Architecture and Historic Preservation

Articles

13 items

A scale birds-eye illustration of the Baby fold buildings. There are two large buildings connected in a T shape in the foreground, with three smaller identical buildings on the left, and one other building in the lower right.

Baby Fold donation shines spotlight on architect

One of the primary missions of the McLean County Museum of History is to acquire objects and pa...

Article

Barns fast disappearing from Corn Belt countryside

One would be hard pressed to come up with a more iconic image of the Corn Belt than the old woo...

Article

Bloomington’s Oakland School a modernist architectural gem

The post-World War II era marked a dramatic evolution—if not revolution—in the design of school...

Article

Bloomington’s oldest park turns 165 this week

“How pleasant it is, immediately after the noontide hour of a hot summer’s day,” mused The Pant...

Article

This all-steel “utility” farm building erected near LeRoy in November 1949 speaks to the transformation of Corn Belt barns in the post-World War II years, as the iconic wood-frame “big red barn” of rural Americana gave way to the utilitarian (and far less aesthetically pleasing) machine shed.

End of horse era spurs revolution in barn design

Though it may seem hard to believe, horses remained an integral part of Corn Belt farms well in...

Article

This illustration of the new Griesheim Building appeared in a 1901 Bloomington Business Men’s Association promotional piece touting the city’s reconstruction efforts after the Great Fire of June 19, 1900.

Great Fire couldn’t dampen Christmas spirit

The holiday season of 1900 brought more changes than usual for area shoppers flocking to downto...

Article

This woodcut, appearing in an April 1869 advertisement, represents the only known interior image of Frederick Niergarth’s Academy of Music.

Short-lived performance hall once city’s finest

For a few years after the end of the Civil War, the Academy of Music was Bloomington’s most ele...

Article

exterior view of Bloomington Fire Department Engine House No. 4

South side firehouse built after Great Fire of 1900

Although it hasn’t served as a Bloomington Fire Department station for well over seven decades,...

Article

The Bloomington standpipe towered over the city between 1876 and 1912. For 36 years, it was the tallest structure in the Twin Cities.

Standpipe once towered over Twin Cities

For 36 years, from 1876 to 1912, the tallest structure in the Twin Cities wasn’t a downtown Blo...

Article

The Stipp house as it looked sometime in the latter half of the 19th century. When it came down in 1904 or shortly thereafter, it was the oldest house in the Twin Cities — older even than Bloomington itself.

Stipp house was Bloomington’s oldest

For many years, a dilapidated wood frame residence on the east edge of downtown Bloomington off...

Article

‘I-house’ early Corn Belt architectural style

Along Illinois Route 165 between the rural communities of Cooksville and Colfax in eastern McLe...

Article

‘New’ Bloomington High opened in 1959

Although it may be hard to believe, the current Bloomington High School is nearly six decades o...

Article

postcard showing model of Spanish style home exterior

‘Spanish craze’ of 1920s left imprint on area architecture

American residential architecture has long favored dominant English-inspired styles. When most ...

Article

Biographies

3 items

Moratz, Paul

Paul O. Moratz had a passion for building and design that started at a young age. For 34 years ...

Biography

Pillsbury, Arthur L.

Arthur L. Pillsbury was born in Bloomington, Illinois on November 29th, 1869. He grew up in Blo...

Biography

White, Samuel

Prominent contractor and builder Samuel White’s personal and professional “rags to riches” stor...

Biography

Blog

11 items

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 t...

Blog Post

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...

Blog Post

Jesse Fell House March 1947

Town of Normal founder Jesse Fell built this house in 1856-1857, nearly a decade before the est...

Blog Post

Majestic Theatre, Bloomington May 1937

First opened in 1910, the Majestic Theatre was located at the corner of East and Washington str...

Blog Post

McHistory: When Downtown Bloomington reigned in retail

Blog Post

Photo of the Week, 122: Watterson Towers, October 1967 -- Twenty-One Stories to Go!

Watterson Towers, a 28-story residence hall complex located on the Illinois State University ca...

Blog Post

Photo of the Week, 55: McKnight & McKnight Building, August 1929

Located at the northeast corner of Center and Market streets, this downtown landmark dates to 1...

Blog Post

Photo of the Week, 70: A Real Animal House

Although both Illinois State and Illinois Wesleyan universities have their share of fraternitie...

Blog Post

Pillsbury House The Wrecking Ball Looms

This undated photograph was taken not too long before this historic house, a mix of Second Empi...

Blog Post

Santas Back in Town

Blog Post

Waiting for the wrecking ball, 1971 200 block South Main Street

These buildings, located on the west side of the 200 South Main Street, were demolished in the ...

Blog Post

Finding Aids

19 items

Arthur Pillsbury Collection

Arthur L. Pillsbury designed schools, churches, businesses, and homes, in the early 20th centur...

Finding Aid

Barn Keepers

Barns are the most important structure on a farmstead. The earliest barns in Central Illinois w...

Finding Aid

Barton House Archaeology and Family History

Milton Barton worked for Jesse Fell (founder and developer of Normal) and reportedly planted ma...

Finding Aid

Building a Home 505 Bowles

The house at 505 Bowles, Normal, IL was built from 1951 to 1953 by Raymond W. and Evelyn Paulin...

Finding Aid

Clarke, Marguerite E.

Marguerite E. (Dobson) Clarke (1916-2007) was a lifelong resident of Bloomington. She received ...

Finding Aid

Dimmitts Grove Neighborhood Association

Dimmitt’s Grove is one of Bloomington’s oldest neighborhoods. The Neighborhood Association, for...

Finding Aid

Ensenberger Building

G.A. Ensenberger and Sons had become a successful retail furniture store in Bloomington. Altho...

Finding Aid

Evans, Joseph Orme

Joseph Orme Evans (December 22, 1923-March 5, 2007) was a native of Bloomington, Illinois. He ...

Finding Aid

Historic American Buildings Survey Collection of Edgar Lundeen

Edgar Lundeen (1898 – 1986) was an architect who practiced in Bloomington IL throughout his car...

Finding Aid

McLean County Bank Building

In 1853 the original McLean County Bank was founded as the first bank in Bloomington. It was ev...

Finding Aid

McLean County Courthouse 4 Preservation Collection

The McLean County Courthouse was built between 1900 and 1903 after the Great Fire of June 1900....

Finding Aid

Miller, George

George H. Miller (1856 - 1927) was one of eight children born to German immigrants in Bloomingt...

Finding Aid

Moratz, Paul O.

This collection contains a miscellany of items, such as newspaper articles, building specificat...

Finding Aid

Multiple Listing Service

Multiple listing service (MLS) is a set of services that real estate brokers use determine how ...

Finding Aid

Normal Theater

The Normal Theater was built by Sylvan and Ruth Kupfer, who owned the 209 North Street lot wher...

Finding Aid

Old House Society

The Old House Society is a nonprofit organization in McLean County devoted to the preservation ...

Finding Aid

People’s Bank

The Peoples Bank was first incorporated in March 22, 1869, with George W. Parks as President an...

Finding Aid

State Farm Building

The State Farm Building in downtown Bloomington, the tallest building in the downtown area, has...

Finding Aid

Wilson, Harrold B. Collection

Harrold Braden Wilson was born June 13, 1904, in Weldon, Illinois, and died June 3, 1991, in Bl...

Finding Aid

Learn

2 items

Architecture Hunt

Every day is a beautiful day to appreciate the architecture in your own neighborhood. Click her...

Educational Program

Architecture of Downtown Bloomington

Using Downtown Bloomington as a case study, students will become familiar with various facets o...

Educational Program

Publications

6 items

Art Work of Bloomington, Illinois

Publication

Franklin Park Architectural Tour

Take a walk outside and discover the architectural treasures around Franklin Park! This tour wa...

Publication

Lexington Architectural Tour

This tour describes Lexington as it was July 1, 1979. The tour was developed under the auspices...

Publication

Standing On The Corner: A Tour of the Architecture of Downtown Bloomington

The buildings profiled in this book offer a cross section of the architecture that was practice...

Publication

The Old McLean County Courthouse

This account of the Old McLean County Courthouse will relate how this symbolic center of our co...

Publication

Up To Date Homes

"In publishing "Up-to-Date Homes" it was my intention to show a number of plans ...

Publication

Speakers Bureau

6 items

A History of the Evergreen Cemetery Walk

Speakers Bureau

Downtown Bloomington Architectural Tour

Speakers Bureau

McLean County Lost: An Illustrated Tour of Vanished Worlds

Speakers Bureau

Old McLean County Courthouse

Speakers Bureau

Step On Tour of Evergreen Memorial Cemetery

Speakers Bureau

The Monuments Speak: The Art and Architecture of Evergreen Memorial Cemetery

Speakers Bureau

Videos

4 items

Architect A. Richard Williams: Revisiting an International Style Master

Video

Lunch & Learn: Old Homes & Historic Preservation with Dawn Peters

Video

Lunch & Learn: Quirky Sites in Illinois

Video

Miller Park: An Evening of Stories with Bill Kemp

Video

Websites

5 items

A History of Founders Grove in Maps

By Rochelle Gridley...

Website

Architecture of McLean County

Thousands of images of the built environment, from the earliest cabins to construction of homes...

Website

Bloomington, Illinois 1838

by Rochelle Gridley...

Website

Old House Society

Architectural salvage warehouse...

Website

QR Code Smart Phone Tour of Downtown Bloomington

Learn about downtown Bloomington's rich history through its buildings. Look for the QR cod...

Website