Category Archives: Auto dealers

Elevator Milling Co. fire, 1927

Posted on August 9, 2023 by editor

As many as 5,000 people stood in pouring rain the evening of April 8, 1927, watching as a historic grain mill and elevator went up in flames across from the Third Street railroad station. The massive blaze destroyed 45,000 bushels … Continue reading →

Posted in Auto dealers, Buildings, Business, Disasters, Fires, Industry, Mills, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Springfield Auto Club ‘safety lanes’

Posted on February 5, 2022 by editor

Fifteen hundred motorists pulled their vehicles through the Springfield Automobile Club’s free “safety lane” on the south side of the downtown square in April 1930. Some did it twice. Safety lanes were a nationwide initiative of the American Automobile Association, … Continue reading →

Posted in Auto dealers, Business, Transportation | Leave a comment

DeWitt Smith Building fire, 1918

Posted on September 3, 2019 by editor

When the DeWitt Smith Building caught fire in 1918, modern firefighting equipment saved the building, and a heroic elevator operator rescued many of its tenants. Even so, the top floors of the building, on the southeast corner of Fourth and … Continue reading →

Posted in African Americans, Architecture, Auto dealers, Buildings, Disasters, Local government | 2 Comments

Johnston-Hatcher fires, 1907 & 1913

Posted on March 4, 2017 by editor

The Johnston-Hatcher Co. sold home furnishings of all kinds from 1899 to 1949 in downtown Springfield. The store, however, fell victim to two of the city’s most devastating early 20th-century fires. Johnston-Hatcher was the creation of two sets of brothers … Continue reading →

Posted in Agriculture, Airport, Amusements, Auto dealers, Buildings, Business, Crime and vice, Disasters, Farming, Fires, Presidents, Prominent figures, Uncategorized | 3 Comments

Hotel Normandie

Posted on April 3, 2016 by editor

The Hotel Normandie, 311-15 S. Fourth St., opened in May 1896 under the management of “old hotel man” M.M. Armstrong, the Illinois State Journal reported. The interior of the building has recently been thoroughly remodeled and renovated, finished off with … Continue reading →

Posted in Auto dealers, Buildings, Business, Hotels & taverns, Prominent figures | Leave a comment

The Extraordinary Ordinary — 113 W. Mulberry St., Chatham

Posted on March 21, 2016 by editor

Note: This entry has been revised, thanks to information provided by Chatham-area Facebook users. Buildings customarily gain historic reputations from their age or because of their connections to a prominent person or event.  We also like them decorated in an … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Auto dealers, Buildings, Business, Prominent figures, Transportation | 2 Comments

Cadillac garage, 1912 (photo)

Posted on November 12, 2014 by editor

L. Lee Savage sold Cadillacs in Springfield from 1911 into 1914. His first dealership was at 312 W. Washington St. This photo, from 1912, shows Savage’s second location at Fifth Street and Lawrence Avenue. The Cadillac Co. of Springfield took … Continue reading →

Posted in Auto dealers, Business, Photos and photosets, Transportation | Leave a comment

Auto dealers in Springfield (Studebaker through Yugo)

Posted on July 1, 2014 by editor

Note: This is one in a five-part list of automobile brands sold in Springfield through mid-2014 and the dealers who sold them. The list is broken up because of the length of the full list. The original list was compiled by … Continue reading →

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Auto dealers in Springfield (Oakland through Stoddard-Dayton)

Posted on July 1, 2014 by editor

Note: This is one in a five-part list of automobile brands sold in Springfield through mid-2014 and the dealers who sold them. The list is broken up because of the length of the full list. The original list was compiled by … Continue reading →

Posted in Auto dealers, Business | 1 Comment

Auto dealers in Springfield (Ingram through Nissan)

Posted on July 1, 2014 by editor

Note: This is one in a five-part list of automobile brands sold in Springfield through mid-2014 and the dealers who sold them. The list is broken up because of the length of the full list. The original list was compiled by … Continue reading →

Posted in Auto dealers, Business | 1 Comment