Bloomington is a city in and the county seat of McLean County, Illinois, United States. It is adjacent to the town of Normal, and is the more populous of the two principal municipalities of the Bloomington–Normal metropolitan area. Bloomington is 135 miles (217 km) southwest of Chicago and 162 miles (261 km) northeast of St. Louis. The 2020 census showed the city had a population of 78,680, making it the 13th-most populated city in Illinois and the fifth-most populous outside the Chicago Metropolitan Area. Combined with Normal, the twin cities have a population of roughly 130,000. The Bloomington area is home to Illinois Wesleyan University and Illinois State University. It also serves as the headquarters for State Farm Insurance and Country Financial.
U.S. Route 66 was a United States Numbered Highway in Illinois that connected St. Louis, Missouri, and Chicago, Illinois. The historic Route 66, the Mother Road or Main Street of America, took long distance automobile travelers from Chicago to Southern California. The highway had previously been Illinois Route 4 and the road has now been largely replaced with Interstate 55 (I-55). Parts of the road still carry traffic and six separate portions of the roadbed have been listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The Haish Memorial Library was designed by Chicago architects White and Weber and built in the art deco style of the 1930s with funds left to the library by Jacob Haish in his 1928 will. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.
The McLean County Courthouse and Square is located in downtown Bloomington, Illinois. The site is on the National Register of Historic Places and encompasses the old McLean County Courthouse and the courthouse-facing sides of three downtown blocks. All 4 floors of the building are now occupied by the McLean County Museum of History for exhibits, collections storage, and offices. The historic buildings at the other side of the square were destroyed by fire in the 1980s. The Square is bordered by four Bloomington streets: Main Street, Center Street, Jefferson Street and Washington Street. The site was home to three previous courthouses before the current one was completed in 1903. The first courthouse at the site was built in 1831, and the second in 1836. The third was built in 1868, but suffered major damage from fire on June 19, 1900.
The Ruben M. Benjamin House is a house in Bloomington, Illinois. It is a two-story rectangular building, styled in the Classical Revival architectural motif. It was built in 1856 John L. Routt, who would become the first governor of Colorado. Ruben M. Benjamin, an attorney known for litigation relating to railroad regulation, lived in the home for more than 60 years. The United States National Register of Historic Places added the Ruben M. Benjamin House in August 1978.
The City and Town Hall in downtown Rochelle, Ogle County, Illinois, United States, operates as the township history museum, holding a number of static displays on local history. Historically it served as the headquarters for city and township government as well as holding the offices of numerous state, local and national entities. The building was erected in 1884 following an 18-year disagreement about the structure's cost between the city of Rochelle and Flagg Township.
The Oregon Commercial Historic District is a historic district in Oregon, Illinois, that has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 2006. The district is roughly bordered by Jefferson, Franklin, 5th and 3rd Streets in Oregon. It is one of six Oregon sites listed on the National Register and one of three to be so listed since the turn of the 21st century. The other two are the Oregon Public Library, listed in 2003, and the Chana School, listed in 2005.
The Hubbard House is a historic home in Hudson, Illinois, one of two houses on the list of United States Registered Historic Places. The other one, located along the same street, is the Gildersleeve House. The Hubbard House is significant as the boyhood home of American writer and philosopher Elbert Hubbard. Hubbard lived in Hudson and attended school there; he stayed in the village until he was 16. The original wing of the house was built in 1857 by a doctor from Buffalo, New York, Silas Hubbard. In 1872 the two-story section of the house was constructed in a typical I-house design. The home has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1979.
The three University of Illinois round barns played a special role in the promotion and popularity of the American round barn. They are located in Urbana Township, on the border of the U.S. city of Urbana, Illinois and on the campus of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The University of Illinois was home to one of the Agricultural Experiment Stations, located at U.S. universities, which were at the heart of the promotion of the round barn. At least one round barn in Illinois was built specifically after its owner viewed the barns at the university. Though originally an experiment the three barns helped to lead the way for round barn construction throughout the Midwest, particularly in Illinois. The barns were listed as contributing properties to the U of I Experimental Dairy Farm Historic District, which was listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 1994.
The commercial buildings in the Sycamore Historic District, located in Sycamore, Illinois, United States are mostly located in and around the city's downtown. The largest concentration of commercial contributing properties to the historic district are found along Illinois Route 64 as it passes through Sycamore. They include several buildings known as "blocks" which can consist of more than one adjacent and attached structure, as is the case with the Waterman Block, one of the Sycamore commercial buildings.
George Jacob "G.J." Mecherle was the founder of State Farm, headquartered in Bloomington, Illinois. Mecherle, a farmer who became an insurance agent also, founded State Farm after becoming dissatisfied with the insurance rates charged to farmers, as those rates included the risks of city drivers as well.
The William H. Roberts House is a late 19th-century house located in Pecatonica, Illinois, United States. The house was built in 1883 for Dr. William H. Roberts, who died three years later at the age of 33. The building features a combination of elements from three distinct architectural styles, Italianate, Queen Anne and Gothic revival. The building functioned as both Roberts's house and office. The house is the only building in Pecatonica listed on the United States National Register of Historic Places, a status it attained in 1979.
Central House is an 1860s hotel building located in the 800-person village of Orangeville, in Stephenson County, Illinois, United States. The building was built by Orangeville founder John Bower and operated as a hotel from its construction until the 1930s, when it was converted for use as a single family residence. The three-story building was the first commercial brick structure in downtown Orangeville. Architecturally, the building is cast in a mid-19th-century Italianate style. Central House was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 1999.
The Springfield Safe Deposit and Trust Company is a historic building at 127-131 State Street in Springfield, Massachusetts. Built in 1933, it is a prominent local example of Art Deco architecture, including many well-preserved interior features. Closed by the Trust Company successor Fleet Bank, it was donated to The Community Music School of Springfield. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2003.
The Minnesota Building is a historic office building in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. The structure was placed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) on June 10, 2009. The building was noted for its design, which was a harbinger for the transition from Classical architecture to the Art Deco/Moderne among commercial buildings in downtown Saint Paul; originally designed in a conservative style, the building became more Moderne as it was being built.
The John L. Nichols House is a historic former residence in Bloomington, Indiana, United States. Built in a late variety of the Victorian style of architecture, it was constructed in 1900. Once the home of Bloomington's leading architect, it is no longer a residence, but it has been designated a historic site.
The Wicks Building is a historic commercial building on Courthouse Square in downtown Bloomington, Indiana, United States. Built in the early twentieth century in a distinctive style of architecture, it has remained in consistent commercial use throughout its history, and it has been named a historic site because of the importance of its architecture.
The John Archibald Campbell United States Courthouse, also known as the United States Court House and Custom House, is a historic courthouse and former custom house in Mobile, Alabama. It was completed in 1935. An addition to the west was completed in 1940. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on October 8, 2008.
Grahame's Corner is a heritage-listed commercial and office building located at 142-144 Pitt Street, in the Sydney central business district, in the City of Sydney local government area of New South Wales, Australia. It was designed by G. A. Morell and built from 1877 to 1882. It is also known as Grahams Corner and the AMFIS Building. The property was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999.
The Old Bloomington High School is a historic high school building at 510 E. Washington Street in Bloomington, Illinois. Opened in 1917, the building replaced another high school building from 1895, which was one of several buildings used for the local high school since its establishment in 1857; all of these older buildings have since been demolished. Bloomington architect Arthur L. Pillsbury designed the building in the Collegiate Gothic style, a variant on the popular Gothic Revival style which, as its name suggests, was mainly used for large educational buildings. The building's design includes a large, detailed Gothic arched main entrance with towering piers at each side, large windows with limestone surrounds, and projecting piers at the front corners and side entrances. In 1936–37, an addition funded by the Works Progress Administration was added to the building; the addition was designed by Schaeffer & Hooten, a descendant of Pillsbury's firm, and matched the style of the original building. The building served as Bloomington's main high school until a new building opened in 1959. It then became a junior high school and remained so until it closed in 1990.
