Category Archives: Amusements

July 4 balloon ascension, 1858

Posted on July 6, 2022 by editor

Two balloonists were the talk of Independence Day 1858 in Springfield. The balloons were a traveling show, piloted by the “celebrated aeronauts … Messrs. White and Brooks,” the Illinois State Journal reported on July 6, 1858. “An immense crowd congregated … Continue reading →

Posted in Air travel, Amusements, Celebrations, Lincoln, Abraham, Spectacles | Leave a comment

White Oaks Mall opening day lineup (1977)

Posted on June 27, 2022 by editor

“Think of us as your Big Apple,” White Oaks Mall boasted in ads on Grand Opening Day, Aug. 24, 1977. Ninety-nine stores lined the corridors of the mall that day, including four “anchor” department stores – Myers Brothers, Famous-Barr, Sears … Continue reading →

Posted in Amusements, Buildings, Business, Department stores, Social life, Spectacles | Leave a comment

The Booker’s Tavern corner (11th and South Grand)

Posted on April 11, 2022 by editor

“Squire Butler is Dead”, proclaimed a headline in the April 12, 1902, Illinois State Journal. “George H. Butler, familiarly known as ‘Squire’ Butler, was a character in the neighborhood of his home at 1124 South Grand avenue, east,” the Journal … Continue reading →

Posted in Amusements, Buildings, Business, Hotels & taverns, Social life | 2 Comments

Springfield Sallies (professional women’s baseball)

Posted on January 25, 2022 by editor

The Springfield Sallies were one of the least successful, and also shortest-lived, teams in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. The league, whose memory was revived by the 1992 movie “A League of Their Own,” lasted from 1943 to 1954. … Continue reading →

Posted in Amusements, Parks, Prominent figures, Sports and recreation, Women | 2 Comments

Women’s golf, 1899

Posted on November 26, 2021 by editor

“A crowd of young society women in 1899 shocked the conventions of the day by reckless indulgence in a game called golf,” the Illinois State Journal recalled in 1931. Most of that sentence was nonsense. There’s no evidence anyone was … Continue reading →

Posted in Amusements, Media, Parks, Photos and photosets, Prominent figures, Social life, Sports and recreation, Women | Leave a comment

‘The Story of the House,’ by Alice Bunn

Posted on November 15, 2021 by editor

Alice Bunn (1867-1953) was born and died in the spacious home at 435 S. Sixth St. that was built by her father, Jacob Bunn, in the 1850s. The house was torn down for a parking lot in July 1953, a … Continue reading →

Posted in Amusements, Architecture, Buildings, Children, Early residents, Family life, Histories, Prominent figures, Social life, Women | 2 Comments

Early ‘base ball’: Libertys lose to Rockford, 101-13 (1869)

Posted on August 11, 2021 by editor

The hometown Liberty Base Ball Club didn’t expect to beat the Rockford Forest Citys when the celebrated Rockford team visited Springfield in 1869. City-versus-city match games were social events as much as athletic contests at the time. But that 1869 … Continue reading →

Posted in Amusements, Social life, Sports and recreation | 1 Comment

The Who at the Illinois State Fair, 1968

Posted on August 8, 2021 by editor

The amplifiers were set to top-end at the Illinois State Fair Grandstand on the evening of Aug. 9, 1968. Performing that night were Pete Townshend, Roger Daltrey, John Entwistle and Keith Moon, better known as the Who. From their dressing … Continue reading →

Posted in Amusements, Illinois State Fair, Social life | 10 Comments

Fourth of July, 1921

Posted on July 4, 2021 by editor

Springfield residents celebrated the Fourth of July 100 years ago with picnics, sports and reenactment of the World War I battle of Chateau Thierry. There was no single community fireworks show, but a showy sunset, caused by a dust and … Continue reading →

Posted in Amusements, Celebrations, Military, Social life, Spectacles | Leave a comment

Skyrocket Inn

Posted on June 30, 2021 by editor

What to do after a long day – and night – at the Illinois State Fair? The after-fair, after-hours mecca for everyone from carnies to Hell’s Angels to local movers and shakers was the Skyrocket Inn, right across the street … Continue reading →

Posted in Amusements, Business, Hotels & taverns, Illinois State Fair, Lithuanians, Lithuanians, Social life | 3 Comments