I knew in my short visit to Bloomington-Normal that there was one place that I had to check up on, and I was pleasantly surprised! The former Moses Montefiore Synagogue has been purchased and renovated into what I believe, according to newspaper reports, a new community space. If the article proved true, it was renovated…
Tag: Bloomington-Normal
West Market Street, Bloomington, Illinois
The fortunes of many a street in America is determined by the assigning of numbers on a shield. In this case, for West Market Street in Bloomington, Illinois, it was assigned US Highway 150, probably sometimes around or after 1926, and its fate has been tied to that designation since that time. Heavy through traffic…
State Farm Insurance Building
Built according to plans by Archie Schaeffer and Phillip Hooton in 1929, the State Farm Insurance Building in downtown Bloomington was added on to repeatedly over the years. They moved out in 1974 to a giant Modernist complex on the east side of town. Viewed from a distance, it becomes obvious that the Art-Deoc masterpiece…
Ensenberger Building, Bloomington, Illinois
The cool proto-modern Ensenberger, with elements of Art-Deco styling, has now been converted into condos. Designed by Arthur L. Pillsbury and Phillip Hooten, it opened in 1926. Apparently, the current facade is newer than the building itself, having been reskinned at some point.
Corn Belt Bank Building, Bloomington, Illinois
The old Corn Belt Bank Building is an excellent example of Romanesque Revival skyscraper architecture, designed by George Miller in 1901. Louis Sullivan was already active, but by no means was his style universally accepted. Conservative architecture, such as shown here, was still very popular. Thought the influence of Sullivan is still subtly there; looks…
Evergreen Cemetery, Bloomington, Illinois
I suppose not every city can have a cemetery as amazing as St. Louis’s Bellefontaine Cemetery, but the Evergreen Cemetery is Bloomington’s entry into the competition. Simple, austere, with only a few notable monuments, it nonetheless presents an island of peace on the southeast side of town. Perhaps of most interest was the veterans’ portion…
Holy Trinity Roman Catholic Church, Bloomington, Illinois
Holy Trinity Roman Catholic Church is a masterpiece of Art-Deco architecture for worship spaces. Designed by Arthur F. Moratz, the church was built in 1934 with insurance money when the original structure burned down. Presaging Modernism, the church still shows the influences of traditional architecture. Bloomington is not a bishopric, which surprised me, but surely…