Category Archives: Architecture

Downtown arches

Posted on September 17, 2015 by editor

The steel arches that once dominated the four corners of Springfield’s downtown square went from being a graceful addition to an eyesore in barely 20 years. Actually, Springfield erected two sets of arches on the square in the late 1800s. … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Business, Celebrations, Local government | Leave a comment

The Coal Palace

Posted on June 10, 2015 by editor

Sangamon County showed off its most valuable mineral by building a “grand coal palace” for the 1889 county fair. The idea for the palace apparently originated with an unidentified Illinois State Journal staff member only two weeks before the scheduled … Continue reading →

Posted in Amusements, Architecture, Buildings, Business, Coal mines and mining, Industry, Labor unions, Spectacles | Leave a comment

Gehrmann Park

Posted on June 7, 2015 by editor

The development of Gehrmann Park in 1946 caused the destruction of what then probably was Springfield’s oldest building – a log cabin built by one of the Kellys, the city’s first European settlers. The three-acre park between Third and Fourth … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Early residents, Parks, Prominent figures | Leave a comment

Lincoln Tomb custodian’s home

Posted on May 10, 2015 by editor

A contract to build a home for the custodian of the Lincoln Tomb was awarded to Col. James Culver’s contracting company in August 1895. The cost was $2,500, and the design was very specific. The Illinois State Journal spelled it … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Buildings, Historic Sites, Lincoln Tomb | Leave a comment

Executive Mansion demolition plan, 1963

Posted on February 10, 2015 by editor

Postponed maintenance, repair crises and general dilapidation have been recurring problems at the Illinois Executive Mansion – most recently in 2014 and 2015, when a leaky roof and mold in the basement helped create a need for more than $5 … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Buildings, Historic Sites, Illinois capital, State government | 1 Comment

Lincoln Library Carnegie building, 1904-74

Posted on February 5, 2015 by editor

Springfield residents fondly remember the city’s Carnegie library, opened in 1904 and demolished in 1974, for some of the same features that ultimately made the building unsuitable as a library. The library was memorably described by Margaret Boswell in an … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Arts and letters, Buildings, Local government | 13 Comments

The Historic Preservation Association of Springfield

Posted on December 19, 2014 by editor

Note: This post has been revised by the author. By the middle 1980s, the preservation of historically and architecturally significant buildings had become the subject of growing attention in Springfield. This attention reflected national trends, as well as regret over … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Historic Sites, Local government, National Register, Springfield | 3 Comments

Lincoln Tomb statuary (original)

Posted on November 18, 2014 by editor

This entry is a lightly edited version of a presentation given by Mark Johnson, historian for the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, to the 2014 volunteer dinner hosted by the now-defunct Lincoln Monument Association, a non-profit support group for the Lincoln … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Arts and letters, Historic Sites, Lincoln Tomb, Lincoln, Abraham, Military, National Register | 3 Comments

The Pasfield House

Posted on September 28, 2014 by editor

In 1896, at age 26, George Pasfield Jr., the third in a line of George Pasfields who played major roles in the growth and development of Springfield, began construction of a new residence at Jackson and Pasfield streets. The home … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Historic Sites, Hotels & taverns | 2 Comments

Lora Hieronymus Robie (educator and book lover)

Posted on July 12, 2014 by editor

Lora Hieronymus Robie, one-half of the couple who had Frank Lloyd Wright design Chicago’s famed Robie House, spent far more time as a Springfield resident than she did in the house named after her and her husband. Lora Robie (1878-1947) … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Business, Education, Prominent figures, Women | Tagged , | 7 Comments