Photo of the Week, 34: Bloomington that-a-way?

In 1929, an
“air marker" was placed atop The Daily Pantagraph building in downtown
Bloomington. Why then did this sign tell pilots that Bloomington is five
miles further to the north? The answer is
simple. The sign was intended to guide pilots to the Bloomington
Airport, which at that time was located in rural Normal Township north
of the Town of Normal.
This airport, dedicated May 30, 1928,
was replaced in late 1934 when the much larger and more modern
Bloomington Municipal Airport (now known as Central Illinois Regional
Airport—or CIRA) opened on Bloomington's east side.
Back in
the days before navigation aids such as beacon radar—to say nothing of
today's Global Positioning System (GPS)—these air marker signs played a
helpful role guiding pilots to their chosen destinations.
In
1935, The Pantagraph razed its three-story 1887 building (seen here) and
built a new two-story, Art Deco-style building in its place. The
newspaper's press remained in operation during the construction, and the
new building was built around and above it!
Like so much of
downtown Bloomington, many of the lovely buildings depicted here have
long since fallen to the wrecking ball, sacrificed for surface parking
lots. The old Daily Bulletin newspaper building (to the immediate right,
or north, of The Pantagraph); the Illinois Traction System depot (to
the north of The Bulletin); and the YWCA building (occupying the
northwest corner of the block) are all gone.