On the Square Blog
April 2nd, 2016
Mount Hope Ladies Aid Moore’s Mill Marker, August 1968
The most famous gristmill in McLean County was the one operated by the Moore family of Mount Hope Township. Situated on the south bank of Sugar Creek about three miles west of the Village of McLean, Moore's Mill survived into the 20th century, becoming the last operational water-powered mill...
1 mins read by Bill Kemp
April 1st, 2016
Courthouse Square, Bloomington East Side / Main Street, Late 1970s
This colorful view shows the 200 block of North Main Street in the late 1970s. All of these buildings are gone, including the Griesheim Building, seen on the left, the granddaddy of downtown office buildings. In late August 1984, it was lost in a spectacular blaze started by an arsonist. The Unit...
1 mins read by Bill Kemp
March 31st, 2016
Country Club Place, Bloomington Berenz Home, September 1933
This aerial, taken by The Pantagraph’s very own news plane “Scoop,” shows the Henry C. and Carrie Berenz, Jr. residence in the fall of 1933. They moved into the newly built home at 5 County Club Place in February 1930.The 1200 block of East Jefferson Street can be seen running behind the Berenz’s...
1 mins read by Bill Kemp
March 30th, 2016
Big 4 Valley Storm Sewer Project Mid-1930s, Bloomington
During the Great Depression an infusion of federal dollars through New Deal “alphabet” agencies and projects kept millions of Americans on the job and able to put food on the family table. In 1934, the Bloomington-Normal Sanitary District received a loan and grant from the Public Works Administra...
1 mins read by Bill Kemp
March 29th, 2016
Father Ric Schneider Named 2016 History Makers Honoree
Born July 21, 1932 in Louisville, KYSince Father Ric Schneider arrived in Bloomington to become the pastor of St. Mary’s Parish 23 years ago he has built St. Mary’s into an institution that contributes to the well-being of the entire community, serving the needy regardless of faith.Born Raymond T...
7 mins read by Lauren Lacy
March 29th, 2016
National Bank of Bloomington Drive-In 400 block East Washington Street, c. 1970
Much of what’s seen here is long gone, lost forever to the wrecking ball. The view is the 400 block of East Washington Street looking southwest. The “motor bank” drive-in is no longer there. Today at that location is a former dry cleaners that’s now home to Meltdown Creative Works.“A” was the Ham...
1 mins read by Bill Kemp
March 29th, 2016
Jill Hutchison Named 2016 History Makers Honoree
Born: March 8, 1945 in The Bronx, New YorkA Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame inductee and an internationally respected authority on the game, Jill Hutchison’s first brush with organized athletics was her seventh grade basketball team. But soon after, the self-proclaimed “Army brat” transfer...
6 mins read by Beth Whisman
March 29th, 2016
Jack Porter Named 2016 History Makers Honoree
Born June 4,1936 in Chicago, Illinois, Jack Porter’s passion for social justice has defined his life and career over five decades. Inspired by his Christian faith and his experiences while studying in India, Jack has long immersed himself in local struggles to end unfair housing practices, to fig...
7 mins read by Beth Whisman
March 29th, 2016
Gordon Ropp Named 2016 History Makers Honoree
Born April 5, 1933 in Normal, ILIt is impossible to study the history of agriculture and rural life in McLean County without examining the career of Gordon Ropp. His dedication to the advancement of agriculture and enrichment of rural life has played an instrumental role in shaping McLean ...
7 mins read by Lauren Lacy
March 28th, 2016
Thompson’s Restaurant, Undated 208 N. Center St., Downtown Bloomington
A longtime fixture on the west side of the Courthouse Square, Thompson’s Restaurant welcomed locals and out-of-town visitors alike for about 40 years—from the mid-1910s into the 1950s. The window sign on the left reads: “piping hot oatmeal with pure cream 10 cents.” Items listed on the far right ...
1 mins read by Bill Kemp
March 27th, 2016
Bloomington Fire Station No. 2 214 W. Washington St., c. 1883
The south side of the 200 block of West Washington Street is seen here about 1883. That’s the three-story Bloomington Fire Department Station No. 2 in the middle with the lookout “tower” and bell. The firemen posing out front are likely from Hose Co. No. 2.The business to the left of the fire sta...
1 mins read by Bill Kemp
March 25th, 2016
East Grove Street, Bloomington July 1956
Phillip Hogan (on bike) chats with Marty Weigman is this summer of 1956 scene along East Grove Street, looking east. The intersection straight ahead is Moore Street.By the mid-1950s, Dutch elm disease had ravaged many of the city’s tree-lined streets. The disease had yet to reach this stretch of ...
March 24th, 2016
Brokaw Hospital, Normal 1930s View
Advocate BroMenn Medical Center opened its doors way back in May 1896, though it was first called Deaconess Hospital. In 1901, it became Brokaw Hospital after a large donation by Bloomington plow maker Abram Brokaw. With expansion and the merger with Mennonite Hospital of Bloomington in 1991 came...
1 mins read by Bill Kemp
March 23rd, 2016
Lost Church First American Baptist of Normal
Once Normal’s oldest church building, First American Baptist was located at the northeast corner of School and Mulberry streets. It was built in 1870-1871, making it 130 years old when it was torn down on September 26, 2000, to make way for an apartment complex for Illinois State University stude...
1 mins read by Bill Kemp
March 22nd, 2016
Holiness Tabernacle Normal, 1929
The Central Illinois Holiness Association, an interdenominational camp meeting grounds, is situated east of Underwood Park off Jersey Avenue. The association dates to 1883 and was first located in Farmer City, DeWitt County. The association relocated to Normal in 1894 and this property was acquir...
1 mins read by Bill Kemp
March 21st, 2016
Mennonite School of Nursing Junior-Senior banquet, May 14, 1930
Forty nurses, doctors, and supervisors attended the annual Mennonite School of Nursing banquet on May 14, 1930, held at the Illinois Hotel in downtown Bloomington. Eloise Lehmann of Pontiac and Eula Peden of Lexington, presidents of the junior and senior classes respectively, addressed those gath...
1 mins read by Bill Kemp
March 20th, 2016
That’s Why They Call It Six Points Outer Bloomington, Early October 1933
What was once the far southwestern edge of Bloomington is seen here in this 1933 aerial. The view is looking north-northeast. “A” is Bloomington’s South Hill neighborhood; “B” Forrest Park; “C” Highland Park Golf Course (established in 1922, expanded to 18 holes in 1937); “D” the Jewish Cemetery;...
1 mins read by Bill Kemp
March 19th, 2016
Easter Egg Hunt’s Lost Children Miller Park, Bloomington, Undated
For many years, the Bloomington Parks, Recreation & Cultural Arts Department held an Easter egg hunt at Miller Park on the city’s west side. Seen here is an undated photograph of the “Lost Children” area for one such event. The three children and adult are unidentified. They’re in front of th...
1 mins read by Bill Kemp
March 18th, 2016
Village of Saybrook Center Street, 1941
Seen here is a section of downtown Saybrook in the spring of 1941. The view is from the intersection of West Lincoln and South Center streets, looking south down Center Street. The rail line barely visible in the background is the Nickel Plate Road (formerly the Lake Erie & Western and today ...
1 mins read by Bill Kemp
March 17th, 2016
General Electric Plant Route 66 “Beltline,” 1968
Hey wait minute, where did Biaggi’s Ristorante Italiano go? Clearly, back in 1968 there wasn’t much at what’s today the intersection of Veterans Parkway and GE Road! In the lower right corner, though, one can glimpse a small part of the Prairie Traveler Motel.The General Electric plant opened in ...
1 mins read by Bill Kemp
March 15th, 2016
East Washington Street 200 Block, Circa 1956
Seen here is the north side of the 200 block of East Washington Street about 1956. Partially visible on the left edge of this photograph is old Withers Library, the forerunner to Bloomington Public Library. The handsome building to the east of Withers is the Arthur L. Pillsbury designed Bloomingt...
1 mins read by Bill Kemp
March 13th, 2016
Waterless Lake Bloomington Circa July 1929
This aerial, taken by The Pantagraph’s own news plane “Scoop,” shows the northern end of under-construction Lake Bloomington in the summer of 1929. The lake’s primary dam (“A”) and the City of Bloomington water plant (“B”) are visible here.Construction of the manmade lake, which still serves as B...
1 mins read by Bill Kemp
March 12th, 2016
Another One Bites the Dust Mar-Len Hotel, June 1988
Ross Griffin of Stark Excavating keeps an eye on crane operator John Quiram as he makes short work of the Mar-Len Hotel, 309 N. Center St., in early June 1988.The City of Bloomington purchased this downtown lot, razed the building, and then gave the land to Heritage Enterprises so the lot could b...
1 mins read by Bill Kemp
March 11th, 2016
ISNU’s Milner Library October 1940
Located on the east side of the Illinois State Normal University campus, the handsome brick Georgian-style Milner Library building opened in 1940. When the current Milner Library opened in July 1976 on the north end of campus, the old Milner Library was eventually renamed Williams Hall. In other ...
1 mins read by Bill Kemp
March 10th, 2016
Heyworth High and Environs January 1933
This wonderful aerial photograph of Heyworth High School dates to January 23, 1933. The view is looking east-northeast into town.In many ways, the Village of Heyworth hasn’t changed all that much, though most of the high school shown here is gone. Today, “A” is Pit Row Sports Bar and Grill; “B” i...
1 mins read by Bill Kemp
March 9th, 2016
Fashion Show Prep, late April 1958 Octavia High School, Colfax
This late April 1958 scene shows Octavia High School student Marcella Brucker at a sewing machine working on a dress she planned to model for the May 1 Future Homemakers of America (FHA) fashion show. Fellow FHAers Judy Hoffman (middle) and Janice Weppler stand wearing their completed dresses. Oc...
1 mins read by Bill Kemp
March 9th, 2016
0 mins read by Torii Moré
March 8th, 2016
Ensenberger’s, 1925 West Side of Square, Bloomington
Back in the summer of 1925 iron workers were completing the steel frame for the new Ensenberger’s furniture store high rise. This seven-story beauty was designed by local architect Arthur L. Pillsbury. It opened in May 1926, but Pillsbury had been killed in an automobile accident the previous Oct...
1 mins read by Bill Kemp
March 7th, 2016
Special invitation to Abraham Lincoln fans
What a coup for the McLean County Museum of History to have Douglas L. Wilson speak!He is on any Abraham Lincoln fan's list of top Lincoln scholars in the nation. He is the leading authority on the work of William Herndon, Lincoln's long-time law partner and biographer which dominates a...
2 mins read by Jeffery Woodard
March 7th, 2016
The Gem Saloon, c. 1880 West Side of Courthouse Square, Bloomington
Peter J. Neuerburg (note the name on the cornice) owned The Gem from the late 1870s into the early 1880s. He is likely one of the unidentified gentlemen posing out front. Then Gem was located at 204 N. Center St., on the west side of the Courthouse (now Museum) Square.In October 1882, Neuerburg s...
1 mins read by Bill Kemp