Category Archives: Buildings

Mary Bryant Home

Posted on March 8, 2020 by editor

The genesis of Springfield’s Mary Bryant Home for the Blind and Visually Impaired was the meager life savings of a blind woman who understood the need for a safe home. Mary Bryant, born in Chicago in 1854, lost her sight … Continue reading →

Posted in Buildings, Public health, Social services, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Broadwell’s building

Posted on January 30, 2020 by editor

This entry has been edited to correct information in a photo caption. The building on the northwest corner of Fifth and Washington streets in Springfield was a drugstore for about 125 years. While that tradition ended in 1981, the old … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Buildings, Business, Historic Sites, Medicine, Prominent figures | 2 Comments

Brinkerhoff Home

Posted on January 24, 2020 by editor

The Brinkerhoff Home at Fifth Street and Keys Avenue was designed in the 1860s by Elijah E. Myers, who would go on to be one of 19th-century America’s best known, and least reputable, architects. The three-story, red brick mansion at … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Buildings, Historic Sites, National Register, Prominent figures | 9 Comments

First self-service grocery (1918), first supermarket (1940)

Posted on October 14, 2019 by editor

The opening of Springfield’s first self-service grocery in March 1918 meant lower prices – thanks to the layoffs of three clerks. The innovator was Moran Market on the northwest corner of Eighth and Washington streets, whose manager, Clyde McElroy, announced … Continue reading →

Posted in Buildings, Business, Grocery markets | 10 Comments

Fred R. Coats Co.

Posted on September 13, 2019 by editor

This entry has been updated and expanded. Fred R. Coats deserves to be ranked with Robert Lanphier, John W. Hobbs and the Weaver brothers among Springfield’s top industrialists and innovators. Coats (1865-1951), born in Bennington, N.Y., came to Springfield with … Continue reading →

Posted in Buildings, Business, Industry, Prominent figures | 5 Comments

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

Basketball tournament in Illinois State Fairgrounds Coliseum, 1933

Posted on July 18, 2019 by editor

Repairs to the Illinois State Fairgrounds Coliseum, under way in summer 2019, will include heating and air-conditioning systems. But the building was unheated in the winter of 1933, when the Coliseum played host to a boys high school basketball tournament. … Continue reading →

Posted in Amusements, Buildings, Depression, Schools and school districts, Sports and recreation | 2 Comments

Springfield in 1939, according to the Federal Writers Project

Posted on June 10, 2019 by editor

Editor: This entry, originally published in 2014, has been revised and expanded. Illinois: A Descriptive and Historical Guide was part of the American Guide series, which profiled each of the then-existing 48 states during the 1930s. The American Guides were … Continue reading →

Posted in Buildings, Communities, Depression, Historic Sites, Histories, Illinois capital, Lincoln, Abraham, Maps, Markers, Springfield, Transportation | 2 Comments

Sacred Heart Church

Posted on April 14, 2019 by editor

It was a warm day in June 1884 when Catholics gathered on 12th Street near Cook Street in Springfield to lay the cornerstone for what was to be the area’s second German-oriented Catholic church. The two-story brick building, which included … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Buildings, Churches, Ethnic groups, Germans, Slovenians | 26 Comments

The Cottage Garden

Posted on February 26, 2019 by editor

Springfield banker Nicholas Ridgely (1800-88) turned his love of plants and gardens into a business in 1849 when he started the Cottage Garden and Nursery in the area roughly bounded by 13th, 15th, Washington and Reynolds streets. Ridgely, who owned … Continue reading →

Posted in Agriculture, Buildings, Business, Early residents, Farming, Lincoln, Abraham, Prominent figures | Leave a comment