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Category Archives: Prominent figures
Springfield hotels turn away Black singing group, 1881
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
‘A Palatial Barroom’ (1898)
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
Piggly Wiggly/Eisner grocery stores
“The Pig” sold its last pork chop on Nov. 11, 1951. That was the date when Springfield’s 11 Piggly Wiggly stores became Eisner Food Stores. “Frankly, we shall feel a measure of relief in being no longer referred to as … Continue reading
Posted in Business, Grocery markets, Prominent figures
3 Comments
Coney Island restaurant
On a sunny April day in 1989, hungry Springfieldians lined up to savor a hot dog from the Coney Island Restaurant at 114 N. Sixth St. The line, which wrapped around the block, included citizens from all walks of life, … Continue reading
Posted in Business, Celebrations, Ethnic groups, Greeks, Prominent figures, Restaurants
4 Comments
Sangamo Club
The very first Sangamo Club boasted a technological marvel: a telephone that could be raised and lowered between the first and second floors. The Sangamo Club, founded in 1890, closed, apparently permanently, in June 2023. Over 133 years in existence, … Continue reading
Posted in Amusements, Buildings, Prominent figures, Social life, Uncategorized
2 Comments
Grunendike delivery prank, 1936
The deliveries began at 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 7, 1936. One after another, merchants, tradesmen, delivery people and cab drivers, even a veterinarian, knocked on the door of the Grunendike home at 500 S. Sixth St. They brought cakes, … Continue reading
Posted in Amusements, Prominent figures
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Former fire chief killed in World’s Fair blaze, 1893
Seventeen people died in a spectacular fire during the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair. One was former Springfield Fire Marshal John H. Freeman. Following his second stint as fire marshal (today’s fire chief), Freeman enlisted with the World’s Fair fire company. … Continue reading
Posted in Disasters, Fires, Local government, Prominent figures
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Springfield loses a newspaper, 1919
The News-Record, the last credible challenger to the Illinois State Journal and Illinois State Register in Springfield’s daily newspaper market, published its final edition on May 5, 1919. The closure was a good deal for everybody concerned … except maybe … Continue reading
Posted in Business, Communications, Journalism, Media, Prominent figures, Uncategorized
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Saloon free lunches
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
Drowning of Mayor Griffiths, 1907
Springfield Mayor David Griffiths and Fire Chief Peter Jacobs were on their way to a day of fishing June 12, 1907. When they took a wrong turn, their buggy overturned in a Sangamon River backwater slough. Neither man could swim. … Continue reading