Category Archives: Buildings

Downtown business map, 1913

Posted on August 19, 2016 by editor

The Oct. 7 and 8, 1913, editions of the Illinois State Register, published during the Illinois State Fair (then held in the fall) included a map of the area surrounding Springfield’s courthouse square that showed many of the city’s downtown … Continue reading →

Posted in Buildings, Business, Illustrations, Maps | 8 Comments

Chesapeake Seafood House

Posted on July 19, 2016 by editor

NOTE: This entry has been edited. See below. The home that makes up the core of the Chesapeake Seafood House, 3045 Clear Lake Ave., was built sometime after 1857 by John McGredy, a 19th-century Scottish immigrant turned nurseryman. McGredy apparently … Continue reading →

Posted in Buildings, Early residents, Prominent figures, Restaurants | Leave a comment

The Lake Club

Posted on July 14, 2016 by editor

NOTE: This entry has been edited. See below. The Lake Club, 2840 Fox Road, brought top national performers – Mickey Rooney, the Mills Brothers, Guy Lombardo, Pearl Bailey, Lawrence Welk and many more – to Springfield in the 1940s, ‘50s … Continue reading →

Posted in Amusements, Buildings, Business, Crime and vice, Hotels & taverns, Law enforcement, Prominent figures, Social life | 22 Comments

Dudley Hotel

Posted on July 11, 2016 by editor

The Negro Motorist Green Book, a nationwide guide for the African-American traveler, for 20 years listed only one hotel in Springfield as open to blacks: the Dudley Hotel, 130 S. 11th St. The Dudley and its predecessors at the same … Continue reading →

Posted in African Americans, Buildings, Business, Hotels & taverns, Prominent figures | Leave a comment

Leland Hotel

Posted on July 8, 2016 by editor

The Leland Hotel, on the northwest corner of Sixth Street and Capitol Avenue, played host to travelers, party-goers, celebrities and politicians for 103 years in Springfield. The hotel probably got its most extensive public notice when it served as national … Continue reading →

Posted in Amusements, Buildings, Hotels & taverns, Prominent figures | 5 Comments

Oldest home in Sangamon County

Posted on June 20, 2016 by editor

A log cabin built in 1823 by James Walters – now part of a larger farmhouse, but still standing – was identified in 2016 as the oldest home in Sangamon County. See Riddle Hill.

Posted in Buildings, Early residents | Leave a comment

Oak Ridge Abbey (mausoleum)

Posted on May 1, 2016 by editor

When Springfield’s first mausoleum was built, its builders played on people’s fears of disease, grave robbery, decomposition and neglect. What’s more, they promised, interment in the Oak Ridge Abbey would protect against the possibility of premature burial. The interior of … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Buildings, Local government | Leave a comment

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

Springfield square, 1859 (photos)

Posted on January 18, 2016 by editor

These photographs showing the four sides of the public square in 1859 are the most frequently viewed scenes of Springfield life during the years Abraham Lincoln lived in the city. They were taken by Preston Butler (1818-??), who had a … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Buildings, Lincoln, Abraham | Leave a comment