Category Archives: Hotels & taverns

Transient shelters, 1934-35

Posted on September 6, 2024 by editor

When a jobless migrant – a “hobo” or “tramp” – wandered into Springfield during the Great Depression, he might have been in for a surprise: a well-stocked shelter offering meals, a bed, work opportunities and even recreation. Springfield’s transient-aid program … Continue reading →

Posted in Depression, Hotels & taverns, Social services, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

‘Bock Beer Day’, 1870s-’80s

Posted on April 12, 2024 by editor

“Today is Bock Beer Day, and the boys will all imbibe freely of the foaming extract of hops,” the Illinois State Journal predicted the morning of May 1, 1882. It didn’t always end happily for “the boys.” Bock beer is … Continue reading →

Posted in Breweries, Business, Celebrations, Crime and vice, Hotels & taverns, Law enforcement, Social life | Leave a comment

‘The Big O’ fire, 1908

Posted on October 31, 2023 by editor

The Olympic theater – better known as “the Big O” – advertised “strictly refined vaudeville.” But newspaper reporters and state regulators suspected patrons got a bit more for their 15 cents. So the Illinois State Journal saw some justice in … Continue reading →

Posted in Amusements, Business, Crime and vice, Disasters, Fires, Hotels & taverns, Social life, Theaters | Leave a comment

Springfield hotels turn away Black singing group, 1881

Posted on September 2, 2023 by editor

Springfield hotels refused to house America’s best-known Black choral group in 1881. The result was nationwide condemnation, a rebuke from President James A. Garfield, and a scramble by embarrassed local residents to repair the city’s reputation. The group was the … Continue reading →

Posted in Abolitionism, African Americans, Amusements, Arts and letters, Hotels & taverns, Presidential candidates, Prominent figures, Social life | 3 Comments

‘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

Saloon free lunches

Posted on May 18, 2023 by editor

In November 1927, Illinois State Journal writer A.L. Bowen embarked on a three-day series of columns remembering the restaurants, saloons and hotels that dotted downtown Springfield when he arrived in the city at the turn of the 20th century. The … Continue reading →

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

Bell Miller, businesswoman

Posted on February 24, 2023 by editor

Bell Miller was only 22 in 1892, when she opened a small flower shop at her home on South Second Street. One greenhouse soon grew to seven, covering the area around First and Canedy Streets. The Illinois State Journal took … Continue reading →

Posted in Buildings, Business, Hotels & taverns, National Register, Prominent figures, Women | Leave a comment

Illinois Route 66 Hall of Fame members, Sangamon County

Posted on September 19, 2022 by editor

The Illinois Route 66 Hall of Fame includes plaques for a dozen – or so, depending on how you count them – inductees from Williamsville to Divernon in Sangamon County. U.S. Route 66, “the Mother Road,” probably the most famous … Continue reading →

Posted in Buildings, Business, Hotels & taverns, Maps, Markers, Museums, Prominent figures, Restaurants, Route 66, State government, Transportation | Leave a comment

Jerome Leland’s pigeons

Posted on June 24, 2022 by editor

In the early 20th century, Springfield hotel menus often included squab – breast of squab, “royal squab sur canape,” etc. But pigeons (the more common name for squab) made their way into the heart, not the stomach, of Jerome A. … Continue reading →

Posted in Agriculture, Animals, Buildings, Farming, Hotels & taverns, Parks, Prominent figures | 3 Comments

The Booker’s Tavern corner (11th and South Grand)

Posted on April 11, 2022 by editor

“Squire Butler is Dead”, proclaimed a headline in the April 12, 1902, Illinois State Journal. “George H. Butler, familiarly known as ‘Squire’ Butler, was a character in the neighborhood of his home at 1124 South Grand avenue, east,” the Journal … Continue reading →

Posted in Amusements, Buildings, Business, Hotels & taverns, Social life | 2 Comments