Dresser … Continue reading →

Posted in Buildings, Churches, Historic Sites, Lincoln, Abraham, Prominent figures | Leave a comment