Springfield Rewind » Public Square

Public Square – South (ca. 1950)

Russ — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 04:02:12 +0000

6th and Adams (1956)

Russ — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 06:12:47 +0000

Mouse over the ’56 photo to see the view from 2009.

You’ll notice in the back that the bank building is quite a bit larger than it was in 1956. Check out this Rewind page to see the expansion in progress.

http://www.springfieldrewind.com/first-national-bank-1973

Sangamon County Courthouse (ca 1938)

Russ — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 16:35:37 +0000

You might notice a height difference between the old and new shots. There’s a good reason for that. When the building was constructed as Illinois’ 5th Statehouse in 1839 it was approximately the same height it is today. Around the turn of the 20th century, while the building was being used as the Sangamon County Courthouse, it was torn down and rebuilt with an extra floor – which you can see in the 1938 photo.

In 1966, there was an extensive reconstruction that removed that extra story and added below-ground parking. You can read more about that project at Look Back Springfield.

Public Square North (1951)

Russ — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 05:59:31 +0000

Hold your cursor over the photo to see how this spot looks now.

Public Square – West (1949)

Russ — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 22:30:26 +0000

Hold your cursor over the photo to see how this spot looks now.