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…
Tag: Illinois
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…
First Baptist Church, Bloomington, Illinois
I find a lot of Romanesque Revival churches a bit interesting, in that while they possess the decorative and stylistic elements of the Romanesque, they frequently possess the massing of a Gothic church.
Franklin Park and East of Downtown, Bloomington, Illinois
Bloomington’s east side possesses a wealth of architecture, well maintained, healthy and classic. Here are some of the houses I saw. Heavy on the Italianate, and then on the Queen Anne Style, as many Illinois towns are, I was interested in the apparent lack of Second Empire architecture, which of course is so popular in…
White Place, Bloomington, Illinois
I stumbled upon the homes of the turn of the century wealthy residents in Bloomington, in the slightly amusingly named White Place, due east of downtown. It stretches from the Queen Anne Style to Spanish Revival, and its Nationa Register nomination can be read here.
Interior, Old McLean County Courthouse, Bloomington, Illinois
The interior of the McLean County Courthouse is stunning, with a central rotunda that stretches from the first floor up into the dome. Due to a net that stretches across the base of the dome to prevent plaster from falling on visitors’ heads, above a certain level the images become blurred by the net’s inteference….
McLean County Courthouse, Bloomington, Illinois
Designed by William Reeves and John M. Baile, the old McLean County Courthouse sits in the middle of the square in downtown Bloomington. A hulking 1903 Beaux-Arts structure that is quite beautiful even perhaps if the Baroque dome is a bit undersized for its overall composition. Unlike what is claimed on the McLean County Historical…
Moses Montefiore Synagogue, Bloomington, Illinois
Update: The synagogue has been renovated by a new owner. Don’t let anyone tell you that smaller cities in America are boring! After eating lunch at a great “farm to table” place downtown, I began wandering around the streets to the east of Bloomington’s center. I spotted this building, and was intrigued; what was it?…