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History · Bloomington

A history of Bloomington,
since 1857

Postcards, papers and photographs of Bloomington from public archives, woven together by decade. Neighbors fill in the gaps.

1857established
23old images & papers
19historic places
0recent photos
From Bloomington’s archive · credits on each photo

The story

from WikipediaRead it all ↗

The Bloomington area was at the edge of a large grove occupied by the Kickapoo before the first Euro-American settlers arrived in the early 1820s. Springing from the settlement of Keg Grove, later called Blooming Grove, Bloomington was named as county seat on December 25, 1830, when McLean County was created.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

built from the dates on the items below
1857Established
1865North View inCommons
1889PostcardBloomingtonILEaSideSq1910Commons
1890s2 items · Adlai Stevenson's residenceLOC
1900s7 items · Track to be straightened in the Bloom…LOC
1910s8 items · Illinois Retail Hardware Assn., Bloom…Commons
1923Chicago and Alton Railroad ShopsCommons
1930s3 items · IllinoisCommons
1940–1999Nothing yet. Family albums go here.
Help out

Finish Bloomington’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

4 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 🔁Retake an old viewPostcardBloomingtonILEaSideSq1910, 1889: stand where they stood+15 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Famous people from Bloomington

See all 53 →
Clinton DavissonClinton DavissonScience & MedicineElbert Green HubbardElbert Green HubbardWriting & ArtsGeorge Lincoln RockwellGeorge Lincoln RockwellPolitics & LawRSRick ScottPolitics & LawKelly LoefflerKelly LoefflerBusinessRichard WebbRichard WebbFilm, TV & Stage
By decade

Bloomington, decade by decade

1860s1 item
North View inCommonsNorth View in1865
1880s1 item
PostcardBloomingtonILEaSideSq1910CommonsPostcardBloomingtonILEaSideSq19101889 · postcard
1890s2 items
Adlai Stevenson's residenceLOCAdlai Stevenson's residence1890View in Franklin ParkLOCView in Franklin Park1890
1900s7 items
Track to be straightened in the Bloomington yardsLOCTrack to be straightened in the Bloomington yards1900Track to be straightened in the Bloomington yardsLOCTrack to be straightened in the Bloomington yards1900C. & A. [Chicago and Alton Railroad] shops at Bloomington, IllLOCC. & A. [Chicago and Alton Railroad] shops at Bloomington, …1900Billy Sunday, Portrait - DPLA - a2be2205d28d727980c472f5728177fc (page 1)CommonsBilly Sunday, Portrait - DPLA - a2be2205d28d727980c472f5728…1908 · postcardBilly Sunday, Portrait - DPLA - a2be2205d28d727980c472f5728177fc (page 2)CommonsBilly Sunday, Portrait - DPLA - a2be2205d28d727980c472f5728…1908 · postcardBilly Sunday, Portrait - DPLA - d476f135e07f1f84ccdeb5ecaff8ac6e (page 1)CommonsBilly Sunday, Portrait - DPLA - d476f135e07f1f84ccdeb5ecaff…1908 · postcardBilly Sunday, Portrait - DPLA - d476f135e07f1f84ccdeb5ecaff8ac6e (page 2)CommonsBilly Sunday, Portrait - DPLA - d476f135e07f1f84ccdeb5ecaff…1908 · postcard
1910s8 items
Illinois Retail Hardware Assn., Bloomington, Ill., Feb. 10, '10CommonsIllinois Retail Hardware Assn., Bloomington, Ill., Feb. 10,…1910Illinois Retail Hardware AssnLOCIllinois Retail Hardware Assn1910Picnic at Miller ParkLOCPicnic at Miller Park1910Panoram #1 of Bloomington, IllCommonsPanoram #1 of Bloomington, Ill1914Standard atlas of McLean County, Illinois, including a plat book of the villages, cities and townships of the countyMapStandard atlas of McLean County, Illinois, including a plat…1914Panoram #1 of Bloomington, IllLOCPanoram #1 of Bloomington, Ill1914Klemm, Overalls, Shirts, Pants, automobile, changing tire (NBY 3078)CommonsKlemm, Overalls, Shirts, Pants, automobile, changing tire (…1917 · postcardButting, tipping and shelling seed corn Funk Bros. Seed CoLOCButting, tipping and shelling seed corn Funk Bros. Seed Co1917
1920s1 item
Chicago and Alton Railroad ShopsCommonsChicago and Alton Railroad Shops1923 · postcard
1930s3 items
IllinoisCommonsIllinois1932IllinoisCommonsIllinois19321933 Trinity High School postcard large with blemishesCommons1933 Trinity High School postcard large with blemishes1933 · postcard
1940s–
1990s
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
📷 Add from your album
National Register of Historic Places

19 historic places in Bloomington

Bloomington has 19 listings on the National Register, and they protect 399 historic buildings, because White Place Historic District alone counts 210. One is a National Historic Landmark, the highest tier, which fewer than 3% of listings reach.

#12
In Illinoisby listings · most towns there have none
19places listed14 buildings · 4 districts · 1 other
1National Historic LandmarkClover Lawn
399historic buildings protectedcounting each building in a district
1972first listedClover Lawn · newest: Bloomington High School, 2018

Where they are

Tap a dot for a photo and link. Districts show at their center.
Clover LawnMcLean County Courthouse and SquareStevenson HouseFranklin SquareGeorge H. Miller HouseRuben M. Benjamin HouseJohn M. Hamilton HouseMiller-Davis Law BuildingsDavis, David, III & IV, HouseScott-Vrooman HouseHoly Trinity Church Rectory and ConventBloomington Central Business DistrictGeorge H. Cox HouseEast Grove Street District-BloomingtonWhite Place Historic DistrictWhite BuildingUS Army Aircraft C-53-DO-41-20124Robert Greenlee HouseBloomington High School
BuildingsDistrictsStructuresBigger dot = landmark

When they were listed

The Register began in 1966. Bloomington’s busiest decade was the 1970s.
LandmarkListed 1972Clover LawnBuilt 1870LawPoliticsArchitectureListed 1973McLean County Courthouse and SquareBuildingArchitectureListed 1974Stevenson HouseBuildingPoliticsSocial historyListed 1976Franklin SquareDistrictArchitectureSocial historyListed 1978George H. Miller HouseBuildingArchitectureListed 1978Ruben M. Benjamin HouseBuildingLawListed 1978John M. Hamilton HouseBuildingPoliticsListed 1979Miller-Davis Law BuildingsBuildingCommerceLawPoliticsListed 1982Davis, David, III & IV, HouseBuildingArchitectureListed 1983Scott-Vrooman HouseBuildingEconomicsPoliticsArchitectureListed 1983Holy Trinity Church Rectory and ConventBuildingEducationArchitectureSocial historyListed 1985Bloomington Central Business DistrictDistrictIndustryTown planningCommerceListed 1985George H. Cox HouseBuildingArchitectureListed 1987East Grove Street District-BloomingtonDistrictArchitectureListed 1988White Place Historic DistrictDistrictTown planningArchitectureListed 1994White BuildingBuilt 1894ArchitectureListed 1996US Army Aircraft C-53-DO-41-20124StructureEngineeringTransportationMilitaryListed 1997Robert Greenlee HouseBuildingArchitectureListed 2018Bloomington High SchoolBuildingArchitecture
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places (05/22/2026) · styles from the National Archives catalog · photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place

Then & now

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as North View in (1865) and it appears here side by side.

🔁 Retake this view · +15

Stories next door

nearby towns’ history
📜 Bloomington City📜 Normal📜 Bloomington📜 Normal

From Wikimedia Commons (14), the Library of Congress (9) and the National Register (1). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/18 · 2025-01-01
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