Category Archives: Arts and letters

Sangamon County poets

Posted on December 29, 2013 by editor

For a time in the early 20th century, central Illinois was famed across the country as the home of important poets, writers who were inventing new forms of verse that spoke in the voices of a new age. If it … Continue reading →

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Franciscan Life Center (former Franciscan motherhouse)

Posted on December 12, 2013 by editor

The Hospital Sisters of St. Francis  operated a convent and church on a 300-acre site northeast of Springfield from 1917 until 2021. The order of Roman Catholic nuns, which began providing medical care in central Illinois in 1875, bought the … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Arts and letters, Churches, Public health, Social services, Women | Tagged , , , | 16 Comments

Benjamin Franklin statue

Posted on November 2, 2013 by editor

The Benjamin Franklin statue that sits in front of the former headquarters of the Franklin Life Insurance Company was unveiled on Sept. 8, 1949. Featured speaker for the ceremony was Vice President Alben Barkley. Ann Otway Byrd Castle, the great-great-great-great-great-granddaughter … Continue reading →

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Nellie Browne Duff

Posted on October 29, 2013 by editor

Nellie Browne Duff  (1888-1971) was a reporter, screenwriter, veterans’ advocate, aviatrix and provocateur in Springfield from 1917 until the late 1920s. She later moved to the Bellingham, Wash., area, where she apparently continued with some of the same pursuits. Duff … Continue reading →

Posted in Arts and letters, Journalism, Military, Prominent figures, Resources, Transportation, Women | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Elizabeth Graham (First Citizen)

Posted on October 26, 2013 by editor

Elizabeth Graham (1892-1982), though a Springfield High School English teacher and department head for nearly 40 years, is best known for her unswerving dedication to the poetry and memory of Vachel Lindsay. Graham. born in Galena, attended a Lindsay recitation … Continue reading →

Posted in Arts and letters, Education, First Citizens, Historic Sites, Lindsay, Vachel, Museums, Prominent figures, Women | Leave a comment

David Hammons (MacArthur Fellow)

Posted on October 26, 2013 by editor

David Hammons, born in Springfield in 1943, is an acclaimed New York-based artist, performance artist and sculptor who received a MacArthur Fellowship (sometimes called a “genius grant”) in 1991. According to artnet, “Hammons’s work speaks of cultural overtones; employing provocative materials … Continue reading →

Posted in African Americans, Arts and letters, Prominent figures | Leave a comment

Illinois Capitol

Posted on October 23, 2013 by editor

Today’s Illinois Capitol is the sixth building to have been so designated. The state rented the first, a two-story brick building in Kaskaskia, the first capital, for $4 a day. The next three capitols were in Vandalia, where the capital … Continue reading →

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Illinois State Library, circa 1900 (photo)

Posted on October 22, 2013 by editor

The Illinois State Library was founded in 1839 by then-Secretary of State Stephen Douglas, who reserved space for it next to his new office in what is now the Old Capitol State Historic Site. Abraham Lincoln, who used the library … Continue reading →

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Johnson & Bradford Bookstore

Posted on October 22, 2013 by editor

Johnson & Bradford Bookstore, founded in 1837, was thought to have been the oldest bookstore in Illinois when John Carroll Power produced his 1871 History of Springfield, Illinois, Its Attractions As A Home And Advantages For Business, Manufacturing, Etc. The … Continue reading →

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Kerasotes Theatres

Posted on October 21, 2013 by editor

A candy-store-turned nickelodeon in Springfield was the starting point for what for a time was the sixth-largest theater chain in the U.S. Brothers Gus  (1873-1960)  and Louis Kerasotes, both Greek immigrants, converted Gus’s confectionery at 214 S. Sixth St. into the … Continue reading →

Posted in Amusements, Arts and letters, Business, Prominent figures, Theaters | Tagged , , , , , | 10 Comments