Category Archives: Buildings

St. John’s Sanitarium

Posted on November 19, 2024 by editor

St. John’s Sanitarium near Riverton was a refuge for tuberculosis patients and disabled children for more than 50 years. The project was the idea of a Catholic priest, the Rev. Joseph Straub, and the final product was almost as elaborate … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Buildings, Churches, Medicine, Prominent figures, Public health, Social services | 3 Comments

‘Rachel,’ the Springfield High School ghost

Posted on October 22, 2024 by editor

There is some truth to the folklore around “Rachel,” the supposed ghost that haunts Springfield High School. SHS was built on the former site of Hutchinson Cemetery, once the city’s largest graveyard. Hutchinson Cemetery covered five acres southwest of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Buildings, Education, Schools and school districts, Videos | Leave a comment

Springfield High School sketches, 1930 (Alda Raulin)

Posted on October 8, 2024 by editor

                                    Alda Raulin captured classic views of Springfield High School in five line drawings that led off the 1930 edition of The Capitoline, … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Arts and letters, Buildings, Education, Illustrations, Lithuanians, Lithuanians, Schools and school districts, Uncategorized | 1 Comment

413-15 E. Adams St. fire, 2024

Posted on June 20, 2024 by editor

Furniture stores occupied the building at 413-15 E. Adams St. for more than 70 of its 121 years in existence. The three-story structure, devastated by a fire on June 19, 2024, was torn down the next day. Leonard Reisch (1858-1933), … Continue reading →

Posted in Buildings, Business, Fires | 1 Comment

The Oak Ridge Park pagoda

Posted on January 12, 2024 by editor

In the 19th century, the Oak Ridge Pagoda drew merrymakers, thrill-seekers, and sometimes street gangs to what now is Lincoln Park. But the building’s last users were a few pitiful victims of what might have been smallpox. Oak Ridge Park, … Continue reading →

Posted in Amusements, Buildings, Crime and vice, Local government, Parks, Public health, Social life, Sports and recreation, Transportation | Leave a comment

First moving picture/first full-time movie theater

Posted on December 1, 2023 by editor

It’s impossible to know for sure when Springfield residents saw their first “moving picture,” but the likely dates are Jan. 1-2, 1897, when the Stephenson Post of the Grand Army of the Republic held a fundraiser at the Central Music … Continue reading →

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First talking movie

Posted on November 21, 2023 by editor

Harry T. Loper (1860-1948), historically linked to Springfield’s race riot of 1908, also introduced talking movies to Springfield. Loper went into the restaurant business when he moved to Springfield from Greenfield in 1883, and Loper’s Restaurant at 223 S. Fifth … Continue reading →

Posted in Amusements, Architecture, Buildings, Business, Prominent figures, Restaurants, Social life, Theaters, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

St. Joseph Church construction, 1960s (video)

Posted on November 12, 2023 by editor

Parishioners of St. Joseph Catholic Church in Springfield attended Mass in their new church for the first time on Thanksgiving Day 1967. The modernistic, in-the-round sanctuary was a break from tradition for the historic parish, which was founded in 1875. … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Buildings, Churches, Videos | 2 Comments

Thorne Deuel, museum director

Posted on October 20, 2023 by editor

Thorne Deuel, director of the Illinois State Museum for nearly 25 years, literally made it the institution it is today. Deuel (1890-1984) was a research associate at the University of Chicago, specializing in anthropology and archaeology related to Native Americans … Continue reading →

Posted in Arts and letters, Buildings, Illinois capital, Military, Museums, Prominent figures, Science, State government | Leave a comment

‘A Palatial Barroom’ (1898)

Posted on August 27, 2023 by editor

When Harry Lane opened his new saloon at 415 E. Washington St. in 1898, he wanted you to know: It was no bucket of blood. Rough-and-tumble tipplers patronized the workingmen’s bars (and worse) that lined the streets of “the Levee” … Continue reading →

Posted in Amusements, Buildings, Business, Crime and vice, Hotels & taverns, Prominent figures, Restaurants, Social life, Uncategorized | Leave a comment