This photo of C.U. Williams and Son Co., 207 E. Washington St., Bloomington, dates to 1914. It was part of a Williams advertisement appearing in a souvenir program for a December 7-8, 1914 minstrel show staged by the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, Bloomington Lodge 281, at the Chatterton Opera House on E. Market St. C.U. Williams & Son Co. opened this four-story automobile showroom and garage in 1911. Five years later a second building opened to the immediate east (left) with the Castle Theater on the street level and Williams & Son occupying the upper floors for additional garage space. Both buildings had freight elevators large enough to accommodate autos. This 1914 advertisement highlighted Williams & Son's “livery" service, or what we would call the car rental business today. “Auto livery day and night," read the advertisement. “Open and closed autos by the hour, trip or day … Positively the best autos ever put in livery service in the city. Phone us next time you need a conveyance." For more information on C.U. Williams & Son, see Bill Kemp's most recent Sunday Pantagraph “A Page from Our Past" column at http://www.pantagraph.com/news/local/c-u-williams-son-led-bloomington-into-auto-age/article_3528cf76-788c-11e2-b6b6-001a4bcf887a.html
