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In 1937,
Normal gained its
first theater specifically to show the new "talkie” films. Today
the historic theater has been completely restored and continues to
show classic films, as well as being utilized for a variety of music
performances, group outings and meetings.
Normal continued to
grow in the mid twentieth century and by 1950, its population was
nearly 10,000. In 1964, the
Normal University
officially became the
Illinois State University, no
longer serving as just a teachers’ school, but as a multipurpose
institution of higher learning.
Today
Normal supports a
population of nearly 50,000 residents. While driving
Route 66
through
Normal, which is
primarily a residential section of town, look for several homes that
were one time popular gas stations along the Mother Road. The
historic
Normal Theater can be
seen at 209 North Street.
Bloomington, Illinois
Seamlessly, you
enter
Bloomington, a city
founded decades before the town of
Normal was born. In its early years, the settlement was formed near a large grove of
trees utilized by the Kickapoo
Indians before white settlers began to arrive in the early 1820's. Before a settlement was established here, several trappers hid a keg
of liquor in the grove. However, when the
Indians found it, they drank it and the stand of trees took on the
name Keg Grove. However, when the first settlers began to
build upon the land, they changed the name to Blooming Grove due to
the many flowers in the area.
When the County of McLean was incorporated
on December 25, 1830, a man named James Allen donated 60 acres for a
new town to hold the county seat. The place that was once
referred to as Keg Grove and Blooming Grove became
Bloomington. The town was laid out and on July 4, 1831, lots
were sold at a festive event. Before long, the rich soil of the
county attracted farmers and
Bloomington's downtown district was born.
It was during these early
years that Abraham Lincoln often rode the circuit to Bloomington, conducting business from the now restored
Miller-Davis building at 101 N Main Street. Here, Lincoln met
many lawyers and prominent businessmen, including Jesse Fell, who
first encouraged Lincoln to run for president.
The meeting
resulted in Lincoln writing his autobiography that Fell distributed to the
Eastern press, introducing Lincoln to the national political scene.
Another man who was instrumental in Lincoln’s win of the 1860
presidential nomination, was Judge David Davis of
Bloomington. In
1872, Davis and his wife Sarah built an elegant Victorian Mansion at 1000
E. Monroe Drive, which continues to stand today, furnished with opulent
European fixtures and serving as a museum. |
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Route
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