Category Archives: Spectacles

LincolnFest (1981-93)

Posted on July 3, 2019 by editor

LincolnFest, Springfield’s Fourth of July street festival, lasted from 1981 through 1993. Aside from fireworks, the free two-day festival offered games, parades, carnival rides, and activities for kids and seniors. Highlights of each year’s event were free performances by nationally … Continue reading →

Posted in Amusements, Celebrations, Local government, Spectacles | 4 Comments

Armistice celebrations, Nov. 11, 1918

Posted on November 10, 2018 by editor

On Nov. 11, 1918, the parades started at 4 a.m. News that negotiators had agreed on an armistice to end World War I reached Springfield shortly after 2:30 a.m. that Monday. Middle of the night or not, celebrations – spontaneous, … Continue reading →

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Great National Horse Show and Equestrian Fair, 1865

Posted on September 23, 2018 by editor

The 11th annual Great National Horse Show and Equestrian Fair, held on the outskirts of Springfield in August 1865, was neither national nor, apparently, all that great. But it did draw Harper’s Weekly, the era’s most popular magazine, to central … Continue reading →

Posted in Amusements, Illustrations, Maps, Spectacles, Sports and recreation | Leave a comment

Courthouse square locomotive

Posted on December 17, 2017 by editor

Two thousand people filled Adams Street in 1915 to watch a steam locomotive puff its way from Third Street to the courthouse square. The engine – the Chicago & Alton Railroad’s No. 533 – was set up on the south … Continue reading →

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Second Christmas parade (1929)

Posted on December 8, 2017 by editor

Correction: This entry has been retitled. The first Christmas parade (smaller and less formal) in Springfield was held in 1914. You can read about it here. Embarrasssed apologies from SangamonLink’s editor, who wrote both entries, for forgetting the first one. And … Continue reading →

Posted in Amusements, Celebrations, Children, Department stores, Depression, Spectacles | 1 Comment

The Harrison Revival, 1886

Posted on November 8, 2017 by editor

Thomas Harrison, “the boy preacher,” was well past boyhood when he arrived in Springfield for a revival series in January 1886. It’s not clear, in fact, that he was ever that boyish in the pulpit – Harrison, born in Boston … Continue reading →

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Whig Party rally, 1840 (letter)

Posted on September 3, 2017 by editor

The Whig Party of Illinois held a giant rally in Springfield from June 2 to June 4, 1840, in support of their presidential candidate, William Henry Harrison. (Harrison and vice-president candidate John Tyler were known by their slogan “Tippecanoe and … Continue reading →

Posted in Celebrations, Politics, Prominent figures, Spectacles | Leave a comment

Tree-sitting fad, 1930

Posted on April 3, 2017 by editor

Endurance tree-sitting – climbing trees and staying in them as long as possible – captivated Springfield youngsters, and amused newspaper readers, for several weeks in mid-1930. The local tree-sitters were part of a brief nationwide craze for the stunt. “Long … Continue reading →

Posted in Amusements, Children, Spectacles | 3 Comments

Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, 1933

Posted on January 16, 2017 by editor

“The Greatest Show on Earth” might have been at the height of its glory when the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus arrived in Springfield on Aug. 28, 1933. The traveling Big Top promised 100 clowns and 800 “arenic … Continue reading →

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First Christmas parade (1914)

Posted on December 22, 2016 by editor

Thousands of people turned out to see Santa Claus parade through Springfield on Christmas Eve 1914, but the parade, which was part of a much larger communitywide holiday celebration, wasn’t repeated for another 15 years. Children – “urchins,” as the … Continue reading →

Posted in Amusements, Celebrations, Spectacles | Leave a comment